wildlinesVol1No46

Wildlines Archives

Volume I, Number 46

November 18, 2002

A publication of the State Environmental Resource Center (SERC) bringing you the most important news on state environmental issues from across the country.

ISSUE SPOTLIGHT:

HEADLINER:

WATCHDOG:

FINAL ELECTION REPORT:

NEWS FROM THE STATES:

Wolf Preservation

Staples Reaches Agreement with Activists

Water System Privatization

2002 Ballot Measures

Pesticides now Linked to Depression

Governments Adopt Standards for Green Cleaning Products

Study Links Air Pollution with Higher Medical Costs

Unions Join Battle against Sprawl

Biotech Firm Mishandles Corn in Iowa and Nebraska

Wolf Preservation
Wolves, once found all across North America, have been listed as a federal endangered species since 1974. Since then, wolf populations have slowly recovered in some states, due to reintroduction plans and natural recovery. For example, wolves were successfully reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and there is some evidence that Canadian wolves are extending their territory into northern New England (Rutland Herald, 11/5). Despite concern from environmental groups that wolf populations have not recovered enough, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed delisting wolves and handing management over to individual states. States with wolves must have a plan to manage them to ensure their continued recovery. Several states have already developed or are in the process of developing such plans, with mixed results. In Wyoming, for example, state officials have proposed classifying wolves as predators outside of parks, meaning they could be killed indiscriminately. This proposal has created trouble both with the USFWS and neighboring states (Billings Gazette, 11/14). In order to be approved, state plans need to assure the continued recovery of wolves in the wild. For more on how your state can develop a positive wolf management plan, please visit http://serconline.org/wolfpreservation/index.html.

Staples Reaches Agreement with Activists (Boston Herald 11/13)
As part of an agreement with forest preservation groups, ForestEthics and the Dogwood Alliance, Staples outlined a commitment to boost to an average of 30 percent the amount of recycled content within all its paper products. That percentage is currently less than 10 percent. Environmental activists hailed the agreement as a victory for ‘marketplace activism.’ Staples also said it would phase out paper products with materials from endangered forests and work with environmental groups to identify endangered and so-called old growth forests. Staples said it would report annually on its progress. Activists say paper production imperils forests worldwide and destroys millions of acres of U.S. forests a year. Activists also say the boreal forest of Canada, breeding ground for billions of migratory songbirds and caribou, wolves and bears, loses hundreds of acres of forest a week. ForestEthics and Dogwood had hit Staples stores with more than 600 protests and backed letter-writing and media campaigns aimed at getting the company to increase use of recycled paper and cut out paper made with timber taken from endangered forests. Activists indicated they will immediately shift their focus to Staples rivals such as Office Depot and Office Max.

Water System Privatization (Christian Science Monitor 10/24)
In the United States, several cities are experimenting with private water systems. Privatizing water systems is supposed to provide incentive for conservation, improve delivery systems, and (not incidentally) make a profit for the corporations controlling the water. However, there are some serious concerns about the privatization of water systems. If water becomes a private commodity, economically poor communities may be unable to afford this basic necessity. In addition, when there’s money to be made off of the volume of water sold, there’s little incentive for a corporation to promote water conservation. Private water companies also have little reason to leave sufficient water for ecological needs, endangered species, and other downstream uses. Privatization agreements may also result in reduced water quality, because private water companies have little incentive to address low levels of pollutants that may result in long term health problems, and plenty of incentive to understate the severity of existing pollution. Finally, privatization agreements are often put into place with little or no public input, review or oversight. It may, however, be possible to design privatization agreements that improve existing public systems and still protect the basic human right to clean, safe water. The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security released a report earlier this year titled “The New Economy of Water", which addresses the dangers and benefits of water privatization, and outlines ways to improve privatization deals. Their suggestions include guaranteeing all residents basic access to water, reserving water for ecosystems, and maintaining strong government oversight of private companies. The report can be found at http://www.pacinst.org/reports/new_economy_press_release.htm.

Final Election Report

2002 Ballot Measures (DOW 11/6)
On election day, citizens in 40 states voted on over 200 ballot measures, some of which impacted our water, air, wildlife, and wild lands. Defenders of Wildlife has issued a summary of the 2002 environmental ballot measures, including those that were voted on in the primaries, as well as those voted on in November. This year’s ballots included many of the themes common in previous elections, including tax incentives and funding for environmental programs. In particular, bond measures for environmental clean-up, protection, and education programs passed in California, Maine, Michigan, and Nevada. There were also some new themes on the ballot this year. For example, Oregon voters voted against the required labeling of genetically modified foods; Montana voters rejected an initiative that would have allowed for the acquisition of hydroelectric dams. Overall, in 2002 citizens cast their votes on 15 ballot measures relating to the environment, wildlife, or natural resources -- 14 in November, and 1 in March. Half of them passed, and half of them failed. Each of the measures is summarized at http://www.defenders.org/states/factsheets/02ballots.html.

Pesticides now Linked to Depression (Rocky Mountain News 11/14)
A Colorado State University study of 761 farmers and their spouses from northeast Colorado found that farmers spraying organophosphates from 1992 to 1997 who reported becoming sick from pesticide poisoning were 5.8 times more likely to suffer depression than those who didn’t use the chemicals. The president of the Colorado Farm Bureau notes that organophosphates can be nasty, with overexposure linked to cancer and other health problems, and advocates best practices to ensure the welfare and safety of farm families. Though the study shows a link between pesticide use and depression, it is not clear that pesticides are an underlying cause, warns the study.

Governments Adopt Standards for Green Cleaning Products (Greenbiz.com)
A group of state and local government purchasers collaborated to determine a single national standard for green cleaning products which will guide their future choices. The work group, which included MA; Santa Monica, CA; King County, WA; MN; Seattle, WA; and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was organized by the Center for the New American Dream and funded in part by U.S. EPA. Prior to this new consensus, it was difficult for the cleaning product industry to respond to the growing demand for environmentally friendly options because of multiple competing definitions of what constitutes a green product. The governments in the group control $15 million in annual cleaning product purchases and now that they are working together to promote a common standard, safe and environmentally friendly products will be more widely available, more affordable, and easier to locate.

Study Links Air Pollution with Higher Medical Costs (USA Today 11/12)
A Colorado State University study of 761 farmers and their spouses from northeast Colorado found that farmers spraying organophosphates from 1992 to 1997 who reported becoming sick from pesticide poisoning were 5.8 times more likely to suffer depression than those who didn’t use the chemicals. The president of the Colorado Farm Bureau notes that organophosphates can be nasty, with overexposure linked to cancer and other health problems, and advocates best practices to ensure the welfare and safety of farm families. Though the study shows a link between pesticide use and depression, it is not clear that pesticides are an underlying cause, warns the study.

Unions Join Battle against Sprawl (Elm St. Writers Group 10/27)
One reason the nation’s Smart Growth movement has grown so quickly is the breadth of groups – civil rights, environmental, farm, and business — that share the goal of curbing sprawl and investing in cities. Now another influential constituency — organized labor — is starting to weigh in for Smart Growth and against suburban sprawl. The issue is forging new alliances in several regions and has the potential to build a broad new progressive coalition from the bottom up. Taking the lead are a handful of central labor councils – metropolitan federations of unions – that have figured out that urban density is also good for “union density,” which is the share of the workforce that is unionized. Cumulatively, union leaders are also beginning to understand that sprawl harms their political agenda. Labor’s non-partisan ratings of elected officials show that politicians from sprawling areas seldom vote with unions on a range of issues from “fast track” trade agreements and workplace safety to collective bargaining rights and pay equity for women. The only group of unions that has sometimes opposed Smart Growth initiatives is the building trades because they fear less work. But even among the trades many leaders admit that when work goes to the fringe it’s far more likely to go to a non-union contractor. For practical action tips, see “Talking to Union Leaders About Smart Growth” at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/talking.pdf.

Biotech Firm Mishandles Corn in Iowa and Nebraska (Washington Post, 11/14)
A biotechnology company that mishandled gene-altered corn in Nebraska did the same thing in Iowa, the government disclosed last week. Fearing that pollen from corn not approved for human consumption may have spread to nearby fields of ordinary corn, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered 155 acres of Iowa corn pulled up in September and incinerated. The disclosure raised new questions about the conduct of ProdiGene Inc., a company in College Station, Tex., that is now under investigation for allegedly violating government permits in two states. The ProdiGene matter is proving to be a black eye for the biotech industry, which has been trying to reassure the public it can be trusted not to contaminate the food supply. The new disclosure also is likely to have a political impact in Iowa, where politicians of both parties have been attacking a new industry-sponsored moratorium on planting genetically altered corn anywhere in the Midwest corn belt. The ProdiGene case is an example of the kind of breakdown that moratorium is meant to prevent. The acting head of biotechnology regulation for the USDA made it clear the government considers the violations significant and is weighing serious penalties. In addition, she said, the department may consider revising its rules to lessen the chance of similar problems in the future. For more information on genetically engineered food, see: http://www.serconline.org/geFood/index.html.

For more information about SERC, or to use our services, contact our national headquarters at:

State Environmental Resource Center
106 East Doty Street, Suite 200 § Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-252-9800 § Fax: 608-252-9828
Email: info@serconline.org