Emissions
Worsen Drought (USA Today 1/31/3)
Global warming probably made the recent drought in the USA worse than
it otherwise would have been, say the authors of a study published today
in the journal Science. It also could increase the risk for future severe
droughts. The study is the latest in a number of reports linking severe
weather problems – drought, monsoons and melting polar ice – to global
warming, the gradual heating of Earth's atmosphere by the burning of fossil
fuels. Federal climate scientists Martin Hoerling and Arun Kumar wrote
the study. The report comes as the White House unveils a list of voluntary
pledges from American industries to cut the emission of gases said to
cause the phenomenon. The study compared drought in the USA, southern
Europe and southwest Asia from 1998 through 2002. The warming, an increase
of 2 degrees Fahrenheit, combined with the drying effects of a La Niña
weather pattern in the eastern Pacific during the same time, Hoerling
said. The combination shifted tropical rainfall and caused the jet stream
to move north of its usual location, the study said. This meant many major
winter storms missed most of North America. As a result, many parts of
the country grew drier, including much of the West, parts of the South
and the Eastern Seaboard. Some areas received as little as 50% of normal
rainfall. Drought, which persists in several Western states, could have
occurred without global warming or La Niña, a climate phenomenon
in which cooler eastern Pacific waters produces drier conditions. But
it would not have been as bad or as persistent, Hoerling said. |
Colorado
Panel Votes to Require City Water Plans
(Denver Post Capitol Bureau 2/13/3)
Colorado SB 87 came one step closer to requiring large cities to
make plans to save water last week. The bill would require cities
with a population of more than 15,000 to write plans to save 20
percent of their water. If the cities fail to adopt the plan, they
will not receive state grants for projects. This measure is particularly
important, as the legislature is considering establishing a bonding
authority for voter approved water projects worth $10 billion. In
addition, the bill prohibits any new requirements from municipalities
or home owners associations that require water demanding landscaping.
For more on water conservation, see http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Michigan
Environmental Chief Blasts Lack of Land-Use Policy
(The Detroit News 2/13/3)
Steven Chester, recently named to head the state Environmental Quality,
told the Senate Government Operations Committee that the lack of
a state land-use policy is Michigan's greatest environmental threat.
Chester stressed that the unplanned and uncontrolled consumption
of green space impairs the quality of land, water and ecosystems
and unless met with "strong leadership and vision," unplanned
growth "threatens our social and economic well-being and undermines
government's ability" to deliver services, Chester said. Chester
also favors reconsolidating the DEQ and Department of Natural Resources
into one department and requiring that imported trash be in compliance
with Michigan regulations before being disposed of in the state.
Chester was praised by Republicans on the Senate committee and representatives
of Michigan's local governments; business groups raised no objection
to his appointment. For more on land use planning, visit http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Virginia
Barnyard Battle Brewing (Times Dispatch
2/12/3)
At the request of the Department of Environmental Quality, state
Sen. John Watkins has introduced a bill to allow the DEQ to rewrite
the state laws concerning large scale agriculture in order to be
up to date with the new federal CAFO rules issued in December 2002.
Environmentalists and farmers are now feuding over what should be
done. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation feels that the current state
laws go above what the federal laws require. However, a lobbyist
for the state's Farm Bureau contends that if livestock regulations
are being questioned, then everything should be looked at rather
than targeting CAFOs. Sen. Watkins remarked that the intention of
the bill was to extend the time period the DEQ has for updating
the laws. For more information on CAFOs visit http://www.serconline.org/cafos.html. |
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Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission Reform Considered
(Billings Gazette 2/12/3)
A Montana House committee heard public comments on the make up of
the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. The commission, whose members
are appointed by the governor, is currently made up of five people
with ties to agriculture. Current law requires only that one of
the members have experience with domestic livestock. State Rep.
Paul Clark has introduced HB 430 that would add to that requirement,
stipulating that of the five commissioners, one must know something
about livestock, one must know something of fisheries biology, and
another must know something about wildlife biology. A fourth must
represent the hunting and fishing public and the fifth must be a
lawyer with experience in natural resources management. The goal
of the bill, according to Rep. Clark, is to bring balance to the
commission. |
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Council
to Discuss Invasive Species in Delaware
(Delaware State News 2/11/3)
Delaware's Invasive Species Council met last week to review
ways that invasive species enter an area, how to manage them, and
how to prevent their spread. Invasive species are species that are
introduced to an area and have the capability to take over native
species habitats. This can result in ecosystem destruction and biodiversity
loss. According to Cathy Martin, a fisheries biologist at the state
Division of Fish and Wildlife, preventing the introduction of invasive
species and educating people about them is the most effective method
of control. For more on stopping invasives in your state, see http://www.serconline.org/invasives/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Illinois
Group Wants to Improve School's Indoor Air Quality
(Springfield State Journal-Register 2/11/3)
The Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign wants to make indoor air quality
a part of annual school building inspections, and to require districts
to develop air-quality management plans. Poor indoor air quality
can have negative health consequences for students, including asthma
and headaches. Rochelle Davis of the Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign
said structural problems such as asbestos, lead paint and an increasing
prevalence of mold are impediments to learning. "There is simply
no excuse for trying to educate our children in buildings that make
them sick," Davis said. For more on how your state can protect
children's health, see http://www.serconline.org/childrenshealth.html. |
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Six
States Aiming to Reduce Gulf Dead Zone
(Times Picayune 2/11/3)
The Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee on Hypoxia met for
its first time to discuss the "dead zone" that is created
every spring in the Gulf of Mexico due to excessive nutrients from
farming and rural septic systems. The committee has initiated several
projects designed to reduce the amount of nitrogen released into
the water and is months ahead of a federal-state plan to do the
same. One such project in Louisiana allows farmers to participate
in a master farmer program that provides details on how to best
manage nitrogen. At this time there are five other sub-basin committees
that have not been formed. The overall goal of the project is to
gradually reduce the size of the dead zone and reduce the overall
amount of nitrogen. |
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Pennsylvania
at Center of Dirty-Air Fight (The
Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/11/3)
The roaring burners at Pennsylvania's Keystone power plant consume
five million tons of coal a year, round-the-clock fires that generate
electricity used in Philadelphia, New Jersey and much of the East.
They also pump out a lot of pollution pushed eastward and to the
Midwest by prevailing winds. Driven by state regulations that were
mandated by the EPA, Keystone is installing two massive devices
to clean up its exhaust. Keystone's stacks emit about 19,000 tons
of nitrogen oxides a year, an amount expected to go down by nearly
90 percent with the new devices. Yet far less has been done in Pennsylvania
and the Midwest to reduce emissions of two other pollutants: sulfur
dioxide and mercury. Keystone leads the nation in emissions; its
stacks emit 160,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a year and 1,400 pounds
of mercury. Together, all of Pennsylvania's coal-burning plants
gave off 945,000 tons of sulfur dioxide in 2001, second only to
Ohio, and 8,000 pounds of mercury in 2000. Bush has proposed "Clear
Skies" legislation that would cut sulfur emissions 73 percent
by 2018 at the earliest, as well as reduce mercury and nitrogen
oxides. The Bush EPA already has relaxed a set of complex clean-air
regulations, which takes effect in March, and proposed additional
changes. Most of the March rules have little effect on power plants,
and the additional proposals could prove to be a windfall for the
old coal-burners such as Keystone. For more on how your state can
clean up it's energy picture, see http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergy.html. |
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Nevada
Senator Wants Off-Road Vehicles to Register and Pay Taxes
(Nevada Appeal, 2/14/3)
Nevada Sen. Mike McGinness introduced SB117, which would require
all motorized off-road vehicles to register with the Dept. of Motor
Vehicles. Owners of dirt bikes, snowmobiles, quad-runners and other
purely off-road vehicles will face the same vehicle licensing and
titling and tax requirements as car and truck owners under the proposed
law. These vehicles currently escape registration and titling requirements
imposed on cars, trucks and SUVs. Under the proposed law, anyone
who buys an off-road vehicle would then have to register and title
it through DMV. In the process, they would have to prove they already
paid sales tax or pay Nevada the sales tax on the vehicle just like
some one who buys a new car or truck now does. The proposed legislation
would apply to any motorized vehicle used for recreational purposes
– even hover craft designed for watery areas or swamps. |
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Louisiana
Bill Touts Treated Sewer Water for Businesses
(The Advocate 2/14/3)
State Rep. Gary Beard is trying to address two issues at once –
conserving the state's drinking-water supply and helping local taxpayers
faced with costly sewer-system improvements. Proposed House Bill
55 would require certain businesses to use treated sewage water
so underground water supplies could be preserved for drinking and
other essential uses; business and government groups are reviewing
the proposal. Businesses would pay the same current water bills
but for waste water that has been treated enough to use safely.
Today, waste water is not sold so using treated water for industries
could not only prevent some increases in resident sewer fees but
also provide a new source of revenue to help local governments pay
for federally required treatment facility upgrades. This comes at
a time when water levels in key underground aquifers are dropping
around Baton Rouge and other areas of the state, and 85 percent
of the water pulled out of the ground is not used in households,
but rather, golf courses, cooling towers, and agriculture. |
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Delaware
River Fails Pollution Standards
(News Journal 2/11/3)
In a ruling that could set the stage for tougher pollution-control
requirements along the Delaware River, state officials have listed
a 25-square-mile stretch of the waterway as chronically toxic. The
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control included
the designation – which means pollution is killing or causing lingering
harm to aquatic life – in a newly updated report on waters where
pollution is serious enough to require federally mandated restrictions
and cleanup plans. Federal regulations require states to issue the
report every two years. The DuPont Co., with chemical operations
that discharge wastewater on both sides of the river, challenged
the designation. Dozens of other waterways received failing grades
in the new report, although the Delaware River was the only one
cited for chronic toxicity. Reasons ranged from high bacteria counts
and fertilizer pollution to unacceptable levels of toxic metals
and chemicals. |
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Arkansas
Senate Approves Energy Fund Bill
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 2/11/3)
The Arkansas Senate recently approved a bill to create a state weatherization
assistance fund for low income homeowners and an alternative fuels
fund. In a 32-2 vote, the Senate sent HB 1306 to Gov. Mike Huckabee,
after the House approved an identical bill, SB 173. The two funds
would be financed by an assessment on electric and natural gas utilities
that choose to participate. Each contributing utility would be allowed
to recoup costs by adding a surcharge to residential customers'
monthly bills, capped at $1 per customer in any month. Of the money
generated, 70 percent would go the weatherization assistance fund
and 30 percent to the alternative fuels fund. The weatherization
assistance fund would supplement a federal program that pays for
such things as weather-stripping doors and windows, installing storm
windows and repairing and retrofitting furnaces. |
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Free
Land Development Citizen Guide Available
(Community &
Environmental Defense Services)
"How To Win Land Development Issues" is a107-page comprehensive
citizen's guide for resolving concerns about sprawl, highways, commercial
and residential projects, landfills, and a number of other development
types. The book is available free for download from the CEDS website.
"How To Win Land Development Issues" emphasizes a win-win
approach utilizing Smart Growth principles. The book begins with
the Easy Solution then describes how to mobilize public support
if more aggressive action is needed. Methods are provided for identifying
and resolving development impacts related to: air quality, aquatic
resources, crime, environmental justice, historic resources, noise,
odor, open space, property value, schools, traffic, visual impacts
and wildlife. The growth management process is described along with
how citizens can utilize the process to resolve concerns. A detailed
description is provided of the following strategy options for winning
land development campaigns: negotiating with the applicant, working
with regulatory staff, lobbying key decision-makers, legal action,
changing the law, and land preservation. To download, visit http://www.ceds.org/publications.html. |
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