Nebraska
Only State to Ban Corporate Farming (FindLaw 12/13)
Nebraska may be best known for its beef, but the state has something else
that sets it apart: the nation's only constitutional ban on corporate
farming. In the 20 years since a citizen's initiative led to the ban,
it has withstood court challenges and, supporters say, helped protect
Neb. farmers. Neb. has avoided becoming the home to large agribusiness
operations, mega-hog farms and livestock feeding lots, in large part thanks
to the ban, known as Initiative 300. In the mid-1970s, many Midwestern
states moved to restrict corporate farming. Eight states - Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- passed laws. But none of those states have a ban in their constitution
or laws as restrictive as the Nebraska ban, according to a study last
year by researchers at Clarkson University and Cornell University. South
Dakota voters approved a ban in 1998, but it was struck down by a federal
judge as unconstitutional. Appeals are pending. Initiative 300 generally
prohibits corporations and certain other business entities from owning
farmland or engaging in agricultural activity, although there are exceptions.
The exceptions include farms that are family-owned and operated, nonprofit
corporations, American Indian tribal corporations, land used for seed
or nursery purposes, and land used for research or experimental purposes.
For more, see http://www.serconline.org/cafos.html. |
Cleaner
Fuel Buses Sought To Reduce Maryland Air Pollution
(Baltimore Sun 12/12)
The Maryland Transit Administration should convert its entire fleet
of 800 buses to ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel and add traps for particulate
matter and diesel exhaust to the buses, according to a report released
by the Citizens Planning and Housing Association. MTA buses burn
7.8 million gallons of diesel fuel per year, adding to the region's
poor air quality and contributing to health problems such as asthma
and cardiovascular disease, scientists say. It would cost between
$5 million and $8 million to add the particulate-matter traps to
the buses and an additional $1 million in fuel costs to switch to
ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, the CPHA estimates. The group says
the cost is modest given that the changes would cut bus emissions
by 88 percent. |
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NJ
Gov. Signs Bill Halting Pesticide Use in Schools
(Philadelphia Inquirer12/13)
Gov. McGreevey yesterday signed what he called "a long overdue
bill" stopping the use of chemical spraying in New Jersey for
pest control - except as a last resort. If state-approved pesticides
are used, school officials must notify each parent and staff member
72 hours in advance, and students will not be allowed onto school
grounds until seven hours after their use. Environmentalists and
educators hailed the new law as the toughest one in the country
regulating schools' use of chemical sprays, which, in large doses,
researchers have linked to cancer, asthma and nausea. A similar
Pennsylvania law will take effect Jan. 1, allowing school districts
to choose to notify all parents about pesticide use, or just those
who have requested it. The New Jersey Pest Management Association,
a coalition of professional exterminators, worked with environmental
groups and the bill's sponsors to craft the legislation. |
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‘Conservation
Tillage’ could take Root in South Carolina
(The State 12/9)
There is a way to raise crops that saves money, is good for animals,
protects the environment, increases yields and cuts down on insecticides.
But only about a third of SC farms practice “conservation
tillage”, but the federal farm bill adopted earlier this year
could make conservation tillage more accessible to small and large
farms alike. Conservation tillage works like this: Farmers harvest
their crops, then plant seeds on top of the old stalks and leftover
plants instead of tilling under the old crop. The method dramatically
reduces the number of times farmers need to cross their field with
machinery. The labor and fuel-cost reductions are considerable.
The organic matter from the old crop acts like mulch that provides
nutrients to the new plants, protects the earth from wind and water
erosion, holds in moisture and provides a good habitat for beneficial
insects. A scientist that studies the effects of conservation tillage
has found that almost no soil erodes off fields, even during huge
floods such as those caused by Hurricane Floyd, and that fertilizer
and insecticide runoff into streams virtually stops, even in the
giant floods. Farmers using the method often stop irrigating altogether.
And the amount of crops produced appears to be the same and possibly
more. The method works for corn, soybeans, cotton, oats and wheat.
Unfortunately, while Congress has adopted the farm bill, SC legislators
haven't funded the program yet. |
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Maine
Coalition Takes On Sprawl (Portland
Press Herald 12/9)
GrowSmart Maine has the distinction of being the first state-wide
anti-sprawl advocacy group in the state. The group follows the lead
of similar organizations in Oregon and Pennsylvania, but formed
to specifically address the needs of ME’s unique landscape.
GrowSmart Maine’s various experts are attempting to reduce
sprawl prone state policies that lead to unplanned development,
a greater tax burden, and weaken ME’s economic competitiveness.
For more information on sprawl, see http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Cosmetic
Chemicals Linked to Sperm Damage in Humans
(ENN 12/10)
Phalates, chemicals used in about eighty percent of cosmetics, can
damage DNA in the sperm of adult men at normal exposure levels,
according to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study, conducted at Harvard, is one of the first to show an
effect of phalates on humans, although these chemicals have been
linked to birth defects in animals. Phalates are not currently regulated
in the US, but have been banned in some products by the EU. |
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Air
Pollution from Steel Mills Causes Genetic Damage
(ENN 12/10)
A recent study by Canadian researchers shows that air pollution
from steel mills can cause elevated rates of mutation that may affect
both this generation and the next. The study, recently published
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted
in mice, and found that mice raised in polluted air had fewer offspring,
and that those offspring had over twice as many mutations as normal
mice. These results may help explain high rates of cancer in steel
mill workers, said the authors, who also said that people living
near mills should be checked for possible health consequences. For
more on keeping our air clean, please see http://www.serconline.org/safeair&water.html. |
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Drought
Prompts NJ to Protect Water Supply
(Star-Ledger 12/10)
New Jersey’s Environmental Commissioner recently announced
new regulations designed to protect both the quality and quantity
of the state’s water supply. The new rules will increase the
buffer zones around streams, wetlands and reservoirs from 50 to
300 feet, and will address storm water treatment as well. Paved
areas decrease groundwater recharge and increase runoff into storm
drains. Under the new rules, development projects will be required
to filter 80 percent of pollutants like oil, road salt, and fertilizers
out of storm water, and to recharge ground water to 100 percent
of predevelopment levels. The regulations, which still require public
comment, were greeted with skepticism by developers and support
by environmentalists. For more on what your state can do to conserve
water, please see http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Weedkiller
pits Wisconsin State Agencies against each Other
(Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 12/10)
Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources says it is opposed to
a decision by the agriculture department to allow the use of a potent
herbicide on corn because of concerns that it could poison streams
and groundwater. The WI DNR says it disagrees with the decision
to let farmers use a weed-killing chemical called Balance Pro ,
or isoxaflutole, starting next spring because of its potential effect
on humans and ability to kill not only targeted weeds but other
plants as well. The dispute finds two state agencies fighting over
different aspects of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The DNR regulates water quality, while the agriculture department
oversees the use of farm chemicals. "Here you have two different
agencies with delegated authority and they conflict," said
Jim Vanden Brook, water quality supervisor at the agriculture department.
"EPA has not resolved it very well on a national level, and
it gets expressed in matters like this." A lawsuit is expected
to challenging the agriculture department's decision on behalf of
Family Farm Defenders, a national organization that advocates environmentally
responsible farming practices, and Habitat Education Center. |
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Montana
Judge Forcefully Upholds Cyanide-Mining Ban
(Great Falls Tribune 12/11)
District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock of Helena this week issued a harsh
blow to any prospects of developing the dormant McDonald gold mine
near Lincoln, firmly upholding a 1998 voter-enacted mining ban.
Sherlock said the 1998 ban on open-pit, cyanide heap-leach gold
mines does not violate constitutional contract rights and is not
taking any property, because the mine developers never had any "property"
to take. State solicitor Brian Morris on Tuesday called the 23-page
order a "big win for the state" and the people's right
to regulate the mining industry or any industry. State and federal
taxpayers already are on the hook for clean-up at heap-leach gold
mines permitted in Montana before the ban was approved, and the
ban is preventing future liabilities for the taxpayers, said Jim
Jensen of the Montana Environmental Information Center. Sherlock's
order likely will be appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, and
a similar lawsuit exists in federal court. Sherlock also said that
the mine developers had a right to seek a mining permit "subject
to existing and future environmental regulations," he wrote,
but that action does not constitute property. For more on cyanide-mining,
visit http://www.serconline.org/mining/index.html. |
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MI
Gov. Wants to Ease Dioxin Standards
(Washington Post 12/6)
Outgoing Michigan Gov. Engler (R) is trying to relax state standards
for dioxin contamination, a move that would make it easier for Dow
Chemical Co. to clean up the area around its headquarters and the
Lake Huron watershed. Dioxin is carcinogenic and can disrupt the
immune and reproductive systems. The MI Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) and Dow have been negotiating a consent order that
could increase the allowable level of dioxin from 90 parts per trillion
to 831 parts per trillion. No amount of dioxin is safe, so the change
appears to be designed solely to save Dow money. DEQ officials have
made it clear that Dow wants to get the changes in place before
Engler leaves office, since the change in standards is opposed by
Gov.-elect Granholm (D). EPA officials have questioned the move,
and a coalition of environmental groups has gone to court to prevent
Gov. Engler from making the change before he leaves office. |
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