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Water
Conservation
Every summer, we hear about large areas of the country that are
suffering from drought. Soils are parched, wells are dry, and reservoirs
are depleted. Rural farmers, small towns, and cities face water
shortages. Many states and communities have adopted policies to
encourage more efficient use of water because the resulting economic
and environmental benefits will continue to pay dividends long after
a drought has passed. Some states are legislating particular conservation
measures statewide, while others are making state financial assistance
or permit approval contingent upon local implementation of "best
management practices" to improve water use efficiency. Water
conservation has proven results. Seattle, WA, for example, reduced
its peak demand from 334 million gallons per day in 1990 to 265
million gallons per day in 1996 while conducting a comprehensive
water use efficiency use program. Water consumption in 1996 was
less than that of 1980, even though population increased by more
than 20 percent in that time. To find out how your state can save
water, visit: http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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California
Considers Restricting Flame-Retardant Chemical (San Diego
Union-Tribune 7/7)
The state's top environmental official backed a proposal to make
California the first state to ban two forms of chemicals used as
flame retardants. California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary
Winston Hickox cited research showing the chemicals commonly used
in upholstery, electronics and other foam and plastic products accumulate
in the blood of mothers and their newborn children. Though some
U.S. manufacturers have voluntarily stopped using polybrominated
diphenyl ethers, which are collectively known as PBDEs, Hickox said
the chemicals should be regulated nationally. AB302, introduced
by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, is pending in the Senate after it was
approved in the Assembly without Republican support. It would ban
by 2008 two industrial formulations of PBDEs: pentabrominated diphenyl
ethers (penta BDEs) and octabrominated diphenyl ethers (octa BDEs),
both banned in Europe. Another form, decabromodiphenyl ethers (deca
BDEs), commonly used in televisions, computers, stereos, and plastic
toys, also is being banned in Europe but would not be affected by
the California legislation because it does not appear to accumulate
in tissues as readily. Chan said she hopes a California ban "will
spark the rest of the nation to take action." Twenty health
and environmental groups backed her legislation; there were no groups
in opposition. |
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They're
At It Again…States Attack Environmental Programs
In another round of attempts to balance state budgets, many environmental
programs across the country are being disproportionately targeted
for cuts and even elimination (see Watchdog #38: http://www.serconline.org/watchdog/watchdog_alerts.html#watchdog38
for previous examples). Some California legislators have suggested
eliminating funding for the California Costal Commission that serves
as an environmental watchdog to the state's 1,110 miles of coastlines
to balance their $38 billion deficit. The commission was authorized
when voters passed Proposition 20 in 1972, and made permanent by
the legislature in 1976. Utah's Division of Air Quality has been
forced to shut down air pollution monitoring stations in order to
help the Department of Environmental Quality trim down its budget.
This comes at a time when air pollution is on the rise. Water quality
monitoring programs in Alaska are now threatened due to a shift
in federal funds. The state has opted to put the federal funds towards
targeting non-point-source pollution problems in state water bodies
considered impaired and away from monitoring measures aimed at preventing
clean waters from becoming polluted. In Washington State, the Department
of Ecology has lost funding, due to industry lobbyists pressuring
legislators, for its program to phase-out persistent toxic chemicals
(PBTs). PBTs include toxic chemicals such as dioxins and mercury.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Romney issued budget vetoes eliminating or
reducing funding for three environmental programs: a toxic uses
reduction program, the state's recycling program, and the riverways
watershed protection program. The environmental budget in Massachusetts
makes up approximately 1% of the overall budget and appears to have
been hit quite hard, with the Department already trying to recover
from the loss of over two hundred jobs. This is not a time to eliminate
environmental programs in a rash of poor planning and at the expense
of the public's health. Instead, states should be looking to cut
environmentally harmful programs and subsidies. For more information,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/greenscissors.html. |
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Pennsylvania
House Addresses Land Use Concerns
(Philadelphia Inquirer 7/11)
A group of state legislators has proposed a bill that would
allow municipalities to temporarily halt development - a right
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court took away two years ago. HB1825
would, according to the bill's sponsors, allow towns to, "better
manage growth and ensure a better quality of life." The
bill proposes to permit municipalities to place a moratorium
on development for 18 months to give cities and towns a chance
look at zoning regulations and comprehensive use plans. The
bill would also require that a public hearing occur before
a moratorium is put into effect. Rep. O'Neill (R) and Rep.
Freeman (D) contend that the moratorium would also allow municipalities
to look at other issues associated with rapid development
including environmental, health, safety, and traffic concerns.
The bill is based on a US Supreme Court decision that upheld
a West Coast planning agency's moratorium and said that landowners
were not entitled to compensation. Developers and some land-use
lawyers have decried the bill as regressive and wondered about
landowner compensation issues even in the face of the Supreme
Court decision. For more information on how your state can
regulate rapid development, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html.
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National
Effort Begins to Clean Up Brownfields
(Associated Press 7/10)
Environmentalists, real estate agents and others interested
in urban redevelopment have launched a nationwide campaign
to revitalize crack houses, abandoned factories and other
crime magnets that plague cities large and small across the
country. Their goal is to turn such urban blemishes into usable
spaces. "As a nation, we cannot afford to use our land
and discard it as though it were a used candy wrapper,"
said Charles Kent, director of the Office of Business and
Community Innovation at the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to Smart Growth, the average large American city
contains 12,000 acres of land that currently serves no purpose
other than to house criminals, create fire hazards and look
bad all of which the potential to be productive and aesthetically
attractive. By reclaiming and redeveloping these areas, the
project will engender home ownership, small business development
and revitalization of downtown areas. For more information
about community revitalization, visit: http://www.serconline.org/community/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Maine Renewable
Energy Fund Grows (Press Herald
7/10)
People in Maine are contributing to the growth of a state
renewable energy resources development fund by volunteering
a little extra money when they pay their utility bill. The
fund was created by Maine's legislature in 1999, and has generated
more than $70,000 since its inception; money that the Maine
Technology Institute will use to fund proposals for the development
of business clusters in the renewable-resources sector. "Our
hope is if we start giving out money on this, next year we'll
have more money," said Janet Yancey-Wrona, the institute's
director. For more on how your state can promote clean and
sustainable energy, visit: http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergy.pdf. |
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RI
Groups Urge Governor to Back Clean Cars Standard
(Providence Journal 7/10)
According to the American Lung Association of Rhode Island
(ALARI), Rhode Island residents are subject to unhealthy levels
of smog at least one day per week during the summer, largely
because only two fuel efficient vehicles -- the Toyota Prius
and Honda Civic -- are available to consumers. Hybrid-electric
cars, natural gas vehicles, battery-electric and clean conventional
vehicles are all commercially available in other states, but
Rhode Island is dramatically behind the curve, desperately
needing the Clean Car Standards that states like New York,
California and Massachusetts operate under. Last week the
Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group (RIPIRG) released
a new report, "Ready to Roll: The Benefits of Today's
Advanced Technology Vehicles for Rhode Island." The group
will join forces with ALARI and other environmental and public
health groups in an effort to make Governor Carcieri and the
Department of Environmental Management aware of the pressing
need for Clean Car Standards. |
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California
Bottled Water Bill Passes Assembly
(NRDC update)
Over half of all Americans drink bottled water, and about
36 percent drink it more than once a week. Seventy percent
of Californians consume some or all of their drinking water
from bottled or vended water sources. According to a 1993
poll, nearly half (47 percent) of bottled water drinkers used
it at least partially out of concern for their health and
safety, but there are no laws to insure that bottled water
is cleaner or more healthful than tap water. Currently, consumers
have no way of knowing whether the water they are buying is
of higher quality than tap water. California AB83 would require
companies that sell bottled and vended water to prepare and
distribute consumer confidence reports similar to those currently
required of public water systems, including summary information
about any contaminants detected in the source water. The bill
passed the Assembly with the minimum 41 required votes and
is now moving through the Senate. |
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Hawaii
Takes Aim At West Nile Virus
(Honolulu Star Bulletin 7/9)
State health officials are encouraging residents to remove
potential mosquito breeding sites and to report dead birds
as part of an effort to keep West Nile Virus off the islands.
On the mainland, there were more than 4000 reported cases
and almost 300 deaths from West Nile Virus last year. The
virus is usually transmitted from mosquitoes to birds, but
humans, horses and other animals can be infected if bitten
by an infected mosquito. Aside from the impact on humans,
West Nile Virus can have a devastating impact on wildlife,
and is particularly threatening to Hawaii's already endangered
native bird species. For more information about how your state
can fight the spread of invasive species like West Nile Virus,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/invasives/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Utah
Businesses Wasting Water (The
Daily Herald 7/8)
Some Utah homeowners and businesses are giving their lawns
more water than they'd receive in a rainforest, according
to a new study. Eighty percent of businesses are over-watering,
said Roger Kjelgren, a Utah State University horticulture
professor, with retail businesses, particularly fast food
restaurants, wasting the most water. The typical Utah lawn
needs about 30 inches of water per year. Some property owners
are using a couple hundred inches a year. "They could
grow rice on that" said Kjelgren. For more information
on how your state can save water please see this week's spotlight. |
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Nevada
Cities Looking to Reduce Water Usage
(Las Vegas Sun 7/8)
Officials across the Las Vegas Valley are looking at plans
that could save millions of gallons of water a year as Southern
Nevada and the rest of the West suffer through the worst drought
on record. As the Las Vegas Valley's water suppliers adopt
water use restrictions and raise water rates to encourage
conservation, local agencies are re-examining ways they can
turn off the sprinklers. Local governments and agencies may
start topping sports fields with artificial turf and replacing
grassy lawns and medians with rocks and desert brush. An acre
of grass consumes on average 3.5 million gallons of water
a year. "Lush" desert landscaping uses 958,000 gallons
a year, according to the water authority. The average household
of four uses about 326,000 gallons of water a year. In addition
to specific water-reduction proposals being pushed by some
government departments, North Las Vegas staffs are in the
process of completing a general review of city road medians,
parks and the municipal golf course to find places where grass
can be replaced with less water-intensive landscaping. Already
North Las Vegas has used City Hall to take a visible step
toward water conservation. Beginning about a year ago, the
city transformed what was a grass courtyard into its own Desert
Demonstration Garden, which is projected to save 2.3 million
gallons of water annually. For more information on how your
state can conserve water, please see this week's spotlight.
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Michigan
Land Strategy Stresses Incentives
(The Detroit News 7/6)
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's land use council is
expected to recommend a statewide bond issue as one way to
help foster urban redevelopment and farmland protection under
a strategy that is heavy on incentives and light on regulation.
Michigan voters would be asked to approve a bond issue similar
to a $600 million Ohio bond issue that uses about half of
the funds for rebuilding cities and half for farmland protection.
Key recommendations in the draft report written by Michigan
Land Use Leadership Council include creation of "agriculture
security zones," and state funding incentives for "commerce
centers" that would spur multijurisdictional land use
initiatives in the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent
and Genesee. State recognition of such centers is in keeping
with the council's emphasis on a "new urbanism"
aimed at reducing overall land consumption by encouraging
denser development and redevelopment of urban areas for mixed
uses, while preserving farmland. The 32-member council, appointed
by Granholm and legislative leaders, said its proposals are
designed "to fairly balance the interests of developers,
local governments, environmental organizations and citizens."
There is no guarantee the balancing act will be bought by
the Legislature, which is sure to be under heavy lobbying
pressure by conflicting interests, as it has been in the past.
For more on how your state can stop sprawl and revitalize
communities, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html
and http://www.serconline.org/community/pkg_frameset.html. |
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