Stopping
the Spread of Invasive Species
Invasive species are non-native species that wreak environmental and economic
havoc in an ecosystem beyond their native range. Invasive species kill
our trees, invade our lawns, and clog our water pipes. They threaten our
families with deadly diseases like cholera and West Nile Virus. They upset
the sensitive balance of our ecosystems by destroying habitats, disrupting
the food chain, and out-competing our native plants and animals. We are
quickly losing the battle to stop the spread of invasive species. Experts
estimate that invasive species cost our nation more than $135 billion
annually. Three million acres, an area twice the size of the state of
Delaware, are lost to invasive plants each year. Invasive species have
contributed to the decline of 46 percent our nation's threatened and endangered
species. For more on how you can prevent foreign species invasions in
your state, including a management bill, an executive order, talking points,
press clips, a fact pack, research, and other background information,
visit http://www.serconline.org/invasives/pkg_frameset.html. |
Budget
Crunch May Curb Massachusetts' State Fleet of SUVs (Boston
Globe 1/23/03)
As environmental concerns over SUV gas-guzzlers mount, Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney's administration is considering eliminating all but the most
"essential" sport utility vehicles in the state government fleet,
in favor of lighter, smaller cars that get better mileage. In addition,
scores of state employees may be asked to give up their state-provided
cars altogether and told to use Zipcars instead, the pay-by-the-hour car
service being tested in Boston and Cambridge and touted as an alternative
to owning a car in urban areas. "The price tag for SUVs is 50 percent
more than regular cars and it's 50 percent more to operate," said Douglas
Foy, the newly appointed coordinator of housing, transportation, environment,
and energy under Governor Mitt Romney. "Aside from the environmental
issue, it's a budget issue in these austere times." The development reflects
a broader rethinking about SUVs. The oversized vehicles have been hugely
popular during the past decade, but in recent months they have increasingly
become the target of public criticism. This month, President Bush's package
of tax cuts, which boosts the deduction that small businesses can take
for new SUVs, also set off anger. Foy, formerly president of the Conservation
Law Foundation, a major environmental advocacy group, is a big fan of
Zipcars as a way to cut down on the need for every city dweller to own
and operate a car. In the Zipcar system, users pay a deposit and sign
up to use a car in the service's fleet, picking it up at a special parking
space, using it for a period of time, and returning it to the nearest
Zipcar space when they are done. |
Wisconsin
Green Budget Report Released (WisPIRG;
COWS 1/27/03)
A coalition of 20 public interest, environmental, religious, and
conservation organizations released a new report that highlights
11 specific ways Wisconsin State government could protect taxpayers
and the environment at the same time. The "Wisconsin Green
Budget Project" was written by the Wisconsin Public Interest
Research Group (WISPIRG) and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)
at UW-Madison, and it points to programs that cost Wisconsin taxpayers
as much as $225 million over the next two years while polluting
Wisconsin's environment. The programs highlighted in the report
include tax breaks for polluters, inadequate pollution fees, environmentally
harmful projects such as road expansion, and poor enforcement. One
of the areas highlighted, energy efficiency, could save 10 to 20
percent of the state's energy costs simply by switching to more
efficient light bulbs and heaters and turning off lights and computers
in state buildings. For more on how you can trim expensive harmful
practices from your state's budget, see http://www.serconline.org/greenscissors.html.
|
| back
to top |
| |
Pollution
Linked to Low Birth Weights in African-Americans
(NY Times 1/17/03)
Pollutants in the air in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx have
been linked to lower birth weights and smaller skulls in African-American
babies, according to a long-term study on the unusually high rate
of childhood asthma in those areas. In a paper to be published next
month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers
at Columbia University found that African-American women exposed
to high levels of everyday pollutants in automobile exhaust, cigarette
smoke and incinerators in the third trimester of pregnancy tended
to have smaller babies with smaller than average skulls. Dr. Frederica
Perera, director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental
Health, said the study's findings were particularly troubling because
low birth weight and smaller skulls had been found to correspond
with poor health and mental problems later in life. The study, which
began in 1998, will follow children from before birth until their
fifth birthdays and possibly beyond, Dr. Perera said. Researchers
will measure the children's overall health, breathing, cognitive
abilities and school performance to try to determine what role,
if any, urban pollutants play in the health and mental problems
that plague children in cities. |
| back
to top |
| |
New
York State Supports Industrial Energy Efficiency
(nyserda.org)
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
is a program to promote industrial energy efficiency. Funding for
projects comes from NYSERDA's New York Energy $mart program,
which is designed to lower electricity costs by encouraging energy
efficiency as the State's electric utilities move to competition.
All New York Energy $mart programs are funded by a System Benefits
Charge (SBC) paid by electric distribution customers of participating
utilities. Additional information about these programs can be obtained
at www.nyserda.org
or 1-866-NYSERDA. |
| back
to top |
| |
EPA
Urged to Audit Louisiana DEQ Pollution Program
(Times Picayune 1/20/03)
Mounting complaints concerning air pollution limits may force the
federal government to review Baton Rouge's methods for meeting ozone
emission standards set by the Clean Air Act. The complaints target
a program that allows businesses offsets to sell credits or utilize
past reduction credits in order to make current pollution limits.
The program was set back in 2000 when its formal banking system
was abolished after a lawsuit. Individuals with the Tulane Environmental
Law Clinic feel the DEQ's poor record system makes it difficult
to accurately determine if a company has any credits available.
Baron Rogue is one of the 82 cities which has failed to meet federal
ozone emission standards. For more information on how to clean the
air in your state, visit http://www.serconline.org/clean/stateactivity.html.
|
| back
to top |
| |
California
Governor Plans to Hike Fees for Polluters
(Sacramento Bee, 1/21/03)
While California's Gov. Gray Davis looks to taxpayers to shoulder
much of the burden in balancing a state budget shortfall, the governor
also wants farms and other businesses to pony up more money for
using pesticides, releasing runoff into waterways or spewing air
emissions. Davis is pushing for these so-called "polluter pays"
fee increases to help fund three pollution regulatory agencies.
In asking for higher fees, Davis wants to keep money in the state
treasury and alleviate the agencies' dependence on the more volatile,
taxpayer-fed general fund. Tucked inside Davis' $96.4 billion budget
proposal is an increase in a small tax on a broad range of pesticides
used on food crops and other agricultural products, as well as some
products used by consumers, such as chlorine for swimming pools.
Davis' proposal also calls for raising more than $10 million in
fees for industries regulated by state air officials and $13.6 million
in fees for those overseen by state water regulators, yet the targeted
industries and the fee amount are unknown. For more on polluter
fees, see http://www.serconline.org/fiscalreform/pkg_frameset.html. |
| back
to top |
| |
New
Efforts to Ban Canadian Trash from Michigan Landfills
(Detroit News 1/22/03)
Two bills will be introduced to Congress to allow states such as
Michigan to ease imported trash. One bill seeks to enforce a 1986
agreement between the U.S. and Canada that requires either nation
to notify the other before sending trash its way. The second is
a reintroduced bill that would allow states to ban landfills from
accepting foreign garbage. Lawmakers have been unable to overcome
the North American Free Trade Agreement and a 1992 Supreme Court
decision that declared trash just another commodity regulated by
Congress. Congress has been reluctant to act, perhaps in part because
states such as New York have become major trash exporters. But despite
these legal and political obstacles that have made Michigan the
nation's third-largest trash importer, local residents still support
the legislation. Outside waste accounted for 20 percent of the 19
million tons of garbage buried in Michigan landfill in the 2002
budget year, state figures reveal. Michigan Senate Majority Leader
Ken Sikkema declared that his goal for this year is pressuring Congress
to let Michigan pass an all-out ban on Canadian trash. |
| back
to top |
| |
Private
Lab Fraud Undermining Env. Protections
(ENN 1/22/03)
Implementation and enforcement of environmental laws relies in part
on the testing of air, land and water done by private labs. Alarmingly,
some of these labs are providing false test results, hampering our
ability to protect ourselves and the environment. These labs do
the testing required to certify that companies are complying with
anti-pollution laws and other environmental regulations. Whether
because of poor training, lack of ethics, or cost-cutting, the labs
(independently or in collusion with the companies that hire them)
may even make up test results. The increase in lab fraud, and related
prosecution, is a disturbing trend. According to EPA officials,
accurate test results are needed to protect public health.
|
| back
to top |
| |
Executives
at Firms that Pollute Delaware May Face Prison
(The News Journal 1/23/03)
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner and several legislators want some corporate
officials to face criminal charges for serious environmental violations
and be required to sign sworn statements each year pledging that
their companies are obeying environmental laws. Those measures are
to be included in two soon to be introduced bills to strengthen
the state's ability to punish companies that repeatedly or, knowingly,
violate clean air and water laws. While voters have asked for tougher
environmental enforcement since the July 2001 tank collapse and
acid spill at the Motiva Enterprises refinery and the recent abandonment
of a heavily contaminated site by Metachem Products, some legislators
are worried the this legislation would hurt the state's business
climate and drive companies away from Delaware. Other legislators
say the bills strike a balance between the need for more accountability
and the desire to retain a business climate. |
| back
to top |
| |
WA
Governor Offers Water Legislation (Seattle
Post-Intelligencer 1/24/03)
Gov. Gary Locke has released new water legislation, saying it will
help secure long-term water supplies while protecting the environment.
The package of bills would give municipal water suppliers incentives
to conserve water and help utilities make changes to existing water
rights, among other things. His bills are more focused around cities'
water rights than in years past. Two of the measures address unresolved
issues surrounding the management and use of water rights by municipal
water suppliers. Another bill would allow for the creation of watershed
or regional water banks. It would also simplify the process of transferring
a water right to a state trust. Locke has proposed a $16 million
package in the state capital budget to provide safe drinking water
and water storage. The money also would be used to resolve conflicts
over the municipal and agricultural use of water versus the need
to preserve fish habitat, he said. |
| back
to top |
| |
Coal
Bed Methane Bills Seek Responsible Development
(Northern Plains Resource Council 1/23/03)
This week, Montana lawmakers will consider a pair of bills designed
to ensure coal bed methane is developed in a way that protects irrigation
water and the private property rights of farmers and ranchers. HB
380 would require coal bed methane companies to acquire a permit
before discharging high-sodium coal bed methane wastewater into
river and streams, and would prohibit the discharge of methane wastewater
until the state adopts numeric water quality standards. According
to a recent poll by the Billings Gazette, 64 percent of Montanan's
favor the establishment of numeric water quality standards for salty
coal bed methane water. The Senate Natural Resources Committee will
review Senate Bill 240, which would require methane companies to
negotiate surface use agreements with landowners who face unwanted
methane development on their land. Coal bed methane is a form of
natural gas held in coal seams by water pressure. To release the
gas, developers withdraw massive volumes of high-sodium groundwater.
The majority of this wastewater is discharged into rivers and streams,
or unlined impoundments. 18,300 methane wells are expected in Montana,
many of which will be drilled over the strenuous objections of private
landowners. Many landowners do not own the minerals under their
land, leaving them powerless to keep methane development from occurring
on their land. |
| back
to top |
| |
Wyoming
Senate Panel Sheds Light on Bill to Keep Skies Dark
(Billings Gazette 1/22/03)
In a preemptive move to prevent the proliferation of light pollution
in its state, Wyoming state legislators on the Senate Corporations,
Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee recommended Senate
File 49 and Senate File 48 last week. Senate File 49, which grants
local governments the power to enact ordinances to reduce light
pollution, was recommended after debate regarding direct regulation
vs. local control of light ordinances and protests from sign and
billboard companies and Kennecott Energy. Senate File 48 requires
utilities to offer consumers light fixtures which limit light pollution.
Both measures will now be debated on the Senate Floor. For more
on energy efficiency, visit http://www.serconline.org/efficiencystandards/index.html.
|
| back
to top |
| |
Comprehensive
Review Sought for Indiana Coal Plant
(Indianapolis Star 1/21/03)
The Indiana Clean Energy Campaign is calling for a comprehensive
review of the Clifty Creek Power Plant in response to requests to
renew the federal air and water discharge permits. The comprehensive
review would include a look at the plant's total pollution
load and potential health consequences, rather than individual limits
set by the permits. Even though the plant has made steps to decrease
its output of toxins, it released 5.5 million pounds in 2000. The
Indiana Clean Energy Campaign calls it a unique opportunity to review
the impacts of a classic example of an old, inefficient coal-power
plant. For more information on how to reform old power plants in
your state, visit http://www.serconline.org/clean/index.html.
|
| back
to top |
|
