Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that funds statewide collection and recycling of e-waste, and requires toxic materials like lead and mercury to be eliminated from electronic products sold in the state by 2007. It also establishes a first-in-the-nation ban on the export of e-waste to foreign countries with less stringent environmental protection laws. Computer and television buyers will pay a $6-10 fee to fund the effort. Cathode ray tubes in the monitors of these products contain lead and mercury and have been banned from landfills since 2001. The EPA estimates that these sources account for 40 percent of lead and 70 percent of heavy metals, like mercury and cadmium, found in landfills. Other states are also concerned with this problem and more than 50 similar, though less comprehensive, bills were introduced in the last legislative session. For more information on electronic waste regulation, visit: http://www.serconline.org/ewaste/pkg_frameset.html.

Last Friday, Oregon's State Board of Education adopted rules removing mercury from schools, in accordance with a 2001 state law. School and local officials and environmentalists cited many concerns justifying the move, including mercury's toxicity, children's susceptibility to mercury poisoning, and high mercury clean-up costs. In addition, reasonably-priced alternatives exist for all instructional uses of mercury and mercury-containing equipment. Mark Taratoot of the Corvallis Public Works Department described the importance of the rule: "Although schools do not constitute one of the largest sources of mercury to the environment, they are places where mercury and children may come together, leading to dangerous and often expensive situations." Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality called the new rules "an important part of DEQ's mercury reduction strategy." For information on how to protect children from dangerous chemicals at school, visit: http://www.serconline.org/chemicals/index.html. For more information on reducing mercury poisoning in your state, see: http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html.

State Senators are trying to get Michiganians to recycle. At just 20 percent of its solid waste, the state's recycling rate is the lowest in its region and one of the lowest in the country. A Senate task force recently released a 64 page report on how to improve the situation. Task force recommendations include a statewide recycling program with clear goals, a ban on beverage containers in state landfills, and a $50 million recycling fund generated by a new $3-per-ton surcharge on truckloads of solid waste. Some 40 pieces of legislation are expected to be introduced in response to the report. While the effort has wide support, some have criticized the task force for not backing an expansion of the state's bottle law. The law mandates a ten-cent deposit on "pop" and beer cans; 95 percent of these containers are currently recycled. Local environmentalists and some legislators want to expand the law to include sports drinks, bottled water, tea, and juice drinks. The task force warned that logistics need to be addressed before an estimated 800 million new containers are added to the system, and recommended the establishment of an advisory council to develop strategies. For more information on bottle bills, visit: http://www.serconline.org/bottlebill/index.html.

State laws on the location and construction of schools can encourage smart growth -- or contribute to traffic congestion, smog, urban sprawl, and low levels of physical activity. That's what the EPA concluded in its recent report, "Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting." The report says that many states fund school construction in such a way that new school buildings are favored over the renovation of existing structures. As more land is developed for new schools, housing developments, roads, and utilities follow, sprawl increases, and fewer students bike or walk to school. According to the National Household Travel Survey, less than 16 percent of students walked or biked to school in 2001, as compared to 48 percent in 1969. Some policies are changing: South Carolina passed a law eliminating minimum acreage requirements for schools, and Milwaukee officials chose to expand and renovate existing schools to minimize new construction. On the federal level, healthy schools and smart growth advocates hope that a measure increasing funding for pedestrian safety programs will be included in the next six-year transportation bill. For more information on how to combat sprawl, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html.

The BIG Map, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) blueprint for intelligent growth, has been a matter of contention ever since it was released. The BIG Map designated different areas in terms of their environmental sensitivity. The BIG Map made areas labeled as "sensitive" difficult to develop, and allowed projects in less sensitive areas to be fast-tracked. The BIG Map was criticized by builders, who complained about the building restrictions it put on certain areas, and by elected officials, who complained that it either made development too easy in their area or ignored locally drawn growth plans. DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who was the originator of the BIG Map, has now decided to scrap it. In place of the BIG Map, the DEP will refer to the State Plan Map, which was drawn over a decade ago as part of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan. Supporters of the BIG Map and of regional planning say that the BIG Map was not altogether a failure. They say that the release and subsequent abandonment of the BIG Map actually helped move things forward by making the State Plan Map seem much more agreeable to its opponents than it had previously. The DEP plans to propose revisions of the State Plan Map, and create rules that will address growth concerns similar to those addressed by the BIG Map. Dave Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, and a supporter of the BIG Map, believes that the DEP will still maintain its authority over the State Planning Commission. “DEP has been developing and will continue to develop natural resources data that should be a critical component of where we build," Pringle said. For more information about sprawl, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html.

There are more than 2000 artificial reefs that lie near the coast of Florida. Proponents of the artificial reefs, which are built from anything from wrecked ships to old refrigerators, say that they create valuable habitats for marine life. But some environmentalists worry that the reefs could be contributing to the depletion of some fish. Their concern is that the artificial reefs, which are popular with fisherman, attract fish, making them more vulnerable and, hence, lead to the dwindling of populations of fish such as snapper and grouper. State wildlife officials are drawing up a plan to regulate the construction of artificial reefs and to study their environmental impact. The plan, still in its drafting stage, has been denounced by some environmental groups who say that many of the important conservation measures, which were included in the original draft, have been removed by the Fish and Wildlife Commission appointed by the Governor. According to Marianne Cufone, regional conservation program manager for the Ocean Conservancy, "[The] environmental components have been withdrawn, and they've changed to focus on economics instead of conservation." One of the issues of contention has to do with designated no-fishing zones. The restricted zones, which were intended to help protect the depleted species and allow the environmental impacts of the reefs to be studied, were removed from the plan by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Power companies in New Hampshire have been squabbling with the Public Utilities Commission over a law passed more than a year ago. The law requires energy providers to distribute information disclosing the mix of resources in their product, emission levels of pollutants, and a comparison between their average emission levels and those of all other New England power sources. The purpose of the bill is to offer consumers more choices by providing them with information about the energy which they purchase. The Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), the state's largest electric utility, argues that the law does not require them to report to all of their customers. PSNH also complains that the reporting guidelines proposed in the law are too strict and costly. The issue is currently before a joint House and Senate rules committee. Similar disclosure laws exist in a number of states including Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Proponents of such laws say that they are important tool to help customers make a direct correlation between their consumption habits and the environmental and human health impacts associated with their energy consumption. For more information about environmental disclosure laws, please visit http://www.serconline.org/envirodisclosure/index.html.

Gov. Perdue announced plans last week that will shape his environmental policy intended to protect Georgia's water and green spaces, in conjunction with introducing his choice to head the state's environmental protection agency. An executive order was issued last Monday to restart the state's failed water planning efforts, with hopes of presenting a water management plan to the legislature by January. A 12-member council, including the commissioners of agriculture and natural resources, will work to balance the growing demands on the state's water supply. Gov. Perdue also announced a statewide land conservation plan which will signal a new attempt at a public-private initiative to identify and preserve critical areas of protection. An advisory panel would be created to inform the governor of necessary actions to preserve areas, especially a review of state law to help convince land owners not to sell their property to developers. For more information on how your state can preserve important pieces of land, visit: http://www.serconline.org/conservationfunding/index.html.

In a move that threatens the existence of an innovative pesticide registry program, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (DOA) will cease fee collections from pesticide makers, which are being used to fund a registry of commercial pesticide use. The registry would record the type and amount of pesticides being used by businesses and institutions. DOA officials fault the legislature for not providing enough general-fund money to start the registry. The money appropriated by the legislature must equal the amount collected in fees, and the legislature only contributed $60,000 for the system this biennium. A spokesman for the DOA contends that this amount plus $60,000 collected in fees will employ one person to run the registry through 2004. The DOA needs about $200,000 in state money to finish developing and start the registry. The pesticide director for the Oregon Environmental Council said agriculture department officials can and should continue collecting and using the fee money because the law is legally in effect.