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Endocrine
Disruptors
Information regarding the dangers of endocrine disruptors (EDCs)
dates back to 1923, although more attention has been paid to the
issue since the early 1990s. Endocrine disruptors are external agents
that interfere in some way with the role of natural hormones in
the body. An agent might disrupt the endocrine system by affecting
any of the various stages of hormone production and activity, including
the growth, development, and reproductive capabilities of an organism.
These external agents include well-known chemicals such as DDT and
PCBs, and lesser-known chemicals including Bisphenol A -- used in
many plastic products -- and endosulfans. It has been well established
that large doses of endocrine disruptors are especially harmful
to both humans and wildlife, but the consequences of low-dose exposure
has not been clarified. Further research needs to be done to establish
dose/response relationships and understand the modes of action for
the observed effects of EDCs. EDCs have been associated with the
thinning of eggshells and gonad deformities of birds of prey as
a result of DDT exposure, and a worldwide population decline of
gastropods as a result of an antifouling agent, TBT. For more information
about endocrine disruptors, visit: http://www.serconline.org/endoDisrupt.html. |
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Michigan
Bills Would Implement Permit Process for Water Withdrawals (Ann
Arbor News 3/3)
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-3/107831235861410.xml
Two Michigan legislators said today that they are ready to introduce
legislation that would, for the first time, regulate the amount
of water that can be pumped from wells and surface waters in Michigan.
The Michigan Water Legacy Act, sponsored by Rep. Chris Kolb and
Sen. Liz Brater, would require permits or conservation plans from
major users such as power plants, city water systems, golf courses,
and farmers who grow such heavily irrigated crops as potatoes and
seed corn. "The Great Lakes are being eyed by other states
as a potential source of free, fresh water," Gov. Jennifer
Granholm said in a statement announcing that the bill was ready
to be introduced. "Unless the state takes steps to better protect
and manage our water resources, we will see withdrawals and diversions
of water that threaten ecosystems, our way of life, and most importantly,
our economy." The legislation would require a permit for any
new water withdrawal in excess of 2 million gallons a day or 100
million gallons a year. The permits would be valid for 20 years.
The requirement would not apply to current water users, unless they
increase their usage. After 2009, large users that remained exempt
from the permits would be required to submit water management and
conservation plans. Sen. Brater cited recent studies by the U.S.
Geological Survey, which indicate groundwater pumping has lowered
the water table so far at some locations that underground aquifers
that once fed Lake Michigan are now actually drawing water away
from the lake. "This is a very urgent situation," Brater
said. "We've withdrawn so much water from our aquifers that
the lakes are flowing backward to fill them up." For more information
about regulating water withdrawals in your state, visit: http://www.serconline.org/groundwaterWithPermit/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Something
Stinks in the Iowa Legislature
The Iowa House Committee on Environmental Protection has introduced
HSB 695, a bill that would limit the ability of the state to regulate
the air quality of CAFOS, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
The bill restricts the ability of the state to create stricter standards
than those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and sets
standards for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor at standards that
will not allow for any enforcement. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide
are two components of CAFO air pollution that can be quite dangerous.
Both gases at levels of 20 ppb (parts per billion) can cause eye
and respiratory system irritation and can be dangerous to persons
with a weakened immune system. The levels that would trigger enforcement
under HSB 695 are levels as high as 70 ppb of hydrogen sulfide for
14 consecutive days and 1700 ppb of ammonia for 14 consecutive days.
Air emissions, including noxious odors, from CAFOs can be detected
up to six miles away and have been shown to decrease neighboring
property values and to decrease the quality of life for neighbors
of CAFOs . Last year, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources handed
down more stringent ambient air quality standards for both hydrogen
sulfide and ammonia, which were quickly repealed by the legislature.
This is clearly an attempt by owners of CAFOs to circumvent their
responsibility for their less than stellar environmental practices.
This smells similar to an amnesty agreement offered by the EPA,
in June 2003, which let some of the largest CAFO owners avoid prosecution
for current violations of the Clean Air Act in exchange for a self-run
study to look into the issue. HSB 695 should be stopped before it
is brought to the full legislature, and sensible standards, which
protect the workers and neighbors of these environmental disasters,
should be put in place. For more information on air emissions from
CAFOs, visit: http://www.serconline.org/cafoAirEmissions.html. |
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California
Sprawl Initiatives Falter (San Francisco Chronicle
3/3)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/03/BAG1A5D1C91.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/03/politics0344EST0053.DTL
Two separate county initiatives to curb sprawl failed last
week, as voters rejected a number of proposed referendum questions.
In Contra Costa County, voters rejected a measure that would
have outlawed huge stores in unincorporated areas, a move
that could affect plans by retail giant Wal-Mart to bring
40 supercenters to California. Last year, the Board of Supervisors
voted, in a pre-emptive move, to ban the box-style development,
but a campaign was waged to bring the issue to ballot. Supporters
of the ban argued local officials should be able to determine
the type of development that occurs in their community. In
San Diego County, voters rejected the Rural Lands Initiative,
which would have put a 20-year ban on the subdivision of more
than 1,000 square miles of "backcountry" -- an area
of dry hills, farms, and brush-covered mountains. The county
rejected a similar measure in 1998. Four California counties
have passed similar measures. For more information on how
your state can curb sprawl, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Maryland
Computer Recycling Bill Advances in Legislature (NCEL
3/3)
http://www.ncel.net/
Maryland HB 109, a bill to develop a comprehensive plan and
funding mechanism for computer recycling, was approved last
week by the state House Environmental Matters Committee. "Developing
this plan is a critical step to protect the environment and
public health," said Delegate Maggie McIntosh, Chair
of the House Environmental Matters Committee. "This is
a long-term and complex problem, one that we must begin to
tackle now." Irresponsibly discarded computers represent
one of the fastest growing toxic waste streams in the U.S.;
it is estimated that there will soon be 300 to 600 million
obsolete computers across the country. Computers contain lead,
mercury, cadmium, and flame retardants, and are potentially
highly toxic when discarded in landfills and incinerators.
Maryland public health officials who support the bill say
it will help prevent future illnesses. Delegate Dan Morhaim,
who introduced the legislation, is the only physician in the
Maryland House of Delegates. The bill now goes before the
entire MD House of Delegates for consideration. For more information
on what your state can do to prevent the growing problem of
electronic waste, visit http://www.serconline.org/ewaste/pkg_frameset.html. |
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New
Mexico: City of Albuquerque to Protect Xeriscaping (Albuquerque
Tribune 3/3)
http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/030204_news_council.shtml
Albuquerque city councilors say they are looking after the
public welfare by encouraging water-saving xeriscaped lawns.
The council voted 6-3 in favor of a bill that prohibits covenants
against xeriscaping from being enforced. Councilor Martin
Heinrich, the bill's sponsor, says it simply gives property
owners the right to choose whether they want to xeriscape
their lawns. In recent years, at least two homeowners have
been sued by property owner associations for ripping out their
turf to xeriscape for water conservation. City Attorney Bob
White said the council can legally restrict covenants when
a greater public interest is involved. In this case, Heinrich
said, the interest is in protecting the city's water supply.
Covenants are often established to govern the appearance of
homes in real estate developments, with the intent to give
neighborhoods a uniform look and prevent the appearance of
deterioration and ultimately protect property values. Several
people spoke in favor of the ordinance. "We feel every
homeowner ought to have the right to choose if they want to
water a lawn," said Sander Rue, vice president of the
Rancho Sereno Neighborhood Association. "We feel, if
Albuquerque residents wish to conserve water, they should
have the right to do that. People should be able to choose
their own landscaping," Defenders of Wildlife water counsel
Kara Gillon said. The bill becomes law 90 days after it reaches
Mayor Martin Chavez's desk. Chavez is expected to sign it. |
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Oregon
Adopts More Stringent Water Quality Standards (Statesman
Journal 3/3)
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=76343
A successful lawsuit brought against the state by Northwest
Environmental Advocates of Portland has prompted Oregon to
pass tougher water standards intended to protect endangered
trout and salmon. While old standards used a uniform temperature
for all waterways and all seasons, new standards adhere to
optimal water temperatures that vary throughout the year and
in different tributaries for different endangered species.
Discharges from all pipes and nonpoint pollution sources will
be affected. The new rules will be effective immediately,
but cities and industrial sites are only required to demonstrate
compliance when they renew their water quality permits (about
every five years). Some environmentalists and others are concerned
that the change will do little to improve the health or populations
of the endangered fish they seek to protect. These concerns
stem from the fact that the state lacks stringent standards
for where to conduct temperature measurements, as well as
disagreements over optimal temperatures for spawning fish.
The new rules will not require a substantial temperature change
for many waterways, and some argue that the state is limiting
environmental protections in favor of business interests.
"Political powers do not want to be more restrictive
on logging and farming and grazing," said Nina Bell,
executive director of the group that filed the lawsuit. "So
we've seen governor after governor, along with legislatures,
not doing anything to change the status quo." |
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California
County Voters Ban Biotech Crops (Press Democrat 3/3;
Mercury News 3/4)
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/vote04/local/03gmo_a1.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/8103136.htm
Mendocino County voters enacted the first ban in the nation
to bar genetically modified crops and animals last week. Pushed
by organic farmers, who admit the move is largely symbolic
at this point, Measure H was approved by a margin of 56% to
44%, and appears to have set a precedent that other counties
may try to emulate. Groups in Sonoma and Humboldt counties
already are preparing drives to qualify similar initiatives
on the November ballot. It appears, however, that local opponents
and CropLife America (a consortium of agri-business interests)
are poised either to file a lawsuit to overturn the ban or
advocate for statewide legislation that would nullify the
county ban. For more information on genetically modified organisms,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/geFood/index.html. |
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Alaska
Bill Gives Priority to Fish and Game Consumption (Anchorage
Daily News 3/2)
http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4805037p-4746452c.html
Alaska Sen. Seekins has introduced a bill that would give
priority to fish and game consumption, in conflicts over how
to allocate natural resources. The bill would instruct the
department and the boards of fish and game to give more weight
to consumption of fish and game, rather than uses such as
wildlife viewing and research, in making management and allocation
decisions. However, some officials question the full intent
of the bill and what consequences the commercial fishing and
tourism industries may face as a consequence of the bill.
Wayne Regelin, deputy commissioner of the Department of Fish
and Game, said department staff strongly support hunting and
fishing, but they have concerns about Seekins' bill. Making
it a "fundamental right" could hamstring the department's
ability to regulate the activity, including requiring licenses
and enforcing trespass laws. Sen. Seekins said telling the
department to view hunting and fishing as a right when deciding
management and allocation does not mean the activity could
not be regulated. |
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Arizona
Bill Would Have State Pay for Tank Cleanups (Arizona
Republic 3/2)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0302leakingtanks02.html
Arizona taxpayers would foot the bill for cleaning up leaking
underground storage tanks for the next six years, whether
they belong to large oil companies or mom-and-pop operations,
under a bill that is advancing at the state legislature. Tank
owners would have to report any leaks by July 2006 and file
their claims by 2010. The 1-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax that
has been paying for the cleanups would expire in 2011, leaving
tank owners and operators responsible for their own cleanups
after that date. Although HB 2677 passed the House Environment
Committee on a unanimous vote, several committee members had
reservations. Rep. Ken Clark questioned why the state would
not follow its current policy, upheld by a Maricopa County
Superior Court judge in January, which puts primary financial
responsibility on the tank owner. He was referring to a case
involving Bennett Oil, a Prescott firm operated by Senate
President Ken Bennett and his family. Bennett Oil applied
for reimbursement from the State Assurance Fund for costs
related to cleaning up leaking gas-storage tanks. The Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) rejected the claim,
noting that the firm had insurance coverage for those expenses.
The case revolved around a shift in how the ADEQ treated cleanup
claims. For years, the agency used the State Assurance Fund
as the primary source of cleanup dollars. But that changed
with the Bennett Oil case in 2002, when agency directors questioned
why taxpayers should be paying for costs covered by tank operators'
insurance. Since then, the agency has rejected 111 such claims
from other companies, saving taxpayers $5.2 million. |
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WA:
Agency Wants Orca Added to State's Endangered Species List
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3/2)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/162785_orcas02.html
Due to an alarming decline in the Puget Sound's orca population,
the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants the whales
added to the state's list of endangered species. A shortage
of salmon, their favorite food, combined with high levels
of toxic substances in the orcas and harassment by overzealous
whale watchers are blamed for the decline. Although the National
Marine Fisheries Service ruled in 2002 that the animals were
not eligible for federal endangered species status, local
advocates of listing the orcas at the state level believe
that the state is taking the right steps to help protect remaining
whales. States have assumed an increasingly prominent role
in issuing and enforcing environmental protections, and the
listing of Washington whales could prompt stricter monitoring
of water pollution violations. State-level listing could help
raise national awareness over the orca decline; Canada has
already listed the species as endangered. Washington's Fish
and Wildlife Commission is expected to issue a decision over
whether to list the animals early next month. For more information
on how your state can act to protect declining species, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html. |
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IL:
Lawmakers Want to Reverse Bush Administration Air Standards
(Lincoln Courier 3/2)
http://www.lincolncourier.com/news/04/02/25/c.asp
Illinois state lawmakers are sponsoring bills to reverse the
Bush Administration's changes to clean air regulation in their
state, because the loopholes President Bush added to the Clean
Air Act in 2002 have hurt the people of Illinois. "It's
not rocket science; air pollution causes disease," said
Brian Urbaszweski of the American Lung Association. Pollution
in Illinois is linked to 1,700 deaths and 33,000 asthma attacks
every year, he added. Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Elaine Nekritz
sponsored HB 6555 and SB 3147, which would set Illinois clean
air policy at the levels required in 2002, before the Bush
Administration's changes. The Bush Administration's changes
scale back the requirements for Illinois' 22 coal-burning
power plants to update their air-cleaning technology, by allowing
polluters to pick the highest emission level from the past
10 years at a facility -- instead of the past two years --
as the maximum level of pollution allowed, and changing the
requirements for installing pollution reduction technology.
Before the federal government can order a technology upgrade,
plants must do a major renovation, costing more than 20 percent
of the value of the property. For more information on cleaning
up power plants, visit: http://www.serconline.org/clean/index.html. |
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New
Mexico New Laws Promote Green Energy (Santa Fe New
Mexican 3/5)
http://www.sfnewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=41437
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed several bills into
law this week to help boost green energy in his state. The
first law was a provision requiring utilities to produce 10
percent of their energy through renewable sources by 2011.
The law also gives utilities authority to create green-power
programs that allow individual customers to buy and sell renewable
energy at a premium price. The other new laws create tax incentives
for people who buy energy-efficient vehicles and support renewable
energy development. One measure allocates about $200,000 for
efforts to spur and organize hydrogen research and development
and another allots $500,000 for renewable energy-saving upgrades
to state buildings, schools, and nonprofit organizations.
In addition, the legislature appropriated about $2.6 million
out of the governor's budget for energy upgrades at state
and school buildings. The governor had requested $6 million.
Several of the governor's proposals died in the legislature,
including a bill that would have created a bonding mechanism
to promote energy-efficiency upgrades, which pay for themselves
in lower utility bills. For more ideas on how your state can
promote green power and energy efficiency, visit: http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergy.html. |
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FL:
Battle Looming over Manatee Protection, Boat Speed Limits
(News-Press 3/5)
http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040227manatee.html
In an effort to continue to protect manatees, a federal- and
state-listed endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) reinstituted state boat speed limits in certain
waters, ignoring a ruling by Twentieth Circuit Senior Judge
Jack Schoonover, which held that state speed zones in five
areas of the county were unconstitutional. The USFWS acted
in response to the ruling, stating that the zones in question
are critically important manatee protection areas. Some boaters
and county officials are upset and are seeking further legal
recourse. Environmentalists praised the decision, citing the
dangers to manatees from speeding boats. The vegetation and
shallow waters that attract manatees are also great fishing
areas. Getting to their feeding sites often takes manatees
down narrow streams. Manatees are not fast swimmers and they
surface every few minutes for a breath of air. Most adult
manatees bear the telltale scars of past encounters with boat
propellers. Many manatees are killed by such accidents. There
are currently no speed restrictions in the manatee protection
zones in question. For more information on how your state
can protect endangered species, visit: http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html. |
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MN:
Senate Bill Offering Bounty for Mercury Advances (Pioneer
Press 3/5)
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/8100059.htm
The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee in
Minnesota passed a bill this week making it easier to recover
and recycle mercury from switches in automobiles. Mercury
is a potent neurotoxin, no level of which is safe to release
into the environment, and can pose a serious public health
threat. The bill shifts the burden of removing the mercury
from automakers to the state Office of Environmental Assistance,
but still has automakers pay administrative costs and a $1
bounty for each mercury switch or pellet recovered. The committee
also simplified the paperwork expected of recyclers by requiring
them to keep track only of the number of cars and switches.
While the mercury contained in the switches is a relatively
small portion of the mercury used in Minnesota, the committee
sees a good opportunity to capture the mercury before it's
wasted. They and industry representatives contend auto salvagers
don't recover nearly as many mercury switches as they should
because they see little financial incentive to do so. When
vehicles with the switches are shredded and smelted, mercury
is released into the atmosphere, with some of the neurotoxin
eventually getting back into the food chain. For more ways
to curb mercury releases in your state, visit: http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html. |
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