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Pay
as You Drive Auto Insurance
Conventional auto insurance policies charge motorists a fixed rate
for a specified period of coverage. This system overcharges low-mileage
drivers, who are a lower risk to the insurance companies, in order
to provide affordable insurance for high-mileage and high-risk drivers.
Because it is a fixed charge, these policies encourage an all-you-can-drive
mentality, resulting in more energy use, pollution, and traffic
congestion. The high cost of such plans often encourages low-income
individuals or those who have a second, rarely-driven car to go
without insurance. Pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurance policies are
designed to correct these flaws. PAYD policies charge drivers more,
the more they drive their car. They still incorporate traditional
rate factors like driver history, location, and vehicle type, but
charge on a per-mile or per-minute basis. PAYD options more accurately
reflect the true cost of driving a car – the likelihood of
crashes, fuel use, emissions that contribute to pollution, and traffic
congestion. It rewards drivers who minimize their driving. It also
encourages low-income individuals or families with second cars to
own auto insurance, decreasing the number of uninsured drivers on
the road. For more information on pay as you drive auto insurance,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/payd/index.html.
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Northeast
States File Legal Action Against Power Company for Air Pollution
(New York Times 5/21; Washington Post 5/20)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/21/nyregion/21clean.html; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43546-2004May20.html
Attorneys General of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut instigated
legal action against Allegheny Energy Inc., based in Greensburg,
PA, on May 20 for producing air pollutants from coal fired plants
in West Virginia that drift across state lines and contribute to
smog and acid rain in New England. The litigation seeks to force
the company to install antipollution equipment in five coal-fired
electric generating plants that federal environmental officials
were investigating until the Bush administration changed its enforcement
policy for the Clean Air Act last year. The company said its plants
were not violating pollution laws. Nevertheless, they have 60 days
to negotiate a settlement. If one is not reached, the case will
proceed. The action represents the latest action in the continuing
struggle between Northeast states and utility companies concerning
high levels of pollution that drift eastward. It also underscores
the rising frustration among some Northeast officials who believe
that the Bush administration is hampering environmental enforcement.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Ohio Edison, a unit of First
Energy, had mislabeled extensive renovations on several coal plants
as "routine maintenance" and unlawfully avoided installing
upgraded pollution controls. The ruling buttressed the states' position.
But in the same month last year, a federal judge in North Carolina
offered a different interpretation of maintenance that seemed to
favor the companies' position. In that case, involving Duke Energy,
the judge interpreted "routine maintenance" broadly enough
to have included what federal regulators had considered major modifications.
For more information on clean power, visit: http://www.serconline.org/clean/index.html.
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Missouri
House Resolution Threatens Wildlife and Resource Conservation
The United States Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) recently endorsed
a Missouri House Joint Resolution, HJR35, which aims to make it
more difficult to bring wildlife-related measures to ballot for
citizens to vote on. Instead of protecting wildlife, the resolution
seeks to make it more difficult for citizens to do just that. The
provision reads, "No initiative proposal relating to the opportunity
to harvest, bird, fish, game, wildlife, or forestry resources shall
take effect unless approved by a two-thirds majority of the votes
cast…." Ballot measures are normally passed by a majority
of citizens, rather than a supermajority of 66 percent. This resolution
tries to place special interests above the interests of other citizens.
The taking of natural resources does not deserve to be placed above
the rights of other uses of natural resources, including preservation
and recreation. It is important to maintain that the natural resources
of a state need to be maintained for the public. The resolution
continues, "That this provision shall not apply to any initiative
proposal involving the amendment or repeal of sales taxes for conservation
purposes…." So changes to or elimination of funding for
conservation only requires a majority vote, but deciding how to
conserve resources requires a super majority? That doesn't make
sense. The USSA would have citizens believe that this resolution
would keep wildlife management in the hands of professions and away
from the whims of special interests. Instead this resolution protects
special interests by tying the hands of citizens. It is important
that the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, Parks and
Tourism not act on the foolish resolution and let it die this legislative
session. |
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NJ
Files "Toxic Damages" Lawsuits Against 12 Companies
(Star-Ledger 5/21)
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1085121409144680.xml
New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced last week that the
state has filed lawsuits against 12 companies to collect damages
to the state's natural resources. The damages being sought
in the lawsuit would compensate the state for environmental
damages beyond cleanup costs for the toxic contamination of
natural resources. Prominent corporations Viacom, Sony Music
Entertainment Inc., 7-Eleven, General Electric, IBM and AT&T
are among those being sued by the state. The companies are
being sued mostly for the contamination of various sites with
toxic resins and chemicals, some of which affect groundwater
and watershed areas. Businesses and business organizations
are complaining that taking such action makes the state appear
hostile to the business community in general. The state insists
that businesses have been well aware that the New Jersey Attorney
General's Office and Department of Environmental Protection
have been aggressively pursuing compensation for natural resource
damages since last year. |
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Colorado
Gov. Announces Plan to Curb Pollution (Rocky Mountain
News 5/21)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2903168,00.html
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens last week signed HB 1435, legislation
aimed at significantly reducing pollution in the state by
curbing emissions from oil and gas producing operations and
creating a low-emission gasoline blend for motorists to begin
using by June1. Gas and oil facilities will be required to
cut their ozone-forming pollutants by 37 1/8 percent next
year and by 10 percent the following year. The Early Action
Compact plan will focus on emissions reductions in a nine-county
area of the state, with the goal of achieving an overall 47
percent reduction in ozone in the next two years. The state
hopes that such action will reduce ozone-forming pollutants
from Front Range skies by as much as 80 tons each day and
keep the metro area in compliance with federal clean air standards.
Areas in the state have received non-attainment status with
respect to federal air standards at least several times each
year. Gov. Owens' signing of the bill made Colorado the first
state to submit an ozone plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. |
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States
Create Patchwork of Transgenic Crop Laws (ENS 5/19)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2004/2004-05-19-091.asp
(Subscription Required)
State legislatures in 2003 considered more measures dealing
with agricultural biotechnology than in the entire 2001-2002
legislative session, according to a new report released last
week by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. Thirty-two
states introduced 130 pieces of agricultural biotechnology
legislation in 2003, compared to the 121 pieces of legislation
introduced in 31 states during the first year of the 2001-2002
legislative session. No bills introduced in 2003 address the
violent or willful destruction of genetically modified crops,
unlike a majority of bills introduced in the 2001-2002 legislative
session. Legislators from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New York, Rhode Island and Vermont – states that have
a significant organic agricultural sector – introduced
five bills which seek moratoria, six bills on labeling requirements,
and three bills which could curb the introduction of agricultural
biotechnology in that region. Legislators from the Northern
Plains States - Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota - introduced
10 bills which reflect growing concern among wheat producers
over the market impact of applying genetic engineering technology
to wheat, a valuable export commodity for these states. Michael
Rodemeyer, executive director of the Pew Initiative on Food
and Biotechnology, commented that, "The 2003 legislative
session confirms our belief that the introduction of biotechnology
has given rise to a complex web of issues that vary from region
to region, and that state legislators may feel are inadequately
addressed at the federal level." For more information
about how your state can regulate genetically engineered crops,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/geFood/index.html. |
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Washington:
Grant to Increase Number of Green Buildings (Spokesman-Review
5/17)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/spokane-news story.asp?date=051704&ID=s1520584&cat=section.spokane
A $397,000 grant awarded last week will train about 500 construction
workers, architects, project managers and site superintendents
in a number of products designed to be more environmentally
friendly. The Job Skills Program grant was awarded through
the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and will
be managed by the Training and Education Coordination Center,
a branch of Institute for Extended Learning. According Jim
Wavada, a Department of Ecology worker who has trained architects
and designers about green technologies, said a series of trainings
would begin in July and would be offered for the next 15 months.
The need for the training has arisen because of an increasing
number of public buildings incorporating elements of green
design and practice. |
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California:
Senate OKs Solar-Home Requirement (Contra Costa Times
5/18)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/8692692.htm?1c
SB289, authored by Sen. Kevin Murray, requiring some California
homes to be equipped with solar panel systems, passed the
state Senate early last week. Beginning in 2006, the legislation
would require an as-yet-unspecified percentage of new single-family
homes in developments of 25 or more to be equipped with solar
panels capable of generating at least two kilowatts of power.
The percentage of new homes required to have solar power would
increase each year, also by an as-yet-unspecified amount,
until 2010. Supporters said the legislation would reduce the
state's dependence on fossil fuels and ease air pollution
while reducing energy costs, but opponents said it would add
to the already steep price of new homes. Sen. Bowen countered
that some opponents were ignoring the increased energy infrastructure
costs that will be needed to meet the state's demands. She
added that commercial buildings should be targeted for the
same type of solar mandate. For more information on additional
renewable energy tax incentives, visit: http://www.serconline.org/RenewableEnergyIncentives/index.html.
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Oregon
Calls Dams a Pollution Threat to Rivers (Oregonian
5/18)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1084881869205370.xml
Hydropower dams pose a substantial pollution threat to the
Columbia and Snake rivers, Washington's Department of Ecology
said Monday in a notice of violation to the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers. The state agency asked the corps to improve
operation and maintenance of nine dams, where 33 oil spills
have occurred since 1999. In the worst recent accident, about
1,300 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil drained into the river
from an electrical transformer at The Dalles Dam in January.
"If they had a spill tomorrow, they don't have the training
or equipment to respond effectively. More important, they
haven't done what's necessary to prevent spills in the first
place," said Mary-Ellen Voss, an Ecology Department spokeswoman.
The notice of violation said the corps has violated state
oil spill laws and the federal Clean Water Act. After the
January spill, independent investigators said poorly maintained
equipment, lax inspections and faulty planning by the corps
were to blame. They said that the corps' initial unrealistically
low estimates of the quantity of escaping oil "delayed
and hindered" efforts to contain the spill. The Department
of Ecology said that four smaller oil leaks at The Dalles
Dam since January show the lack of improvement in the corps'
ability to prevent and respond to spills. Chuck Donaldson
with Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality said his
agency also might take actions against the corps to ensure
compliance with state and federal laws. |
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Minnesota
Considers ATV Use on Wetlands (Herald-Review 5/12;
Minnesota Environmental Partnership) 5/14)
http://www.grandrapids-mn.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=172896;
http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_whatsnew.asp?new_id=666
Driving all terrain vehicles on wetlands was highly contentious
among Minnesota legislators with the introduction of legislation
authored by Sen. Dennis Frederickson that would open up ATV
use for different tasks including military, emergency, fire,
farming, logging and laying pipe. It would also allow travel
on frozen wetlands starting Oct. 1, 2009. But Sen. Frederickson
tabled the bill after an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Saxhaug
passed. The amendment broadened the allowed uses to include
travel on frozen wetlands and drier bog areas. It also opened
private land for some ATV use. Opponents argued it might hurt
wetlands or species that live in wetlands while supporters
said the amendment provided more commercial and recreational
opportunity for landowners and people of northern Minnesota,
where there is a vast amount of wetlands. Last year, the Legislature
passed legislation that restricts ATV use on wetlands even
if located on private property. The law also prohibits riders
from crossing restricted, marked public land to get to private
land. Although Sen. Frederickson's bill appears dead, a bill
written by Rep. Dennis Ozment, which borrows language from
the state's wetlands-protection law and applies it to the
use of all-terrain vehicles, passed. "This says we are
going to treat ATVs the same way as we treat all other impacts
to wetlands in this state," Ozment said. While the measure
would allow riders to use their judgment in deciding if riding
in a wetland will damage it, it also would provide the same
stiff penalties for those who damage or destroy wetlands,
Ozment said. The legislation wasn't heard in House committees
and no public testimony on how applying wetlands regulation
to ATVs would work was gathered. That caused some, especially
environmental advocates, to say the issued deserved closer
scrutiny. "There are a lot of recreational riders out
there, and probably not most of them, who see the word 'mud'
as a verb, and we've got laws on the books because of them,""
said John Curry, legislative director for the Minnesota Center
for Environmental Advocacy. Susan Solterman, the policy director
for Audubon Minnesota, said she found the measure troubling.
"Because it essentially just opens up to off-highway
vehicles all wetlands," she said. |
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Arizona
Voters Give OK to Conservation Spending (The Arizona
Republic 5/21)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0521preserve21.htmll
Voters in Scottsdale, Pima and Flagstaff Arizona last week
approved $687 million in bond measures for land conservation.
Leaders in the Arizona business community are saying that
open space is critical to Arizona's economy, which depends
so much on tourism and "New Economy" knowledge workers
who want to live in beautiful places. In Scottsdale and Pima
County, the election results mean that large pieces of open
space will go far toward preserving wildlife corridors and
habitat protection. Scottsdale's expanded preserve, for example,
will connect Maricopa County's McDowell Mountain Regional
Park with the Tonto National Forest and planned preserves
in Phoenix, preventing wildlife populations from becoming
isolated and dying off. Species such as the pygmy owl, Pima
pineapple cactus and the Chiricahua leopard frog are among
the species on the federal Endangered Species List that could
recover as a result of Pima County's land-preservation efforts.
Efforts to reform Arizona land policies are stalled in the
Legislature. For further information on conservation funding,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/conservationfunding/index.html.
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Pennsylvania-Gov.
Rendell Proposes Green Tax Break (Post-Gazette 5/21)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04142/319686.stm
Governor Ed Rendell has proposed a program that would eliminate
the sales tax on energy efficient, Energy Star appliances
during two one-week periods per year. One tax holiday would
fall in the first full week of May and the other in the first
full week of December. The tax holiday is expected to cost
the state $2.6 million in its first year, growing to $5.8
million in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Rendell is asking lawmakers
to include the proposal in this year's budget plan. Only items
designated as Energy Star appliances by the US EPA, including
certain washers, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners and
compact fluorescent bulbs, would qualify for the tax break.
The program is similar to two weeks of tax holidays for computer
purchases given in recent years, until they were dropped due
to budget woes. The sales tax in Pennsylvania is 6 percent
in all counties except Alleghany, where it is 7 percent. |
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