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"Green"
Lawns
Could the quest for the perfect lawn be harming our environment?
There is a growing body of research, which suggests that many of
the lawn and garden practices in our neighborhoods are a threat
to health and the local environment. Some products used on lawns
can contain poisons such as arsenic. Other chemical substances such
as weed killers and fertilizers can pose health threats to infants,
children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems. Very
often these harmful chemicals wash into lakes and streams, degrading
water quality and harming wildlife. At other times, dangerous substances
find their way onto our dinner table through compost applied to
food plants. Unfortunately, just because a product can be sold commercially
in the U.S. does not guarantee its safety. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that most registered pesticides
have not been adequately tested to determine their overall effects
on people and environments. There are, however, a number of strategies
that states and municipalities have used to make lawn care more
"green". For information on how to keep a lawn green without
harming the environment, visit: http://www.serconline.org/greenlawns.html. |
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NJ:
Builders Win Fight to Ease Wetland Building Restrictions (Star-Ledger
7/27)
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-2/10909158758121.xml
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently overturned a pair of rules
that had restricted development in and around wetlands. The two
rules, enacted at the end of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman's term
in 2001, had pushed homes an extra 20 feet away from streams, rivers,
and other wetlands, and imposed strict limitations on the destruction
of seasonal pools, which serve as amphibian habitats. The rules
were adopted by the state Department of Environmental Protection
to enforce the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act passed by the
state legislature in 1987. The court ruled that the extra 20 feet
was unjustified. They maintained that the legislature had carefully
considered the size of the wetland buffers and, if it had wanted
them to be twenty feet larger, this provision would have been included
in the original legislation. The rule on amphibian-friendly seasonal
pools had forced developers, seeking to fill in or otherwise alter
the pools, to obtain an individual permit. The court ruled that
developers could instead fill in the pools under a general permit,
which is much easier to acquire. Biologists contend that 22 New
Jersey amphibians breed in these seasonal pools, and seven species
-- two species of frogs and five species of salamanders -- breed
exclusively in them, including the endangered blue-spotted salamander
and the eastern tiger salamander. The court ruling only applies
to pools of less than an acre and ones that do not contain threatened
and endangered species. However, environmentalists argue that the
looser permit rules have a greater potential to allow valuable seasonal
pools to slip through the regulatory cracks. Although a huge blow
to wetlands protection, critics of the ruling argue that there may
be federal grounds to take back the permitting power it had delegated
to the state. For more information on how your state can protect
wetland habitats and their species, visit: http://www.serconline.org/wetlands/pkg_frameset.html. |
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ALEC's
"Environmental Literacy Improvement Act"
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is trying to
get their corporate environmental agenda -- and only their agenda
-- into your state's classrooms. The "Environmental Literacy
Improvement Act" is built around establishing an "Environmental
Education Council" that would approve "acceptable"
environmental education materials. Such a council would be charged
to "actively seek countervailing scientific and economic
views on environmental issues." However, it would ban experts
in environmental science from participation on the board, while
mandating that 40 percent of the board be economists. In addition,
it states that text materials must "not be designed to change
student behavior, attitudes or values" nor "include
instruction in political action skills nor encourage political
action activities." Education about the environment should
be balanced -- but this bill attempts to unbalance it. The Environmental
Literacy Improvement Act attempts to control, confine, and intimidate
educators into toeing the corporate line on environmental issues.
This legislation has already passed in Arizona and similar legislative
efforts have emerged throughout the country. Such measures should
be resisted -- we don't need ALEC's corporate sponsors telling
our children how to think. For more information about ALEC, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/alecIndex.html. |
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New
Illinois Law Promotes Hunting on Public Land (ENS
7/30)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2004/2004-07-30-09.asp#anchor1
Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the Illinois Hunting Heritage
Protection Act last week, which provides that the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) support, promote, and
enhance recreational hunting on lands it manages, and work
to maintain and enhance the amount of land acreage available
for hunting opportunities in Illinois. The law, which will
take effect January 1, 2005, requires that lands managed by
the Department of Natural Resources be open to access and
use of recreational hunting, except when limited for reasons
of public safety, fish and wildlife management, or homeland
security. The legislation requires that the DNR support, promote,
and enhance recreational hunting and, to the greatest extent
possible, not take actions which result in any net loss of
land available to hunting. The new law also requires that
the DNR report annually whether any acreage it manages is
closed to hunting and whether other lands are opened to hunting
to compensate. For more information on this act, visit: http://www.serconline.org/watchdog/watchdog2004/watchdog11.html. |
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Florida:
Anti-High-Speed-Train Initiative Makes Ballot (Orlando
Sentinel 7/30)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locrail30073004jul30,1,458798.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state
Construction of a an Orlando-Tampa high-speed train may not
begin as scheduled next summer because an initiative, which
could effectively derail the project if passed, is set to
be on the state ballot this November. The initiative's backers,
including Governor Jeb Bush and the state's Chief Financial
Office Tom Gallagher, say that the train's price tag is too
high. The legislature would have to authorize $75 million
per year to pay Fluor-Bombardier, a Canadian contractor, to
construct the project. Proponents of the train, including
the Florida Transportation Association, are digging in for
a fight -- they believe the rail will help bolster the state
economy. Another train advocate has filed a complaint with
the Florida Election Commission stating that the anti-train
group, Derail the Bullet Train, improperly solicited signatures.
Despite his opposition to the project, Gov. Bush visited Quebec
last week to discuss expanding trade between Canada and Florida. |
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Arizona's
Drought Plan Gives State Little Power (Arizona Republic
7/29)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0729drought29.html
After a nine-year dry spell, a 15-member task force, created
by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, charged with developing
a drought response plan and a statewide conservation strategy,
tentatively adopted their first plan last week. The plan gives
the state no authority to limit water use or enforce other
restrictions unless the governor declares a statewide emergency.
The task force bowed to pressure from cities and other water
providers who insisted that decisions to impose water conservation
measures must be made at the local level. Cities sought to
uncouple the drought plan and its conservation element, fearful
that linking the two would muddle the message that saving
water is important whether there is a drought or not. The
plan provides for a water conservation office, separate from
a drought coordinator. It also allows the governor to declare
an emergency under the worst drought conditions. Both ideas
will now be taken directly to Arizonans, via the Internet
and a series of six workshops around the state, in late August
or early September. The task force wants to deliver a final
document to Napolitano this fall; it is working with the National
Drought Mitigation Center to develop the plan and also has
enlisted help from other states that have successful plans. |
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More
Manure Control Called For on Chesapeake Bay (Richmond
Times-Dispatch 7/29)
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD
_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031776979239&path=%21news&s=1045855934842
Manure from area agriculture is contributing to pollution
in the Chesapeake Bay, and environmental group the Chesapeake
Bay Foundation says that action must be taken to control animal
waste and reduce runoff. The area's cattle produce far more
manure than could be used for fertilizer and, as a result,
it is left on lands in thick layers rather than being removed.
The foundation has asked Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
to seek "alternative" uses for manure besides spreading
it across their lands as a cheap fertilizer. Manure contains
nitrogen, phosphorous, and fertilizer. This combination of
nutrients contributes to algae blooms that cloud the water
and consume oxygen needed for fish and healthy marine life.
Polluted algae blooms also can become toxic, making it life-threatening
for small children and animals. Baywide, manure contributes
18 percent of the nitrogen and a quarter of the phosphorous
that reaches the bay, the foundation announced in a recent
report. In addition, the report recommends that the three
states effectively enforce nutrient management plans required
from livestock operations. The report asks Maryland to spend
$25 million per year to develop alternative uses of manure
and help farmers protect water quality from manure pollution;
and, it recommends that Pennsylvania establish a $10 million
pilot program to produce dairy feeds that reduce the nutrient
content of cattle manure. Finally, reducing the amount of
phosphorous in fertilizers that farmers are allowed to use
on their lands could help reduce bay pollution. For more information
on water pollution caused by agriculture, visit: http://www.serconline.org/nutrientMgmt/index.html. |
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NJ
Fast-Tracks Law Nonspecific on Crucial Issues (Star-Ledger
7/29)
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1091088733269160.xml
In early July, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey privately
signed a bill to fast-track environmental permits in the most
populous areas of the state, prompting heavy criticism from
state lawmakers and environmental and labor organizations.
Now, new controversy is surrounding the bill over confusion
as to whether the new law applies to toxic waste cleanups.
With 15,000, New Jersey has the most toxic waste sites of
any state in the nation. The determination of whether the
law applies to such areas would obviously have a huge impact
in the state. If the new law's 45-day state response deadline
applied to cleanups, it would fundamentally transform the
state's toxic waste program. Industrial groups said the law
would speed up cleanups that needlessly drag on for years,
while environmentalists said it would result in even less
oversight from a program already stretched far too thin to
do its job effectively. Commissioners of the state Departments
of Environmental Quality and Community Affairs have insisted
that the law would not apply to such sites. But business representatives
and environmental activists note that the bill allows any
permit or approval to be fast-tracked with only a few exceptions,
and approvals for toxic waste cleanups are not among those
exceptions. Bob Spiegel, who monitors toxic waste cleanups,
said that, if the state excluded toxic waste cleanups from
the fast-track process in the regulations prompted by the
bill, companies would sue and likely win. |
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Colorado
Renewable Energy Initiative Should Make Ballot (Denver
Post 7/28)
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~64~2298360,00.html
Colorado appears likely to become the first in the country
to hold a statewide vote on requiring utilities to get part
of their supplies from renewable energy. Coloradans for Clean
Energy will surpass the required 67,829 petition signatures
to get the initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot, said Manolo Gonzalez-Estay,
co-director of the coalition, which is pushing the measure.
"We're going to make that and then some," he said
of the required number of valid signatures, which represents
5 percent of the total votes cast in the last general election.
The campaign will turn in its signatures before the deadline
to get on the upcoming ballot, he said. The measure will ask
voters to decide whether utilities should be required to get
at least 10 percent of their supply from renewable sources
by 2015. Campaign volunteer Ryan Vaillancourt said, "Everyone
who lives in Colorado is familiar with the fact that we're
an incredibly sunny state and incredibly windy state. Despite
that, we get less than 2 percent of our energy from renewable
sources. Even people who don't know much about renewable energy
support the concept, because it just makes sense." For
more information on Renewables Portfolio Standards, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/RPS/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Wyoming:
Officials Draft New Grassland Plan (Casper Star Tribune
7/26)
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/07/26/news/wyoming/
def395469ae86eab87256edd0017f7c0.txt
Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials want to broaden
the state's ineffective black-tailed prairie dog management
plan into a more comprehensive native species grassland plan.
The move is part of an effort to develop and create habitat-wide
management plans instead of specific species management plans
for individual species, such as prairie dogs and sage grouse.
During a July 16 meeting, the Game and Fish Commission authorized
the department to proceed with developing a "native species
plan for the conservation of Wyoming grasslands." Game
and Fish Assistant Wildlife Division Chief John Emmerich said
information from the recently completed inventory of the state's
black-tailed prairie dog colonies will provide some of that
monitoring information. Game and Fish nongame program coordinator
Bob Oakleaf said, "The challenges with a broader grasslands
plan is to design and implement a good monitoring program,
plus a vegetation classification system… so we won't
be vulnerable to a petition to list [under the Endangered
Species Act]. We have to have monitoring data to even begin
talking about management." |
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MT:
Supporters of Cyanide Use in Mining Defend Legality of Initiative
(Independent Record; Billings Gazette 7/27)
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/07/27/montana/a05072704_01.txt
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/07/27/build/state/50-cynadie.inc
Miners, Merchants, and Montanans for Jobs and Economic Opportunity,
a group supporting Initiative 147, which would repeal the
ban on cyanide use in open-pit mining, has recently been forced
to defend the ballot initiative in front of the Montana Supreme
Court. The cyanide ban was adopted in 1998 when I-137 was
passed. Additionally, I-147 seeks to restore any company's
or person's mining rights to the status they had prior to
the 1998 ban. Opponents of I-147 argue that it improperly
asks voters to consider two different subjects on one initiative
and it reinstates contracts that may no longer be desirable
between landowners and large mining interests. Also, the proposal
appears to favor one company, Canyon Resources Corporation
of Golden, Colorado, which has bankrolled 97 percent of the
I-147 campaign, contributing roughly $760,000. All of the
company's leases and mineral rights, lost with the 1998 ban,
would be restored with I-147. State records from the Montana
Department of Natural Resources revealed that Canyon Resources
was close to having their mining leases terminated a few months
prior to the passage of I-137 for failing to produce required
environmental impact statements and being in debt to the Department
of Environmental Quality for more than $500,000. For more
information on how your state can ban cyanide use in mining,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/mining/index.html. |
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States
Scramble to Reach Accord on Water (Atlanta Journal-Constitution
7/25)
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0704/26water.html?UrAuth=`N^NUOaNZUb
TTUWUXUUUZTZU^UWUcUWUZUbU]UcTYWYWZV
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia were scrambling last week to
resolve long-running disputes surrounding various water sources.
In 1998, congressionally-authorized talks began among all
three states on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF)
River Basin; and, on the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin
between Georgia and Alabama. One of the ideas discussed is
old. The states are taking another look at creating a tri-state
commission similar to the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Since 1961, the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York,
and Pennsylvania, and a federal representative, have shared
power in making decisions that affect their common river,
such as building water storage reservoirs, setting withdrawal
limits, and declaring drought emergencies. Recently, the agreement
between Georgia and Alabama for sharing water in the Coosa
River Basin, which includes Allatoona Lake and the Etowah
River, expired. Last year, the ACF compact expired with no
agreement and the three states reactivated lawsuits. Talks
between Florida and Georgia ended with Georgia willing to
guarantee a minimal amount of water going into Florida and
the Apalachicola River, even during severe droughts, which
would have drawn down Lake Lanier to historically low levels,
but not agreeing to Florida's demand of having a say over
how much water metro Atlanta could take out of the river.
Officials in Florida and Alabama are trying to block the additional
withdrawals. |
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