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Renewable
Energy Incentives
Between 1970 and 1998, global energy use rose by about 70%, and
demand for energy continues to rise at a rate of about 2% each year.
Renewable energy can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce
the harmful pollution currently associated with energy production
and consumption, and reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. Alternative
heating and cooling systems that run on non-traditional, renewable
energy sources and produce fewer harmful emissions can substantially
reduce consumers' energy costs. Geothermal heat pump systems can
reduce energy consumption by 25-75%. Photovoltaics and other solar
energy systems don't use fossil fuels and produce no greenhouse
gases; in fact, they produce no atmospheric emissions. The promotion
of these types of alternative fuel energy systems helps to decrease
our dependence on finite energy sources and the environmental degradation
that accompanies extraction and transportation. To help these technologies
develop and the markets adapt to changes, both federal and state
governments have offered a variety of tax incentives for the manufacture,
installation, and use of renewable energy systems. SERC's policy
issues package on renewable energy incentives introduces you to
the different types of incentives (these include income, property,
and sales tax incentives for individuals and businesses that manufacture
or purchase renewable energy systems) that you can implement in
your state, and focuses on ways to maximize the impacts of these
incentives. To read the complete package on renewable energy incentives,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/RenewableEnergyIncentives/index.html. |
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Environmental
Justice: An Emerging State Issue (Stateline.org 8/2)
http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=389449
Oregon and Washington are among a growing number of states that
have taken some action to make sure that less fortunate neighborhoods
don't bear more than their fair share of environmental impacts.
Currently, a minority or low-income neighborhood is more likely
to have toxic waste dumps, municipal landfills and incinerators,
high levels of air pollution, and a greater percentage of children
with lead poisoning, a Clark Atlanta University study shows. Twenty-two
states have created policies on environmental justice, and all but
13 -- Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming -- have
enacted formal policy or programs, which aim to fight discrimination
in the placement of landfills, highways, and industrial facilities.
The 22 states with policies that address the environmental justice
issues are generally on record favoring increased community participation
and awareness during planning and construction of projects with
an environmental impact. But the policies don't always come with
clear guidelines for implementation. Whatever the facts on implementation,
environmental justice is getting more political attention. The number
of state officials who track environmental justice issues has grown
significantly in recent years. States such as Arizona, California,
South Carolina, and West Virginia have staffers who work exclusively
on such matters. Connecticut has established an environmental justice
complaint contact and investigator who answers complaints, and whose
jurisdiction covers local, state, and federal agencies. To read
SERC's policy issues package on environmental justice, visit: http://www.serconline.org/ej/index.html. |
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Key
Health, Environmental Data Vulnerable to Obscure Law (Bush
Greenwatch 7/29)
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000163.php
The Data Quality Act, a little-known law inserted into a huge
2001 budget bill, is undermining government protections of public
health and the environment. The Bush administration's Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), which has overseen the law's implementation,
has obscured and even omitted the situation from a new report
to Congress. The law was added as a brief rider to the Treasury
and General Government Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2001,
and took effect in October 2002. It directed the OMB to instruct
federal agencies on setting standards for the quality of scientific
and statistical information they use and distribute. It also required
agencies to accept and review challenges to their data. OMB Watch,
a nonprofit that monitors the OMB, has found that OMB, in its
report to Congress, significantly undercounted the number of challenges
made under the law, and understated the extent to which industries
are challenging information that affects their business interests.
OMB reported to Congress that there have been no slowdowns in
the regulatory process as a result of the law. However, it did
not ask federal agencies the amount of time or money they are
spending on implementation, or for input on how the law is affecting
the speed with which agencies make and implement regulations.
Industries are also trying to use the law to block distribution
of information. Although no such challenges have succeeded so
far, the attempts suggest how the law could chill even intra-agency
information disseminations. The American Legislative Exchange
Council (ALEC) has a bill modeled after the federal version called
the "State Data Quality Act." For more information on
the state version, visit: http://www.serconline.org/alec/alec18.html. |
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California
Bill Aims to Improve Care for Pesticide Victims (Sacramento
Bee 8/4)
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/10246024p-11166411c.html
When farm pesticides inadvertently poison rural Californians,
the victims can be shuffled around for years, often without
good medical care, while those responsible duck liability.
So say politicians, state bureaucrats, and farm worker advocates
who have been negotiating legislation that would revamp a
system that responds to large-scale pesticide poisonings and
force violators to pay the doctor bills when their chemicals
drift onto bystanders. The danger from pesticide exposure
is increasingly extending far beyond farm workers. "The
bill... is solving something that people might see as just
relating to farm workers, but it's actually a precaution [for]
what we are going to see more and more of in the Central Valley,"
said state Sen. Dean Florez, who is pushing a bill that would
overhaul the emergency response system. State farm groups
and chemical-makers have voiced concern about subpar emergency
response to chemical drift incidents, but also fear that the
cost of bulking up the program will grow too high. The bill
would expand the state emergency response training program
to include chemical-related illnesses, ensuring that county
emergency response plans address pesticide poisoning and establishing
a fund to pay for the medical treatment of pesticide-drift
victims. Sen. Florez's proposal would also authorize the state
to recover medical costs from companies, farmers, or others
responsible for drift that injures bystanders. The bill also
calls for an additional surcharge on farm chemicals based
on their propensity to drift off the targeted crop. That can
happen if wind blows chemicals when they are applied, or if
chemicals evaporate from crops and get deposited on unsuspecting
bystanders. State data compiled by farm worker advocates show
an average of more than 250 reported cases of illnesses related
to pesticide drift each year. They say the numbers represent
only a fraction of actual chemical-related illnesses. Illnesses
are often unreported because farm workers typically are afraid
of losing their jobs and don't trust government agencies. |
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Michigan
Dove Advocates Want Dove Hunting Law Revoked (Detroit
Free Press 8/6)
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/dove6_20040806.htm
Michigan dove advocates are hoping to put the future of dove
hunting on the ballot in November 2006, in an effort to persuade
citizens to repeal the dove hunting law enacted by the state
legislature this June. That legislation allows the state's
first legal dove hunting season in 100 years to begin this
September. But, if the coalition of opponents is able to collect
158,000 valid signatures by March, the new law allowing hunting
will be suspended until voters decide its fate in November
2006. Current law allows for a 3-year pilot hunt in six counties
of the state, at which time the state Natural Resources Commission
would determine whether to expand the hunting area into other
counties. Pro-dove advocates say they are confident that they
will be able to obtain the required number of signatures to
stop the hunt as of next March. Among organizations trying
to stop dove hunting are the Detroit and Michigan Audubon
Societies, the Humane Society of the United States, and the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"These are social issues. We're not just looking at wildlife
biology," said Mark Markarian, president of the Fund
for Animals, based in Washington, D.C., and another coalition
partner. "It's not a question of whether we can hunt
mourning doves, it's a question of whether we should." |
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California's
Marine Protection Program Revived (Mercury News 8/4)
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/9316068.htm?1c
In a decision cheered by environmentalists and marine biologists,
the Schwarzenegger administration has decided to restart plans
to create the nation's first network of protected marine reserves
off California's coast, eight months after shutting the project
down for lack of money. The first area scheduled to have specific
maps for such "no-fishing zones," with a draft plan
now due out by March 2006, will be the central coast. A blue-ribbon
panel will oversee the issue, along with a 25-member science
advisory group. They will hold public meetings and study the
biology and economics of reserves, with the goal of putting
them in selected areas across all state waters, out to three
miles offshore, by 2011. The plan was required by a landmark
1999 state law, the Marine Life Protection Act. It has been
cited by marine biologists as a national model, and perhaps
the best hope of arresting the steady decline of dozens of
types of fish in California waters. In January, however, the
state Department of Fish and Game announced it would halt
the plan, saying the state lacked the $2 million needed to
finish it by a 2005 deadline. Now a public-private partnership
has brought the program back to life. Details are still being
worked out, but several private foundations have pledged roughly
$2.5 million a year, over the next three years, to pay for
scientific studies, public meetings, and other costs. This
year, that money will be augmented by $500,000 in state funding.
Less than 1 percent of U.S. marine waters are off limits to
fishing. But several major studies, including a 2001 report
by the National Academy of Sciences and a 2003 Pew Oceans
Commission report, have recommended reserves as a key tool
in reviving ocean species depleted by pollution, overfishing,
and other threats. |
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Delaware,
California Seek to Reclaim Brownfields (News Journal
8/4; LA Times 7/31)
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/08/04lawpromotesbrow.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-brownfields31jul31,1,7427803.story
Delaware Gov. Ruth Minner signed SB 328 into law last week,
creating the Brownfield Redevelopment Program, which is closely
tied to the state's economic development and job creation
goals. The measure doubles to $100,000 the maximum available
grant for pollution studies and cleanup assistance, and offers
liability protections for developers who enter redevelopment
and cleanup agreements with state regulators. Gov. Minner
said the legislation would benefit landowners and communities
around the roughly 700 potential brownfields identified in
the state. Restoring the idle properties to productive use,
she said, would reduce pressure to develop forests and farms
and hold down demands to expand highways, wastewater systems,
and other public services. In California, SB 493, introduced
by Sen. Cedillo, would encourage the development of brownfields
by spelling out the obligations of developers to clean up
soil pollution caused by previous owners. However, the bill
would limit the future legal liability of developers to treat
tainted underground water as long as that water is not used
for drinking and does not pose a threat to human health or
safety. The bill, which passed the Senate, remains in the
Assembly mired in controversy. Developers say they want assurances
that they won't be hit by lawsuits or cleanup orders once
regulators give the go-ahead to start construction, but environmentalists
draw the line at changing the state law that holds owners
responsible for cleaning up polluted groundwater beneath their
property. For more information on brownfields, visit: http://www.serconline.org/brownfields/index.html. |
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AK
High Court Rejects Special Status for Beluga Whales (Seattle
Post-Intelligencer 8/3)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/184633_belugas03.html
Last week, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a 2002 decision
by a lower court, in its rejection of special protection status
for Cook Inlet beluga whales under the state's Endangered
Species Act. The lower court had declined to list the whales
as endangered at the state level, a determination reinforced
by the state's Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Alaska DFG
officials concede that the animal's numbers have diminished
but have determined that the species is not immediately threatened
with extinction. To whale advocates, the court's ruling was
frustrating because it focused on technical legal issues,
such as the whale's qualification as a biological subspecies,
instead of on the pertinent and immediate questions of whether
the whale is facing extinction. "I feel like the canary
is lying dead in the cage and we're jumping up and down screaming
about it and nobody's doing anything," said Randy Virgin,
director of the Alaska Center for the Environment. Today,
only approximately 350 to 400 whales are thought to be present
in the area, compared to its historic numbers of 1,300. To
learn more about state endangered species acts and how they
can work to protect native wildlife, please visit: http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html. |
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California
Proposal Would Boost Use of Solar Energy (LA Times
8/3, Washington Post 8/5)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar3aug03,1,6452392.story?coll=la-headlines-california
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41521-2004Aug5.html
The Schwarzenegger administration is developing an ambitious
plan, the "Million Solar Homes Initiative," to boost
solar power in California that would have 50% of all new homes
producing renewable energy within a decade. Under the draft
proposal, which has not yet been formally endorsed by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, California would provide home builders
with financial rebates if they added solar panels to new homes,
and would provide some incentives to homeowners seeking to
add energy generators to older houses. The program would be
paid for with a new monthly utility bill surcharge of about
25-30 cents per household, projected to raise $1 billion before
the surcharge ends in 10 years. But homeowners would be free
to sell excess solar energy back to electricity companies,
leaving them with no net cost. "Each month, the homeowner
would save more money in reduced electricity charges than
the homeowner would have to pay on the solar mortgage,"
according to the draft presented by California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) Undersecretary Drew Bohan. State
officials estimate that such a program could add photovoltaic
panels to 40% of all new homes by 2010, and 50% by 2013. To
make sure the goals were met, the program would require builders
to add solar panels to 5% of homes by 2010 and 50% by 2020.
By 2017, state officials estimate, the program would add solar
panels to nearly 1.2 million houses in the state -- 884,000
new and 313,000 older houses. The solar power installations
would be the equivalent of 36 new, 75-megawatt natural gas
plants, and would avoid pumping 50 million tons of carbon
dioxide into the air from the accompanying combustion, Cal
EPA estimated. Environmentalists and solar panel makers lauded
the proposal as bold policymaking that would place California
at the forefront of renewable energy use and turbocharge the
solar industry, lowering the price of the technology for all.
Many environmentalists also are backing a solar incentive
bill, approved by the Senate and pending in an Assembly committee,
which would require that 15 percent of new homes come with
solar panels by 2006. The requirement would increase by 10
percentage points a year until it would mandate that 55 percent
of homes come solar-equipped by 2010. For more information
on how your state can encourage the use of renewable energy
sources, see SERC's policy issues packages on renewable portfolio
standards at http://www.serconline.org/RPS/pkg_frameset.html;
renewable energy incentives at http://www.serconline.org/RenewableEnergyIncentives/index.html;
and, net metering at http://www.serconline.org/netmetering/index.html. |
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MI
Supreme Court Limits Who Can File Environmental Protection
Suits (Detroit Free Press 8/2; Detroit News 8/4)
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw102091_20040802.htm
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0408/04/b08d-231903.htm
In a newly released 4-3 decision, a majority of the justices
on the Michigan Supreme Court rejected the idea that a 1970
law allows literally anyone to sue for the purpose of halting
pollution or other environmental degradation. The majority
opinion did not set precise criteria for deciding who could
sue, but it found that two environmental groups had passed
the test by claiming their members would be personally harmed
if an Upper Peninsula mining company, Empire Mine, degraded
wetlands. The Michigan Environmental Protection Act of 1970
states that "the attorney general or any person"
can file suit "for the protection of the air, water and
other natural resources... from pollution, impairment, or
destruction." That means anyone can sue, the appeals
court ruled. The Supreme Court's majority opinion, written
by Justice Stephen Markman, disagreed, saying it was up to
the executive branch agencies, not the courts, to enforce
environmental regulations. Another judge, in her dissent,
wrote: "The majority disregards the intent of the Legislature,
erodes the people's constitutional mandate, and overrules
30 years of Michigan case law that held the Legislature meant
what it said when it allowed 'any person' to bring an action
in circuit court to protect natural resources from actual
or likely harm." The majority opinion allowed the suit
against Empire Mine to proceed because members of the environmental
groups contended filling the wetlands would impair recreational
activities such as birdwatching, boating, and fishing. |
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Delaware
Works to Limit Manure (Delaware State News 8/2)
http://www.newszap.com/articles/2004/08/01/dm/central_delaware/dsn01.txt
Three years ago, the Delaware began a mandatory nutrient management
program to work with farmers on how much manure to use and
to help chicken growers dispose of the manure from their birds.
The plan, which the state pays for, takes into account the
soil's makeup, the nutrients in the commercial fertilizer
or manure, and when the nutrients will be applied to the fields.
A farmer can follow a plan to know how much manure or commercial
fertilizer to use without harming the environment. By 2007,
farmers and certain other businesses, such as golf courses,
are required to have a nutrient management plan for their
land on file with the state Department of Agriculture. The
program is being phased in over five years and is currently
surpassing its property enrollment targets. Owners have been
volunteering their properties since the program began instead
of waiting for the state to tell them they need to develop
a plan. Ed Lewandowski, a member of the state's Nutrient Management
Commission, said excess nitrogen and phosphorous can lead
to rapid growth of algae in bodies of water. When the algae
begin to decompose, it creates bacteria, depriving fish of
needed oxygen in the water and leading to large fish kills.
The program, which is funded in the state's annual operating
budget, financially assists farmers with costs related to
relocating the manure, such as having the chicken houses cleaned
and the litter hauled to an alternative site. For more information
on nutrient management plans, visit: http://www.serconline.org/nutrientMgmt/index.html. |
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CA
Panel Recommends Weakening State Pesticide Laws (San
Luis Tribune 8/2)
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/9299960.htm
In a 2,500-page report released last week and sent to Calif.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a state government panel has recommended
regulations that would streamline the introduction of new
pesticides. The allowed use of new and emerging pest control
products is slowed by the state's inclination to adopt pesticide
regulations that closely mimic federal rules, the panel said.
It recommends increasing state reliance on federal standards.
With the federal government considering weakening its own
pesticide regulations, state environmentalists and others
are concerned about the push to make California reliant on
federal rules. Potential federal rollbacks include a Bush
administration proposal to end current rules requiring the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consult with federal
wildlife agencies to determine if chemicals could harm plants
and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. Supporters
of the relaxed rules say that the tendency for newer pesticides
being developed to be less toxic to the environment justifies
the recommendation to relax pesticide rules. Environmentalists
aren't convinced that the new products are any less toxic
or that "less toxic" should be a policy goal of
the state or federal government. In California, the pesticide
regulation department is already taking steps to speed up
new pesticide reviews. The department says it will rely more
on federal testing, allow manufacturers to use a pesticide
before it can prove that it is effective, and will no longer
routinely require manufacturers to submit data on pesticide
residue left on food and feed crops. Opponents of weakening
the state's pesticide laws held news conferences last week
in Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Los Angeles to protest
recent cases where human health was compromised due to drifting
chemicals. The groups, including Californians for Pesticide
Reform and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation,
want state pesticide regulators to phase out the most dangerous
and drift-prone pesticides, which they say are adversely affecting
the health of many in the state's agricultural regions. |
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