Archive for the ‘Environmental’ Category
??? Despite the outcry of thousands of environmentalists the? Bush/Cheney Administration auctioned off key habitat for endangered polar bears to Big Oil. Mothers and cubs are coming out of their dens to compromised habitat. The influx of men and machines entering an already fragile eco system will wreck havoc upon it. While the climate warms up taking its toll on polar bear habitat, federal officials are selling off the very places these great white bearsdepend on for hunting, denning and survival.
??? Polar bears in America will likely be extinct according to government scientists in 50 years. Yet federal
officials have once again delayed action to protect these struggling animals as “threatened” under the
Endangered Species Act. Instead of acting to protect these magnificent animals they instead auctioned off millions of acres of vital habitat in Alaska‘s Chukchi Sea to Shell and other Big Oil companies. And once again he has included drilling in the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) in his proposed budget.
??? Increased drilling in these critical habitats could devastate America’s polar bears. But Exxon, Mobil, Shell and other Big Oil companies continue to use their billions in profits to press for harmful drilling in the places polar bears need to survive – and continue our dependence on the fuels that spur rising temperatures that are causing the bears’ demise. Shell bid more than $105 billion for a single tract of drilling acreage in the Chukchi Sea. So as you can see these beautiful bears are quickly becoming between a “rock and a hard place”
??? I’ll try to keep up better than I have in the past few days and let you know when the vote to include ANWR in the budget comes around so you can call your representatives in Congress.
??? Here is something I did not know and all of us who are environmental activists should. The large cargo ships that carry all of the imports and exports to and from our country for the most part are huge polluters. They burn diesel oil that is closer to asphalt and is 1800 times dirtier than the fuel burned in U.S. trucks. The Bush administration is claiming to have made headway in talks with other nations to reduce the dangerous emissions coming from these giant diesel-burning ships that pollute U.S. ports.
??? During hearings by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Dr. John Miller, an emergency room physician from San Pedro, California said, “International standards for pollution from ship engines, written mostly by the shipping industry, are so lax as to be meaningless.” The panel is considering legislation to sharply curb emissions from the largest cargo carriers, most of which are foreign flagged. Bush officials want to pursue a new global standard instead of tougher standards for ships entering our waters, according to the associate director at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They say that if we make our own regulations and not use worldwide standards then we risk having shipping prices going up because there will be fewer ships that meet the new qualifications therefor fewer available ships to carry cargo to and from our ports.
??? Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said EPA should act quickly, regardless of the international action. “I just don’t get it,” Boxer said. “Our people are suffering because foreign flags are coming in and they’re filthy and they’re polluting. And we are sitting back saying we can’t do anything until we get this international agreement.”
??? The Bush administration and EPA are being pressured by Congress and environmentalists to enact new regulations and not wait on the U.N. International Maritime Organization to reach an anti-pollution agreement. The EPA intends to issue its new rules in 2009 after the global group comes to a decision about the pollution regulations. They [U.N. International Maritime Organization] are meeting again in April and last met last week. Ms Boxer (Committee Chairwoman) countered that talks have been going on since 2003 and asked, “How long does Jonah have to wait?”, a reference to, Jonah Ramirez, a 12 year old sixth grader from San Bernardino, Calif., who told the hearing of his battles with asthma. “If these particles that I breathe every day are safe, then why do I depend on daily medication and the fast relief of my inhaler to do something that everyone has the right to do: Breathe,” Jonah Ramirez asked the panel.
??? I know our economy depends upon shipping, both into and out of our ports but surely we can do something about emissions coming from these huge ships. I for one think that we are such a prized market that ship owners will do what it takes to keep returning to our lucrative markets. It might cause some short time problems but in the long run it will be better for us, especially those who live close to these large ports. Or even those who happen to live along the shore where these ships travel on there way to the ports. Plus- and this is something I just thought of- It may have an added benefits to U.S. business if the price of cheap imports from China go up.
??? Even though it’s his last year in office, President Bush’s administration plans to go ahead with its ill-conceived exploitation of public lands in Utah. They want to open up public land that has never been mined, farmed or had roads built into it for developers. Thankfully we have a bill that was introduced into Congress that would ban them from doing this. America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act would protect more than 9.5 million acres of wilderness-quality lands in Utah. They seem still to believe, against all contrary evidence, that resource extraction is the best economic use of our public lands, and that their highest recreational purpose is as an arena for the depredations of dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. I know there is a lot of fun and recreation with motorized vehicles but at the same time we need to save some of our pristine land. This land would take centuries to recover if ever from depredations of this sort.
??? One area of this bill, protects the greater Zion-Mojave region, which is currently threatened by proposed legislation that fails to protect wild lands in the region and authorizes the sale of up to 40 square miles of public lands in southwestern Utah to development projects. This is our land and we should have a say in whether it is sold and I for one do not wish to see any of our wild lands sold to anyone at all much less developers who are only in it for the money. And I feel that is where the votes will come from, lawmakers that take hush money from these developers and their lobbyists. The wild lands in Utah contain remote twisting canyons, mesas topped with groves of juniper and pinyon pine, rivers, and stark mountain peaks. The wilds of Utah hold much to behold. there are areas where you feel as if no one has set foot there in hundreds of years there are areas so vast that the stone and sky seem to intermingle.
??? If you are like me and a lover of the land, who feels like we cannot own the land but only care for it for the next generations to follow. Then you should keep an eye on H.R. 1919: America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2007 this was inroduced by?Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY] or S. 1170: America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2007 introduced by?Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]. Please contact your representatives in Congress or the Senate to encourage them to co-sponser or vote yes to the bill.
??? Once again the EPA is in the news as Rep. Henry Waxman, (D-Calif) of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee subpoenaed documents reviewed by the agency’s administrator before he blocked a California tailpipe emissions law. There have been indications that the EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson overruled EPA staff who recommended granting the waiver.
??? What California wants to do and along with twelve other states – Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – was to require automakers to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016. This would bring the fuel economy standards up to 36.8 mpg four years earlier four years earlier than the new federal law which would result in a nationwide average of 35 mpg by 2020. The governors of four other states -Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah – said they also planned to adopt Californias newer tougher rules.
??? According to congressional investigators there are EPA internal documents that said California had a compelling need for the waiver, and that EPA was likely to lose in court if sued over denying it. But once again our executive branch seems to be in the pockets of big business. They have also lost a suit in federal court because they were ignoring the law when they imposed less stringent requirements on power plants to reduce mercury pollution. A three-judge panel – U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia – unanimously struck down a mercury-control plan imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency three years ago. It established an emissions trading process in which some plants could avoid installing the best mercury control technology available by buying pollution credits. such trading of pollution credits would have created hot spots of mercury contamination around power plants across the country. Power plants are one of the biggest sources of of mercury, which finds its way into the food supply, particularly fish. Mercury damages developing brains of fetuses and very young children.
??? The court decision was the latest in a string of judicial losses for the Bush administration’s environmental policies. You may remember that I mentioned them losing a battle for not regulating greenhouse gases. Courts have also rejected administration attempts to overhaul federal forest policies and streamline fuel economy standards for small trucks. The policy as established under the Clinton Administration required utilities to capture more than 90 percent of mercury releases. The standard as set by the Bush administrations approach was to capture 70 percent of mercury emissions. “This three-judge panel has done the world a favor and helped save lives,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Connecticut was one of the states that participated in the lawsuit. EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said, “This rule is still our policy until we evaluate how to move forward.”
??? It sounds to me as if they are going to drag their feet as long as possible allowing pollution to go on as long as possible so as to generate more profits for the big businesses that seem to have our Environmental Protection Agency in their pockets. Hopefully an administration change will return the EPA back to the role of protecting the citizens and not big business.
Are you like me, an animal lover, who would love to be able to take care of more than the pets we now have? Well I have found a web site – The Animal Rescue Site – that will allow you to help feed abused, neglected, and abandoned animals by simply clicking a button on their web site. It takes only a few moments to visit and click the purple button to donate food to these needy animals. Corporate sponsors and advertisers use the number of daily clicks to donate food in exchange for advertising and public relations. They pay CharityUSA, the parent entity of the site on a per click basis. CharityUSA then directs a percentage of the ad revenue to animal shelters and sanctuaries. They then keep the remaining funds. The Animal Rescue Site is not a non-profit entity so it should not be confused with charity even though it does send a large portion of its revenues to the needy. While you are there you can click the tabs to give for hunger, help sponsor mammograms, click to give free health care for children, donate books for literacy, and assist in saving the rain forests. Now that I have explained that let me also make sure you know that upon your clicks, all proceeds are donated 100%. There is no profit off you clicks only giving. Now if you would visit every day and tell ten of your friends to tell ten of their friends and so on and so forth there would be a big difference made for abandoned pets and humans as well. Over all it is a win win situation for those in need. Can you please help them?
The Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) December decision to prevent California from regulating automobile emissions beyond national standards may have puzzled some but not me. The way I see it they [EPA] are conceding to the auto manufacturers in this matter. The auto makers are not wanting this to pass.
So EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, ( a Bush appointee) totally ignored his staffs advice that California and other states had good reason to enact global warming pollution standards higher than the federal rules and denied a waiver required for states to move forward with tougher emission control standards.
Apparently EPA staffers presented evidence to Johnson last year that shows California has met the “compelling and extraordinary conditions” needed under the Clean Air Act for the EPA to approve regulations set by the state. Staff members made a strong case for California and 18 other states to proceed with its greenhouse gas regulations. After dragging its heels for weeks the agency has allowed Sen. Barbara Boxer‘s (D California ) staff to see the documents this week. He [Johnson] Should be on the hot seat today when he appears before Boxer’s, Environment and Public Works Committee.
Initially the EPA refused to turn over any documents to Boxer’s committee. Then when they finally did turn them over they had many of the pages “whited” out. When Boxer raised objections the EPA agreed to allow staff members to see the documents but they could not photocopy them and ended up hand transcribing the documents that were then released to reporters. “This information belongs to the American people,” Boxer said. “It’s shameful that we’ve had to go through such a torturous process to get it.”
California feels they have greater risk from impacts of global warming than most other states do. Something that is supported by scientists at the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is one that is headed for the courts.
Despite the public outcry of conservationists, animal rights groups and just plain wolf lovers the Fish & Wildlife Service has made it easier to kill wolves in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Rockies region — even while they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act. The change to the rules will make it easier to slaughter wolves in Idaho,Wyoming and Montana. They could potentially kill hundreds of wolves, not because they are a threat to livestock but to try and increase deer and elk herds for more hunter kills.
The states would only need to prove that wolves are a “major cause” of the inability of elk and deer to meet state management goals. Wolves could be killed even if they only have an effect on how elk herds move or behave — not just if they reduce herd numbers. Predators like wolves actually help keep the herds strong by weeding out the sick and weak members. I would think that a real hunter would prefer hunting healthy alert animals rather than a game farm situation.
Since the gray wolf was reintroduced into the greater Yellowstone area they have helped balance out nature as it was meant to be. They suppress coyotes, change the behavior of deer and elk plus they benefit the grizzly bear by leaving kills that the bears quickly take over for themselves. For a little while we appeared to have came to our senses and realized we can coexist with the wolf. But it appears we are throwing that out the window with this loophole in the Endangered Species Act.
Everyone that reads this should contact your representatives in Washington DC to stop this before it goes any further.
A recent study says FEMA ignored and hid government research on the effects of formaldehyde in trailers used by victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Even going so far as to manipulate the findings so as to play down the dangers posed by the chemical. Though a FEMA spokesperson denies the charges saying [the agency] “did not suppress or inappropriately influence any report.”
Formaldehyde is commonly found in building materials especially those found in mobile homes. I worked in the mobile home industry doing everything from set-ups, truck driving, repairs and factory service. I remember all too well the acrid burning sting of going into a new trailer house and smelling the formaldehyde in the air. Most homes had aluminum vents situated so they would allow fresh air in and the formaldehyde to escape, while insuring that the window would not allow moisture or insects inside the new home. I would suspect that anyone with the least amount of common sense would insure that new trailers were aired out before residence is take up inside of them. But then again this is the federal government we are talking about and common sense goes right out the window with them. Just more college educated idiots in my book. Go out onto job sites and they are everywhere. Out of school with a degree in hand and not a clue as to what is really happening. But even these fools should know that formaldehyde is a dangerous chemical that can cause respiratory complications and has been classified as a carcinogen.
Spearheading the investigation is Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C. of the House Science and Technology Committee. The committee is looking into reports that show how FEMA ignored expert Christopher De Rosa who said,
“Any level of exposure to formaldehyde may pose a cancer risk, regardless of duration, failure to communicate this issue is possibly misleading and a threat to public health.” FEMA used data from unoccupied trailers that had aired out several days and then they compared them to federal standards for short term exposure never comparing them to long term exposure. As a matter of fact they even instructed scientists to leave out the details of long term exposure. I agree with Rep. Miller when he said, “Honest scientific studies don’t start with the conclusion, and then work backwards from there”.
They are currently testing a mere 500 out of 40,000 trailers and are expected to give their most likely flawed reports in February and May. Don’t hold your breath expecting an honest review. Honesty has been infrequent when it comes to anything under the executive branch the past seven years.
Here we go again with anti eco system policies, 3.4 million acres in Alaska‘s Tongass National Forest will be open to logging under a Bush Administration plan. Once more it seems that the Bush administration is in big corporations back pockets. They are backing a plan to open up 3.4 million acres acres of wild, road less back country areas open to clear cutting and new logging roads. It includes 2.4 million acres that are considered very remote and unmolested by man. At more than 26,000 square miles, the Tongass – often labeled the crown jewel in the national forest system – is larger than 10 states.
Christy Goldfuss with Environment America had this to say, “This plan simply ignores economic realities. Logging these pristine areas makes no sense”. He – like most environmentalists – fear that the proposal will devastate the forest. Just more of a Bush administration policy of catering to the timber industry.
The plan released Friday stems from a series of lawsuits filed by environmental groups in 2003, which forced the Forest Service to adjust its timber sale program away from roadless areas to land that can be reached by roads that meander for 3,700 miles through the southeast Alaska forest.
In 2005, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2003 plan on grounds that the Forest Service had mistakenly doubled the volume of timber needed to supply local sawmills and failed to consider better protections for roadless areas.
Hopefully they will get this one halted as well. There is plenty of forest accessable by roads that they do not need to open up our pristine forest to the greed of big timber companies.
As 2007 draws to a close it appears that it will be the hottest year on record in the northern hemisphere. U.S. weather stations broke or tied 263 all-time high temperature records. England had the warmest April in 348 years of record-keeping there. It wasn’t just the temperature. There were other oddball weather events. A tornado struck New York City in August, inspiring the tabloid headline: “This ain’t Kansas!” In the Middle East, an equally rare cyclone spun up in June, hitting Oman and Iran. Major U.S. lakes shrank; Atlanta had to worry about its drinking water supply. South Africa got its first significant snowfall in 25 years. And on Reunion Island, 400 miles east of Africa, nearly 155 inches of rain fell in three days ? a world record for the most rain in 72 hours.Thats almost 13 feet of water. Enough to fill most swimming pools to capacity. Worst of all ? at least according to climate scientists ? the Arctic, which serves as the world’s refrigerator, dramatically warmed in 2007, shattering records for the amount of melting ice. 2007 really brought some of the naysayers over to the fact that the earth is heating up and we apparently are the cause of it. Al Gore won an Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth” plus the Noble Peace Prize for his work in trying to get the message out that we need to be doing something about it and real soon, if it is not already too late. Al Gore was vindicated by these awards , now maybe those who poked fun at him with nicknames of “Owl Gore” and others as they were denying there was anything going wrong with our climate. They have for years denied the fact that the earth is getting warmer or said it was a natural phenomenon.
Through the first 10 months, it was the hottest year recorded on land and the third hottest when ocean temperatures are included. Setting new records was all too common, especially in August. At U.S. weather stations, more than 8,000 new heat records were set or tied for specific August dates. More remarkably that same month, more than 100 all-time temperature records were tied or broken ? regardless of the date ? either for the highest reading or the warmest low temperature at night.
Across Europe this past summer, extreme heat waves killed dozens of people. And it wasn’t just the heat. It was the rain. There was either too little or too much. More than 60 percent of the United States was either abnormally dry or suffering from drought. I know here in the upstate of South Carolina we were begging for rain all summer long as fields and gardens suffered through the near drought conditions. Though I get my water from a well and do not get it from the two pristine lakes that feed Greenville I do know that both of these lakes are low and needing rain to fill them back up. Atlanta‘s main water source, Lake Lanier, shrank to an all-time low. Lake Okeechobee, crucial to south Florida, hit its lowest level in recorded history in May, exposing muck and debris not seen for decades. Lake Superior, the biggest and deepest of the Great Lakes, dropped to its lowest August and September levels in history. Los Angeles hit its driest year on record.
Lakes fed by the Colorado River, which help supply water for more than 20 million Westerners, were only half full. Australia, already a dry continent, suffered its worst drought in a century. On the other extreme, record rains fell in China, England and Wales. Minnesota got the worst of everything: a devastating June and July drought followed by record August rainfall. In one March day, Southern California got torrential downpours, hail, snow and fierce winds. Then in the fall came devastating fires driven by Santa Ana winds.
The time for action is now. We must act to save the world as we know it. The polar ice caps are rapidly melting – something that could raise the sea levels by dozens of feet – something that would put most major sea side ports and cities under Water. Even places like the Whitehouse could become inudated by water.If sea levels were to raise that much the world as we know it would change. I hope that it doesn’t ever come to that and we have managed to slow down the greenhouse gases that are leading this heat wave.