And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: AmeriScan: April 13, 1999 For Full Text and Graphics Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr99/1999L-04-13-09.html PUSH ON TO DEFEAT NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT The Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project (CMEP) is mobilizing to pressure members of Congress to vote against the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999. The bill is scheduled for a mark up by the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Power on Wednesday. If Congress passes this bill, the CMEP says, it will bring nuclear waste within one half mile of 50 million Americans in 43 states as it is transported across the country to Nevada and dumped at a temporary site. The Department of Energy's projections for an accident leading to a small release of radioactive material (1,380 curies) in a rural area show that it would: contaminate a 42 square mile area require 460 days to clean up carry a $620 million price tag for clean up Nuclear waste remains hazardous for a million years, the group says, and warns "there is currently no known technology for the safe disposition of nuclear waste." Transporting nuclear waste now, when the final disposition of waste is unknown, may require another round of transport from Nevada, the group says. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board is still in the process of assessing the suitability of a permanent nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, currently the only site under consideration. * * * FIREFIGHTERS ON ALERT ACROSS THE COUNTRY About 1,218 wildfire outbreaks have scorched 33,525 acres across Florida, prompting Governor Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency for the entire state. The state's rainfall is well below normal for this time of year. Drought conditions are high in central areas with a rating of between 680 and 694 on the Ketch-Byram Drought Index in which 800 is the highest. In Connecticut, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today raised the forest fire danger level to "extreme" due to continuing sunny, dry and very windy weather conditions. "Forest fire danger ratings of 'extreme' are uncommon in Connecticut. The last 'extreme' danger level was issued in September, 1995. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho reports the potential for wildfires remains above normal in all or parts of 16 U.S. states between now and May 5, particularly in the southwest and southeast. The largest area threatened includes western Texas, the southern half of New Mexico, the southern half of Arizona, Southern California, and the southern areas of Nevada and Utah. Conditions are so severe in Texas the governor recently submitted a request to FEMA for an Emergency Disaster Declaration to preposition resources in anticipation of the need for fire fighting later this year. * * * UNIVERSITIES, COMPANIES, NGO CREATE CLEAN CHARLES 2005 COALITION Boston's Charles River is significantly cleaner this year said John DeVillars, New England administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today. He gave the river a grade of B- up from a C a year ago. DeVillars said the river is nwo clean enough for boating 83 percent of the time, up from 70 percent last year and meets swimming standards 51 percent of the time, compared to 34 percent last year. DeVillars announced that a dozen private institutions along the river have joined forces with the EPA to create the "Clean Charles 2005 Coalition," to restore the river so it is fishable and swimmable by Earth Day 2005. The partnership includes five universities, six companies and an environmental group: MIT, Harvard, Northeastern University, Brandeis University, Boston University, Polaroid, Triumverate Environmental Services, Genzyme, Stop & Shop, Mass General Hospital, Ionics Inc., and the Charles River Watershed Association. Members of the newly formed coalition announced that they will work together and as individual landholders to work towards voluntary stormwater management and river-related education and to focus attention on the need for water-quality research. The group, which is aiming for a membership of 100 in the next 18 months, also plans to mentor smaller institutions along the river. * * * PETA RUNS PRANK AD TO OUTFOX FUR WEARERS Fur-wearers may have thought advertisements that read, "Store your fur coat with us and make money," were too good to be true. In fact, the ads-which ran in newspapers last week-were no joke at all. But if people who called the toll-free number for "Peta Fur Coat Storage Services" did not catch on that PETA, the animal rights group, was behind the ad, they may be in for a surprise when they get PETA's response in the mail. The "making money" actually refers to a tax deduction, and the ads are part of a new campaign to get fur coats donated to PETA for use in educational displays and protests. Callers to the "storage hotline" 1-888-290-8977 hear a recording that asks them to leave their name and address for information on how they can save thousands and make money. PETA then sends them a video shot undercover on an Illinois fur farm that shows injured, convulsing foxes suffering and dying without food or water. PETA hopes that such scenes, narrated by Stella McCartney, the fashion-designing daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, will make fur-wearers want to "store" their coats for good by donating them to PETA for a tax deduction. The "thousands saved" would be animals, because after watching the video, people will likely think twice about ever buying a fur coat again. The ads ran Thursday in The Philadelphia Daily News, The Seattle Times, The Boston Globe, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. PETA has received more than 70 responses. * * * CARS, MEAT CAUSE GREATEST ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE A new book co-authored by Dr. Warren Leon, deputy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, takes the first overall look at which consumer alternatives cause the least and most environmental damage. "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices" shows that only a few consumer activities - use of cars and trucks, consumption of meat, and choice of homes and appliances - are responsible for the vast majority of consumer related environmental harm. "Some consumer decisions, like whether to choose paper or plastic grocery bags, are insignificant," said Dr. Leon. "Our book shows people how to focus on those environmental choices that make the biggest difference." UCS developed an economic model to analyze the impact of household spending on the most significant consumer related environmental problems: air pollution, water pollution, alteration of natural habitats, and global warming. After grouping 134 consumer spending choices into 50 categories like furnishings, clothing, computers, the authors discovered that most environmental degradation is linked to just seven categories: cars; meat; produce and grains; household appliances and lighting; home heating and cooling; home construction; and household water and sewage. Cars and light trucks cause the most environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than one-quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Food is second only to transportation as a source of consumer related environmental problems. Red meat causes especially high amounts of environmental damage for the nutrition it delivers. According to the book, cutting the average household's meat consumption, both red meat and poultry, in half would reduce food related land use and water pollution by about 30 percent. The "Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices" is published by Three Rivers Press. * * * FISHERIES SERVICE AGREES COOK INLET BELUGA WHALE AT RISK The National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an official finding agreeing with a petition to list the Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species. The petition, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, former Inupiat whale hunter Joel Blatchford, Trustees of Alaska, the Center for Marine Conservation and others, documents the rapid decline of the beluga due to over-hunting and likely impacts to its habitat and prey base by commercial fishing, oil production, and excessive boat traffic. Formerly seen throughout the northern Gulf of Alaska from Cook Inlet to Yakutat Bay, the beluga is now restricted to Cook Inlet. Even there, it has become very rare in the lower inlet and is continuing to decline in the upper inlet. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates that the 1994 population of 653 whales dropped to 347 by 1998. In the 1970s, by contrast, it was common to see 450 or more whales in a single day. The 90-day finding is the first of three hurdles a species must pass to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The National Marine Fisheries Service must determine whether to formally propose listing with in 10 months, and whether to issue a final rule by March, 2001. * * * SOLAR CYCLE CREATES CLIMATE CHANGE BUT NOT GLOBAL WARMING A new study confirms that changing levels of energy from the sun are not a major cause of global warming. But space researchers have found that variations in the energy given off by the Sun do affect the Earth's wind patterns and the climate of the planet. According to Drew Shindell, a climate researcher from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, New York, the study's lead author, previous studies neglected the effects of increased solar activity on the ozone layer. They also overlooked the complex chemistry of the upper atmosphere where most of the high-energy radiation, including ultra-violet radiation - the kind responsible for creating the ozone layer - gets absorbed. "When we added the upper atmosphere's chemistry into our climate model, we found that during a solar maximum major climate changes occur in North America." The changes are caused by stronger westerly winds. Changes also occur in wind speeds and directions all over the Earth's surface. "Solar variability changes the distribution of energy," said Shindell. "Over an 11-year solar cycle, the total amount of energy has not changed very much. But where the energy goes changes as wind speeds and directions change." During the Sun's 11-year cycle, from a solar maximum to a solar minimum, the energy released by the Sun changes by only about a tenth of a percent. When the solar cycle is at a maximum, it puts out a larger percentage of high-energy radiation, which increases the amount of ozone in the upper atmosphere. The increased ozone warms the upper atmosphere and the warm air affects winds all the way from the stratosphere - six to 30 miles up - to the Earth's surface. "The change in wind strength and direction creates different climate patterns around the globe," said Shindell. * * * MONTANA COUNTY CHOOSES FLOOD CONTROL BY WETLAND PRESERVATION Lincoln County Montana purchased about 30 acres of land located between Libby High School and the Woodway Park Subdivision last week as part of its effort to minimize flood damage and related expenses, according to local officials. The purchase ensures that the flood prone area will not be developed in the future. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided funds for the acquisition through its Project Impact initiative, a program designed to help communities throughout the country break the cycle of damage and repair by becoming more disaster resistant. In addition to serving as natural flood mitigation project, the area will be designated as community park land. With the help of Montana Department of Transportation funds, a pathway will be constructed so local residents can access and pass through the area. Libby High School students will design and install interpretive signs that explain the importance of preserving wetland habitat and how this mitigation project protects wildlife, vegetation and people. AmeriScan Index: March 1999 � Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
