The following is my abridgment of an article from the Washington Post. The full version can be found HERE.
The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" dangers to public health and the environment.
The Pentagon has also declined to sign agreements required by law that cover 12 other military sites on the Superfund list of the most polluted places in the country. The contracts would spell out a remediation plan, set schedules, and allow the EPA to oversee the work and assess penalties if milestones are missed.
The actions are part of a standoff between the Pentagon and environmental regulators that has been building during the Bush administration, leaving the EPA in a legal limbo as it addresses growing concerns about contaminants on military bases that are seeping into drinking water aquifers and soil.
Under executive branch policy, the EPA will not sue the Pentagon, as it would a private polluter.
"This is stunning," said Rena Steinzor, who helped write the Superfund laws as a congressional staffer, teaches at the University of Maryland Law School, and is president of the nonprofit Center for Progressive Reform. "The idea that they would refuse to sign a final order -- that is the height of amazing nerve."
Congress established the Superfund program in 1980 to clean up the country's most contaminated places, and of the 1,255 sites on the list the Pentagon owns 129 -- the most of any entity. Other federal agencies with properties on the list include NASA and the Energy Department, but they have signed EPA cleanup agreements without protest.
In dealing with cleanup efforts, some military branches have been more cooperative than others. The Navy has signed cleanup agreements for all of its Superfund sites, whereas the Air Force has not signed one in 14 years.
But Superfund sites are only one aspect of the Pentagon's environmental problems. It has about 25,000 contaminated properties in all 50 states.
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said "I find it troubling, not only that the Department of Defense is in flagrant violation of final orders issued by the EPA, but that DOD is now attempting to circumvent the law and Congress' intent by calling on the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and the Budget to intervene," he said in a statement. "The EPA is the expert agency charged by Congress with enforcing our environmental laws, and the Administration needs to allow them to do their job to protect the public health and safety."
EPA spokeswoman Roxanne Smith said final orders were issued because the agency is worried about drinking water and soil contamination at Fort Meade, Tyndall and McGuire. "Under DOD's management, some of these sites have languished for years, with limited or no cleanup underway," she said.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Top 10 Cities for Design in America
The following is an article from BusinessWeek by Oriana Schwindt:
"What makes a city great is a topic guaranteed to spark heated debate. Now architectural firm RMJM Hillier has ridden into the fray with a list of 'America's Best Cities for Design,' produced with the American Institute of Architecture and Zogby International. American cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants were judged according to criteria such as the quality of public transit, the number of LEED-registered buildings (indicating sustainable design) and how many of the city's employees work within creative industries such as performing arts or publishing. Interviews with residents were also used to rate a city's design factor, which takes in elements of a city's architecture as well as its appeal as a home for creative types. Large cities such as Los Angeles feature in the top 10, along with smaller ones such as Portland, Ore. But Chicago's greening efforts and architectural innovation saw it take top prize."
The results were as follows:
10: Washington, DC
9: Philadelphia
8: Denver
7: Seattle
6: San Francisco
5: Portland
4: Los Angeles
3: Boston
2: New York
1: Chicago
A longer version of this article available HERE.
"What makes a city great is a topic guaranteed to spark heated debate. Now architectural firm RMJM Hillier has ridden into the fray with a list of 'America's Best Cities for Design,' produced with the American Institute of Architecture and Zogby International. American cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants were judged according to criteria such as the quality of public transit, the number of LEED-registered buildings (indicating sustainable design) and how many of the city's employees work within creative industries such as performing arts or publishing. Interviews with residents were also used to rate a city's design factor, which takes in elements of a city's architecture as well as its appeal as a home for creative types. Large cities such as Los Angeles feature in the top 10, along with smaller ones such as Portland, Ore. But Chicago's greening efforts and architectural innovation saw it take top prize."
The results were as follows:
10: Washington, DC
9: Philadelphia
8: Denver
7: Seattle
6: San Francisco
5: Portland
4: Los Angeles
3: Boston
2: New York
1: Chicago
A longer version of this article available HERE.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
2008 International Year of the Reef
Hi all,
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! But now I'm back to remind y'all that 2008 was declared the International Year of the Reef (IYOR)by the International Coral Reef Initiative. It's been a decade since the last IYOR (1997), but the mission is still the same: raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and educate people on how to protect coral reefs. Remember, coral reefs are vital to the health of the ocean, and in turn the planet.
In the spirit of IYOR, the following are a bunch of great links:
To learn more about what you can do in your everyday life to help protect coral reefs, visit http://www.iyor.org/resources/tips.asp.
To view a calendar of events celebrating/promoting IYOR, visit http://www.iyor.org/Calendar/events_list.aspx.
To view videos (TV ads airing in the U.S.) on ways to help reefs containing some nice wildlife footage visit http://www.iyor.org/TV/.
To meet the adorable Japanese IYOR mascots, visit http://www.iyor.org/focalpoints/countries/japan/JP_mascots.asp.
To learn more about World Water Monitoring Day on September 18th, visit http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/.
And mark your calendars! September 20 is International Clean-up Day! Last year on International Clean-up day, over seven million pounds of trash and marine debris were cleaned up in over 100 different countries. This year, you can help! Visit http://www.projectaware.org/americas/english/icd.asp to find out about volunteer opportunities in your area, or to start your own event! Keep in mind they have volunteer events for both land-lubbers and SCUBA certified individuals or dive-clubs.
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! But now I'm back to remind y'all that 2008 was declared the International Year of the Reef (IYOR)by the International Coral Reef Initiative. It's been a decade since the last IYOR (1997), but the mission is still the same: raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and educate people on how to protect coral reefs. Remember, coral reefs are vital to the health of the ocean, and in turn the planet.
In the spirit of IYOR, the following are a bunch of great links:
To learn more about what you can do in your everyday life to help protect coral reefs, visit http://www.iyor.org/resources/tips.asp.
To view a calendar of events celebrating/promoting IYOR, visit http://www.iyor.org/Calendar/events_list.aspx.
To view videos (TV ads airing in the U.S.) on ways to help reefs containing some nice wildlife footage visit http://www.iyor.org/TV/.
To meet the adorable Japanese IYOR mascots, visit http://www.iyor.org/focalpoints/countries/japan/JP_mascots.asp.
To learn more about World Water Monitoring Day on September 18th, visit http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/.
And mark your calendars! September 20 is International Clean-up Day! Last year on International Clean-up day, over seven million pounds of trash and marine debris were cleaned up in over 100 different countries. This year, you can help! Visit http://www.projectaware.org/americas/english/icd.asp to find out about volunteer opportunities in your area, or to start your own event! Keep in mind they have volunteer events for both land-lubbers and SCUBA certified individuals or dive-clubs.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Take your canvas bag...or make better plastic ones!!!
This video by the great Tim Minchin is a must-watch. "Take your canvas bags to the supermarket!"
It turns out that maybe some day plastic will be okay again....thanks do this genius of a kid! WOW!
It turns out that maybe some day plastic will be okay again....thanks do this genius of a kid! WOW!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Endorsement...
One of the largest and most influential environmental groups in the country has endorsed......Barack Obama.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Role Model, NOT Hypocrit
There are still a lot of those trashy Al Gore smear emails going around out there about his own energy use, but here are some helpful, de-bunking facts for everyone:
1. Al Gore has recently completed renovations to make his residence a model "green" home.
2. This plan has been in the works for a long time and has only recently been made public because of attacks by the right.
3. Gore's home meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. Al Gore's neighborhood council had zoning laws that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels. That has now changed and Al Gore has installed solar panels on his roof.
5. He has installed a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of his water heating.
6. He has upgraded his windows and ductwork for maximum energy efficiency.
7. He has installed energy-efficient light bulbs.
8. He has created a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.
9. Al Gore drives a hybrid vehicle.
10. Al Gore's family has signed up for 100% percent green power through Green Power Switch.
11. Al Gore espouses a very consistent belief in purchasing carbon offsets to offset his family's carbon footprint. This is a concept the right-wing fails to understand and I suggest you do some reading before you discount it.
12. Al Gore flies commercial whenever possible. He is also an ex Vice President of the United States and receives numerous threats. Depending upon the security assessment and his schedule he is sometimes precluded from flying commercial.
13. Al Gore is an ex-Vice President who maintains his official office in his home for which requires adequate staff and space. He's has no other offices, making it unnecessary to use energy in separate locations.
14. The Gores' energy bills are in line with others in their part of the country. They live in the South, where extreme heat and humidity make air-conditioning the main drain on energy usage.
15. The Gores purchase, at great expense to themselves, "green" energy for their home (green energy costs 50% more than energy from conventional sources).
16. The Gores purchase carbon-offset credits to help mitigate the effect of their energy use on the environment.
17. One hundred percent of the profits from Al Gore's book and movie "An Inconvenient Truth" are going to a new bi-partisan educational campaign to further spread the message about global warming in addition to having a thousand people offer his slide presentation to groups around the world.
source- http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/8163-debunking-the-bunk-the-truth-about-al-gore-s-lifestyle
1. Al Gore has recently completed renovations to make his residence a model "green" home.
2. This plan has been in the works for a long time and has only recently been made public because of attacks by the right.
3. Gore's home meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. Al Gore's neighborhood council had zoning laws that previously prohibited the installation of solar panels. That has now changed and Al Gore has installed solar panels on his roof.
5. He has installed a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of his water heating.
6. He has upgraded his windows and ductwork for maximum energy efficiency.
7. He has installed energy-efficient light bulbs.
8. He has created a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management.
9. Al Gore drives a hybrid vehicle.
10. Al Gore's family has signed up for 100% percent green power through Green Power Switch.
11. Al Gore espouses a very consistent belief in purchasing carbon offsets to offset his family's carbon footprint. This is a concept the right-wing fails to understand and I suggest you do some reading before you discount it.
12. Al Gore flies commercial whenever possible. He is also an ex Vice President of the United States and receives numerous threats. Depending upon the security assessment and his schedule he is sometimes precluded from flying commercial.
13. Al Gore is an ex-Vice President who maintains his official office in his home for which requires adequate staff and space. He's has no other offices, making it unnecessary to use energy in separate locations.
14. The Gores' energy bills are in line with others in their part of the country. They live in the South, where extreme heat and humidity make air-conditioning the main drain on energy usage.
15. The Gores purchase, at great expense to themselves, "green" energy for their home (green energy costs 50% more than energy from conventional sources).
16. The Gores purchase carbon-offset credits to help mitigate the effect of their energy use on the environment.
17. One hundred percent of the profits from Al Gore's book and movie "An Inconvenient Truth" are going to a new bi-partisan educational campaign to further spread the message about global warming in addition to having a thousand people offer his slide presentation to groups around the world.
source- http://bravenewfilms.org/blog
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Ditch the Bottled Water!
For the Daily Dispatch Stephanie Nelson performed a cost-benefit analysis of the benefits of bottled water vs. using a Brita/PUR pitcher system vs. drinking plain old tap water. Highlights below:
“ The typical cost of the store-brand gallon of filtered water is about a dollar. The typical sale price of a six-pack of half-liter bottles is about $1, which is about one-third more expensive at $1.34 per gallon. By comparison, if you were to buy a pitcher water-filter system (such as PUR or Brita) your average cost per gallon of filtered water would be about 25 cents. The Brita company bases this cost estimate on the purchase of a $25 pitcher (one filter included), plus 5 replacement filters at $9 each, for a total yearly cost of $70. Each filter produces 40 gallons of water and the average Brita owner uses six filters in a year, to produce 240 gallons, which is the equivalent of using about two-thirds of a gallon per day. (Of course, your costs would be lower if you took advantage of Brita and PUR coupons that you can find on their Web sites and in the newspaper coupon circulars.) You could also buy the systems at household stores and use the 20 percent off coupon for the household store to buy the system. If your family uses two-thirds of a gallon of filtered water per day, your annual savings would be about $175, compared to using gallon jugs. That is also a conservative estimate; people that buy individual water bottles at the grocery store ($1 per six pack on sale) or individual water bottles at concession stands ($1 or more each) would save far more money by using a pitcher water-filter system. Shoppers who use filtered-water systems also help reduce the environmental impact of producing and disposing of plastic bottles. The Web site http://www.filterforgood.com/ (sponsored by Brita) encourages consumers to make a pledge to help reduce plastic water bottle waste. You will also be able to print a coupon for Brita products after you make your pledge, including $5 off the pitcher system or $1 off refills.
The Web site mentions a disturbing fact: Consumers send 38 billion plastic water bottles to landfills every year. Not only does that add trash to our environment, but it also takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to create that many bottles. Even though the bottles are recyclable, we do not manage to get them all to recycle bins. According to the site, last year the average consumer used 167 plastic bottles but only recycled 38 (28 percent). Shoppers can get $5 coupons for the PUR filter system or $2 coupons for the PUR refills at http://www.purwater.com/. Click on the Promotions link to sign up for coupons that you will receive by mail.”
To add to Ms. Nelson’s through research, I’d like to point out that in the U.S. bottled water isn’t even necessarily better, or "more pure," than tap water. Bottledwater.org says that the “Bottled water standard of quality . . . is as stringent as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for public water supplies.” Bottled water legally only has to be equally as healthy or pure as your tap water, so if you're suspicious of your tap water, you should be equally as suspicious of domestic bottled waters. While I am sure that some bottled water companies exceed the standards for public drinking water, it is common knowledge that many bottled water companied simply bottle the tap water received by their plant.
What then, is the point of buying bottled water? Reduce your waste and improve your health by drinking tap water, or getting a pitcher or faucet filtration system.
“ The typical cost of the store-brand gallon of filtered water is about a dollar. The typical sale price of a six-pack of half-liter bottles is about $1, which is about one-third more expensive at $1.34 per gallon. By comparison, if you were to buy a pitcher water-filter system (such as PUR or Brita) your average cost per gallon of filtered water would be about 25 cents. The Brita company bases this cost estimate on the purchase of a $25 pitcher (one filter included), plus 5 replacement filters at $9 each, for a total yearly cost of $70. Each filter produces 40 gallons of water and the average Brita owner uses six filters in a year, to produce 240 gallons, which is the equivalent of using about two-thirds of a gallon per day. (Of course, your costs would be lower if you took advantage of Brita and PUR coupons that you can find on their Web sites and in the newspaper coupon circulars.) You could also buy the systems at household stores and use the 20 percent off coupon for the household store to buy the system. If your family uses two-thirds of a gallon of filtered water per day, your annual savings would be about $175, compared to using gallon jugs. That is also a conservative estimate; people that buy individual water bottles at the grocery store ($1 per six pack on sale) or individual water bottles at concession stands ($1 or more each) would save far more money by using a pitcher water-filter system. Shoppers who use filtered-water systems also help reduce the environmental impact of producing and disposing of plastic bottles. The Web site http://www.filterforgood.com/ (sponsored by Brita) encourages consumers to make a pledge to help reduce plastic water bottle waste. You will also be able to print a coupon for Brita products after you make your pledge, including $5 off the pitcher system or $1 off refills.
The Web site mentions a disturbing fact: Consumers send 38 billion plastic water bottles to landfills every year. Not only does that add trash to our environment, but it also takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to create that many bottles. Even though the bottles are recyclable, we do not manage to get them all to recycle bins. According to the site, last year the average consumer used 167 plastic bottles but only recycled 38 (28 percent). Shoppers can get $5 coupons for the PUR filter system or $2 coupons for the PUR refills at http://www.purwater.com/. Click on the Promotions link to sign up for coupons that you will receive by mail.”
To add to Ms. Nelson’s through research, I’d like to point out that in the U.S. bottled water isn’t even necessarily better, or "more pure," than tap water. Bottledwater.org says that the “Bottled water standard of quality . . . is as stringent as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for public water supplies.” Bottled water legally only has to be equally as healthy or pure as your tap water, so if you're suspicious of your tap water, you should be equally as suspicious of domestic bottled waters. While I am sure that some bottled water companies exceed the standards for public drinking water, it is common knowledge that many bottled water companied simply bottle the tap water received by their plant.
What then, is the point of buying bottled water? Reduce your waste and improve your health by drinking tap water, or getting a pitcher or faucet filtration system.
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