It must be the water...

All I can say is "Wow, We've finally found a replacement for Muiderman."

Duke Greene is undeniably the best acoustic guitar player to emerge from the West Michigan music scene since Erik Muiderman left the Folk Lizards behind and headed out west to write music in Oregon.... or maybe even since the boys in Karmic split up and Juano Lippi landed in New York.

It's been a long time coming, but Grand Rapids finally generated another 6-string master. I'm not certain how we are going to hang on to Greene, he's destined to hit the big time soon. His soul-searching original acoustic tunes are what the instrument was invented for. I'll admit Duke, one listen to "Holiday" and I picked up my Fender immediately and tried to play along.

Click the links to listen to Greene's first 2005 release "True Enough". There is more to come, he's only just begun. The next release party is in June.

Catch Duke Greene live:
Genesis, 1601 Gallbraith SE, March 29th
Dillenbeck's, 1059 W. Fulton, April 11th, 7-9pm

Download on Itunes now or find him on CD-Baby.

Wild West Michigan

GUEST BLOGGER: Tom Leonard
Mr. Leonard examines the virtues of Grand Rapids and surrounding landscape from the perspective of a place-centered eco-ethic. I concur, take a stand for what you believe in the place that you love.

For the last century and more, Michigan has had a reputation as a world-class industrial leader on the one hand, and an outdoor paradise on the other. This contrast between city and wilderness, between the populated centers and the remote retreats, imbues and enhances the Michigan experience. And nowhere in the state is that contrast any more clear than here in metropolitan Grand Rapids and the central West Michigan region.

I like to say that Grand Rapids is now Michigan’s first city. That may not be so in population, geographical extent or capital investment. But it is so in one very important respect: reputation. Grand Rapids is the Michigan city that all Michiganians can take pride in. Grand Rapids is the Michigan city that, year in and year out, seems to work best.

Manufacturing, arts and entertainment, social diversity, bipartisanship, business innovation, industrial design, architecture, infrastructure, history, spiritual leadership. All these things are a part of our capital, points of our pride.

But we are not made important by sheer bigness or by the works of the human population here.

Take a ride out from the center of Grand Rapids, in any direction you like, and in half an hour you may find you have touched a piece of Michigan’s great wilderness heritage.

Go north and you will find black bear habitat almost as close as the Grand Rapids suburbs, with occasional documented visits from creatures of the ursine persuasion. Half an hour to the south, if you know where to look, you can find what may be the southernmost nesting pair of common loons in North America.

To the east the Grand River and its tributaries wind away, the traditional home of the beaver, mink, river otter, and other species seldom seen since the days of the Astor fur traders, but now returning to our waters.

And to the West, of course, the lake itself, and the animals and plants that reside within it. Along the Lake Michigan coast, in our estuaries and rivers, the bald eagle plunges and the lake sturgeon turns a solemn, Devonian profile. In the wetlands and cornfields, sandhill cranes have grown abundant in central and west Michigan. Few things are more plainly inhuman, in the prehistoric sense, than the sight of the cranes arriving in their wild roosting areas at dusk.

A lot of people don’t know that our area provides a foothold for many endangered and threatened species, especially birds. Thomas Funke, the resident manager of the Michigan Audubon’s Otis Sanctuary in Barry County, reports that the Barry State Game Area is home to seven of Michigan’s nine globally imperiled bird species. They include Henslow’s sparrow, the golden-winged warbler, redheaded woodpecker, northern bobwhite, and the olive-sided flycatcher.

In fact, Funke notes that whooping cranes, among the world’s rarest birds, have been reported in West Michigan three years running.

Part of what makes it possible to see rare bird species in West Michigan is the availability of some remaining large tracts of contiguous woodland habitat. Barry State Game Area is one of a number of such areas, otherwise rare in the southern part of the state. The Allegan and Middleville State Game Areas are also nearby. Some of the species mentioned above could not persist in an area with less than 4,000 or 5,000 acres.

Thoreau called these creatures his “brute neighbors.” Part of the formula for sustainability of any community involves the welfare of our brute neighbors. These fellow West Michiganians, whose existence may be barely noticeable to many of us, are part of the community we hope to sustain with our green buildings, 21st-century designs and renewable power sources, our agricultural resources and policies, our pollution scrubbers, transit vehicles, and infrastructure.

We may think we are being generous to them if we sustain them. But really we are being generous to ourselves.

Whether you are a birder or sportsman or just an alert hiker, much of the charm and wonder of your chosen region will have to do with its wildlife. For my own part, I would like to see our wildlife flourishing in a way it does not now. A flourishing wildlife requires room, especially the room to be seldom visited, to be left alone. Small inroads and appearances, even by careful, well-intentioned people, test their sometimes precarious existence. A diverse wildlife, by contrast, requires diverse habitats. Indeed, they may be dependent on systems of natural habitat stretching well beyond our borders.

A hopeful effort to systematically protect local natural areas and wildlife is the Green Infrastructure concept being developed by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, a regional planning group. The notion of green infrastructure suggests how nature, instead of being regarded as an impediment to economic growth and development, or as the absence of useful endeavor, needs instead to be considered as an amenity, and allowed to grow in proportion with the region as a whole.

Government policy, instead of refereeing the gradual destruction of wildlife habitat over time, needs to reflect and support such values.

Carbon Neutral Sugar, Baby

Beyond the Organic Label, Florida Crystals and Carbonfund.org Partner to Introduce Organic Sugar Line to Carbon-Conscious Consumers

Silver Spring, MD – March 19, 2008 – Carbonfund.org and Florida Crystals Corporation today announced the CarbonFree® certification of Florida Crystals Organic Sugar, marking a growing trend of businesses that are bringing carbon-conscious consumerism directly to their customers and a growing number of eco-conscious consumers who scrutinize food production methods and seek products that minimize climate impact.

Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree label, which will appear on Florida Crystals' entire line of organic sugar, indicates that the product’s entire carbon footprint will be offset through the support of greenhouse gas reduction projects, allowing consumers to make carbon-conscious buying decisions right in the store.

The average American consumes approximately 107 pounds of sugar a year, according to a 2003-2004 United States Department of Agriculture Food Intake Survey. With a new line of sugar that offers an organic and CarbonFree option, consumers can take a further step to combat global warming. Meanwhile, A new study shows that roughly half of all consumers now consider questions of sustainability in their purchasing decisions, with particular focus on the food and beverage industry.

Carbonfund.org certified Florida Crystals organic sugar CarbonFree after a rigorous life cycle analysis (LCA) performed by carbon management consultants, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management. They determined the product’s carbon footprint by assessing the primary inputs of planting and growing the sugar cane, through the harvesting, milling and packaging processes, to the product’s final delivery to store shelves. Each product’s carbon footprint was rendered neutral through greenhouse gas cutting measures, specifically, through Florida Crystals’ production of renewable energy.

CarbonFree product certification entails four main steps:
● Determine the product’s carbon footprint through an LCA
● Certify and register the product as CarbonFree
● Offset the product’s footprint through the support of greenhouse gas reduction projects
● Conduct annual review and recertification

“CarbonFree certification and labeling is the next big trend in environmentally responsible living,” Carbonfund.org Executive Director Eric Carlson said. “Florida Crystals is increasing awareness among consumers of the impact their buying decisions have on the planet. We’re very proud to have them as a partner.”

“Florida Crystals certification is unique,” said Luis Fernandez, Florida Crystals’ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “Unlike other manufacturers who rely on the purchase of carbon credits from third parties, we are able to provide our products’ carbon neutrality through our own production of renewable energy. We have a strong commitment to the environment and continue to invest in the expansion of our renewable energy program. We are proud to receive CarbonFree certification.”

Other Carbonfund.org CarbonFree products include:

● Tropical Traders’ Royal Hawaiian Honey
● Ecofuture’s THEbulb
● Yakima racks and other products
● Knu: Sustainable Contemporary Furniture

Note: I'm posting this because CarbonFund.org is a business partner of my employer, Industrial Woodworking Corporation and it's subsidiary Knu LLC. IWC and Knu joined CarbonFund's CarbonFree program in January 2007 and have offset 100% of our carbon emissions since then. We are, as far as I know, the first furniture manufacturer in Michigan - perhaps in the country - to do so.

Steelcase Tackles Wind Power

Steelcase will purchase all the renewable energy credits produced by a new 10 megawatt wind farm in Panhandle, Texas developed by John Deere Renewables, the wind-energy development unit of Deere & Co., for at least the first five years of its operation.

Naming rights come with the agreement. The wind farm will be named the “Wege Wind Energy Farm, provided by Steelcase” named for Peter Wege, a Michigan environmentalist and Steelcase founding family member. Steelcase is paying a premium for the RECs in order to add their name to them.

Expect more of this kind of advertising in the future.

Bradley Johnson, John Deere’s director for business development, says that premium prices for naming rights will enable Deere to undertake projects that are too small to be economically practical. Several companies have expressed interest in naming rights.

“This is a new business model, and it could attract any brand that wants to be linked with sustainability,” Ted Rose, vice president for business development for Renewable Choice Energy, which led the transaction and serves as the marketer for the project, says in the Times article. “Imagine the G.M. wind farm, the Apple wind farm - it’s not unthinkable at all.”

The power expected to be generated by the wind farm represents approximately 20 percent of the power Steelcase facilities require in the U.S.

NEW YORK JOINS GREAT LAKES WATER RESOURCES COMPACT

Spitzer leaves and Paterson signs the compact...

Ye olde press release from the state of New York:

Governor Designate David A. Paterson today announced that legislation has been signed authorizing New York State to join the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The Compact is a multi-state agreement designed to protect, conserve, and improve the water resources of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. The legislation was signed by Governor Spitzer on March 4, 2008.

“The Great Lakes and their bays and tributaries contain approximately 18 percent of the world’s supply of freshwater, and 90 percent of the United States’ supply of fresh surface water,” said Governor Designate Paterson. “Unfortunately, water levels in the Great Lakes have seen drastic declines in the last decade, and it is vitally important that we protect and conserve this essential water resource. The Great Lakes Compact demonstrates the commitment of all of the Great Lakes states to work together to achieve that goal.”

In 2001, the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec signed an agreement to develop and implement a new common, resource-based conservation standard for the Great Lakes Basin. After several years of negotiation, the Great Lakes Compact was developed.
The water surface area of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River and connecting channels covers approximately 95,000 square miles in eight states and two Canadian provinces, and the drainage area of the Basin covers an additional 200,000 square miles. Since only about one percent of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed or replaced by rain and tributary inflow each year, a multi-state agreement regulating various withdrawals and diversions is an important step to preserving this natural resource.

Senator George Maziarz said: “Having New York State sign on to the historic Great Lakes Compact is critical to protecting our precious freshwater resources, particularly Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the St. Lawrence River, and their tributaries. Joining this multi-state and multi-province effort is the right thing to do for our environment, for our communities, and for our future.”

Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Robert K. Sweeney said: “This legislation will protect the largest body of fresh water in the world. This historic agreement is designed to ensure protection of the waters of the Great Lakes, now and in perpetuity. Over 40 percent of our State lies within the Great Lakes Basin and this provides us with an important environmental resource and economic driver. The compact is designed as proactive legislation to shelter and preserve the Great Lakes.”

Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Pete Grannis said: “The Great Lakes are among America's greatest natural resources and they must be protected from excessive demands. The compact is an integral tool that will establish proper management practices and standards so that the benefits these waters provide will continue to be available for future generations.”

Derek Stack, Executive Director of Great Lakes United, said: “By signing the Compact, the State of New York tells its neighbors that protecting the waters of the Great Lakes is about protecting our future. Today, New York demonstrates that the spirit of cooperation between the Great Lakes states and provinces is thriving, and reaffirms the value of protecting the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. Now we must work hard to ensure that the Compact moves swiftly to approval in those states where years of careful negotiation has been held hostage by narrow-minded political agendas.”

Dereth Glance, Executive Program Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said: “New York's unanimous support of the Great Lakes Compact builds the momentum necessary to secure the adoption of this historic document throughout the Basin. We applaud the State’s commitment to protect the future of this magnificent resource.”

Robert Moore, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates of New York, said: “The magnificent waters of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River have provided New Yorkers with so much throughout our history, including unparalleled habitat for fish and wildlife and drinking water for millions of residents. Environmental Advocates of New York applauds the Administration, Senator Maziarz and Assemblyman Sweeney for their leadership on this historic measure. We urge Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan to ratify the agreed-upon language of the Compact and ensure that the Great Lakes will be managed for the benefit of the entire region.”

Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York, the state program of the National Audubon Society, said: “Protecting the water of the Great Lakes is critical for the long term restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem and for the revitalization of the upstate New York economy. The Great Lakes Compact will allow the region to maintain control of its waters as demand for fresh water continues to grow throughout the nation and worldwide. We commend the Administration, and the Senate and Assembly, especially Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, for passing this important measure, and we hope the remaining states in the Basin will follow New York’s strong lead.”

The Compact would provide for:

- The creation of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, consisting of the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states;
- The creation of a water resources inventory by each member state;
- Periodic assessments of cumulative impacts of water withdrawals from the Basin;
- A prohibition on most new and increased diversions of water from the Basin;
- Registration of water withdrawals in amounts of 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) or greater from the Basin in any 30-day period, and certain regulated diversions of Basin water;
- Implementation of water conservation and efficiency programs by each member state relating to Basin water uses;
- Commitments by member states to promote environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures;
- Consultation between the Great Lakes Council and the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec through “regional review” procedures for any new or increased consumptive uses of at least 5 million gpd in any 90-day period; and
- Preservation of existing diversions, withdrawals, uses, rights and agreements.


In order for the Compact to take effect, each of the eight Great Lakes states must pass legislation ratifying the Compact, and then the United States Congress must consent to the signed Compact. New York is now the fourth state to approve the Compact, following approvals by Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana.

The legislation authorizes the Governor to take steps to facilitate the execution of the Compact by the other Governors, and to apply to Congress for consent to the Compact. The legislation also authorizes Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Grannis to convene an advisory council to make recommendations for legislation, rules and regulations necessary to implement the Compact.

Greening the Great Lakes

Michigan State University and WJR have launched a web site called "Greening of the Great Lakes" with the goal of providing information and insight into the organizations committed to making the Great Lakes region a leader in environmental practices.

The new site has video, podcasts and numerous links to other relative sites and news stories. Greening of the Great Lakes is designed to be an entertaining way of learning about the Great Lakes region, related environmental issues and ways that folk can protect the environment.

(Hey, whose idea was this? Dude, talk about stealing someone else's idea, geez....)

Anyhow the Great Lakes Information Network finally decided to do a story on Cradle to Cradle design and new classes at WMU. Not that GLIN is out of the loop with Michigan businesses - I wouldn't say that - but quite a few companies in West Michigan have been on this path for several years. Nice to know that the story is finally getting out to the public through the radio at least. And it's also nice to know that Western Michigan University finally got around to teaching Cradle to Cradle in the classroom.

Michigan Punishes Granola Manufacturer

Settlement Reached with G.K.I. Foods, Inc.

The Department of Environmental Quality has reached a settlement with G.K.I. Foods, Inc. of Livingston County over allegations of illegal discharges to Michigan’s waters. GKI is a manufacturer of chocolate candy and granola that discharged production wastewater to its sanitary wastewater system which ultimately failed due to the build-up of fats, oils, and grease. The system's failure led to untreated wastewater being discharged to the county drain located behind the facility. GKI will reimburse the State of Michigan for its enforcement costs of $32,807 and pay a civil fine of $11,000.

Yum. Makes you want to run out and buy granola, eh? So, another statement on our culture of obesity, the granola plant generates enough fat and grease to clog your pipes and your arteries.

New Ohio Steel Plant Will Emit Tons of Mercury

Russian firm MMK America has plans to construct a steel plant on the Ohio River at Haverhill, OH that will emit over 1800 pounds ofmercury per year. That would be larger than all of the point and fugitive mercury air emission sources in the United States as per U.S. EPA's year 2005 toxic release inventory.

Public comment on draft air and water permits for the facility ends March 27.

Ohio EPA presently intends to allow MMK America to withhold as confidential significant information in the air permit application about maximum process design and other process information.

Read more here: Daily Kos

Thanks for the info Alex: Sagady.com

Environmentalists Should NOT vote for McCain

Info from the League of Conservation Voters

WASHINGTON, DC, February 21, 2008 (ENS) - In the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard released today by the League of Conservation Voters, Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain received a score of zero. The Scorecard is an annual measure of lawmakers' votes on environmental issues.

McCain scored 0 due to missing all 15 votes scored, including the key vote on repealing tax giveaways to big oil - a measure that failed by only one vote.

McCain was the only member of Congress to skip every crucial environmental vote scored by the LCV, posting a score lower than members of Congress who were out for much of the year due to serious illnesses, and even lower than some who died during the term.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, "We were appalled two weeks ago when John McCain was the only senator who chose to skip a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America - dooming the measure to fail by just a single vote."

"McCain missed votes to save his constituents $499 million dollars at the pump and at least $550 million on their energy bills, while creating more than 10,000 new clean energy jobs in his home state," said Pope.

McCain posts a lifetime LCV environmental score of only 24. By contrast, the average member of Congress scored a 53 in 2007.

McCain has received the endorsement of Republicans for Environmental Protection, the only environmental group recognized by the National Republican Party.

2006 Toxics Release Inventory data finally available online

The TRI is an on-line electronic database, housing information about chemical releases at facilities across the country. According to the EPA, nation-wide chemical releases into the environment are down by two percent from 2005 - of course, this is the Bush Administration, most likely they are lying.

TRI tracks and contains detailed information on releases of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories from about 23,000 industrial and federal facilities. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 established the TRI program. In 1990, The Pollution Prevention Act expanded the program by including data on toxic chemicals released, as well as treated, recycled, and burned for energy recovery.

EPA has been providing information to the public about chemical releases into the air, water and land at facilities nation-wide. This information is accessible by geographic location, industry sector, and individual chemicals.

Here's the link, copy and paste it into your browser. http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06/index.htm Search by zip code to find the bastards who are dumping toxics in your vicinity.

Corporate Greenwashing at its finest

Just in time for Easter, Cadbury has unveiled a range of "eco-eggs" called "Cadbury Treasure Eggs", which rather than being sold in a box are simply foil wrapped. The company says that the Treasure Eggs represent a reduction of over 75 percent plastic and 65 percent less cardboard than previously used in standard eggs.

Huh... obviously now you can be green because you stop putting crap in a box. Is it to soon to start stomping on chocolate eggs while screaming "BULLSHIT!" really loud? Let me know when that's socially acceptable.

Okay, okay... Thank you Cadbury for at least making an effort.

Don't Give Up On Biofuels

Today's guest writer is Tom Leonard, former executive director of West Michigan Environmental Action Council and all-around cool human being. Enjoy!

GRAND RAPIDS---Will America's Biofuel Boom survive the decade?

It may sound counterintuitive to some, drawing attention to the cloudy future of biofuels in the midst of what seems a massive global biofuels pep rally. Worldwide, biofuels are greatly on the upswing, with major programs proceeding in Indonesia, Brazil, and the European Union among others.

Even here in the suspicious and slow-moving USA, the President has signed a bill that will increase our biofuels production by a factor of six in the next 15 years.

But there are growing pockets of disquiet in many quarters. Some forecasters have already pronounced a requiem for biofuels, while others are sounding alarms of urgent opposition. What's going on?

What's going on is the standard trajectory for good new ideas, from interest to excitement to mania, to disillusionment, and finally, to practical applications.

It's been hard not to get excited about biofuels---especially the petroleum substitutes ethanol and biodiesel. The basic technology is old, and easy. The products are home-grown, redounding to the benefit of local farmers. Biofuels are relatively clean-burning: the carbon dioxide that they release to the atmosphere in running our vehicles, they also strip from the atmosphere as their source crops grow in the fields.

U.S. farmers love ethanol, meaning especially corn ethanol, and U.S. politicians who love farmers love ethanol too. Love, love, love. San Francisco loves biodiesel and is running most of its fleet of vehicles on it. Here in Michigan, we love ethanol and we have five licensed ethanol refineries gearing up to produce it.

Biofuels are such a good idea in so many ways---so why are biofuels in trouble? Here are three reasons:

First, they compete aggressively with food production, raising food prices dramatically. The United Nations estimates that food prices worldwide rose a startling 40% last year. The price of corn was up 50% in 2007 from the prior year, while soybean prices are approaching their all-time high.

Biofuels can't be blamed for all the increases in the cost of our food---there are many factors contributing to that. But their impact is real and can be traced readily, especially here in America. The USA's soybean crop declined 19% last year, in direct response to the shift of farm acreage from the growing of soybeans to the growing of corn for ethanol.

Second, biofuels are not the broad answer to our fuel requirements. There is not remotely enough farm acreage in America to meet our transportation fuel requirements using ethanol, even if we converted all of our farm land from food to fuel. And even though the price of a gallon of E85 is currently running less than a gallon of gasoline, when you adjust for gasoline's greater energy kick, ethanol still does not compete.

Third, their impact on the environment, in the context of human economic behavior, is unsustainable and alarming. The New York Times recently reported on research showing that, once the impact of growing the source crops was taken into account, biofuels constituted a net loss in terms of impact on global warming "greenhouse" gases. Brazil noted last year a 10% spike in Amazonian rainforest destruction due to---you guessed it----new acreage being cleared to grow sugar cane, Brazil’s ethanol crop. In Indonesia, pristine forest is being exchanged for palm plantations, to produce palm oil for fuel. The current rate of forest destruction there is so huge, it virtually guarantees the disappearance of natural Indonesian forest in the next fifteen years.

Goodbye, orangutans.

It will be a remarkable irony if the rush to biofuels, which fundamentally exists to reduce the human impact on global warming, should indirectly accelerate the warming problem, while simultaneously extinguishing vulnerable wildlife species and adding to the risk of mass starvation among the world's human population.

Despite all this, I still see a role for biofuels---but perhaps on a more limited scale, from carefully-selected sources, and for carefully selected and specific purposes. Not the biofuels bonanza visualized by the industry’s cheerleaders up to now. We simply cannot toss the whole biofuels production problem into the free markets, and expect to get a sustainable result. That is how biofuels are being dealt with now, and it is only worsening our problems.

One thing that is heartening about the biofuels boom is that its difficulties relate not at all to the basic chemistry of the fuels. The biofuels problems are really problems of bad land use, inefficient transportation practices, and unsustainably large human populations. If nations like Indonesia can get their act together on forest and peatland protection, damage from palm oil production might be better contained. If we had fewer people to feed, or they were less protein-hungry, we might be less tempted to scavenge in rain forests for new farmland.

In theory, at least, they can still be a success.

On December 19th of last year, President Bush signed an energy bill that calls for a sixfold increase in biofuels in the next fifteen years. It's a good first step, but it doesn’t make biofuels practical in the world we know. We have reached a point where even doing the right thing will have its own dangers.

Project Hotseat Pushing Dingell on Climate Legislation

Guest Writer today: Kelli Bosak, Project Hot Seat, Greenpeace USA

In order for the country to unilaterally decrease its carbon emissions,
Congress must continue creating new climate legislation. Global
warming is happening now, but there is still much we can do to avoid
suffering from its worst effects. Our government failed to sign the
Kyoto Protocol, causing the international community to push forward
without us in preventing climate change. By pushing Congress, we can
fight against our doomed future and curb climate change. The state of
Michigan is home to one of the most influential leaders in climate
legislation in the nation, Representative John Dingell. Dingell is the
Chairman of the House's Energy and Commerce Committee and influences
all bills regarding the climate. So, Michigan plays a huge role in
affecting climate legislation. Michigan needs to take a stance on these
issues to make sure Congress protects our environment—for us and the Great
Lakes. Michigan is a top source for renewable energy, but nothing is
being done. To make a difference in this fight, you can either contact
your congressman, Dingell, or comment below. Do not give up on a
sustainable future! We want to fill Congress full of representatives
who will champion global warming solutions.

Thanks, Kelli Bosak
Project Hot Seat, Greenpeace USA

Read More:

Dingell Set to Tackle Warming

Arghh! Proposed Mega-Dairy threatens Illinois public health and water quality

We have a BIG problem trying to come into NW Illinois' Jo Daviess County.

Wealthy California business man, AJ Bos is trying to set up a 12,000 head mega-dairy near Nora, Illinois. There will be about 70 acres of manure lagoons. The stench will travel for miles. Folks down there are organizing because they are concerned about their drinking water.

They have created a website at: STOPTHEMEGADAIRY.ORG.

Here's what you can do to help the good people living in Nora:

The Jo Daviess County Board voted 11 to 5 to reject the proposed mega dairy. Unfortunately, the IL Dept. of Agriculture can ignore that vote, and place the facility against the wishes of the board and the constituents that they represent.

Please give me one minute right now and take two vitally important actions.

First, contact the Governor, and let him know that you don't want this facility in Illinois. You can call, write, or use his web portal to send him a message.

Governor Rod Blagojevich
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121
TTY: 888-261-3336
Contact the Govenor

Your message should look and sound something like this:

Dear Governor Blagojevich,

The Jo Daviess County board voted 11 to 5 to deny an application for a 12,000 head CAFO proposed for their county. Siting numerous experts concern about major damage to the aquifer and surrounding rivers and streams, and the tremendous negative impact this facility would have on tourism, which is already bringing over $200,000,000 to the county, they rejected this application since it didn't fulfill the eight criteria imposed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Please use your authority as Governor to ensure that the Department of Agriculture follows their own guidelines and denies this application. The citizens of Jo Daviess County deserve the right to have their elected county board make decisions that will have such significant negative impact on their community. Thank you.


Okay now that you've got that done, please go to this Sierra Club web site and tell the federal EPA that huge factory farms should not be exempt from the clean air act. The Bushies would give them a legal loophole to avoid all of the pollution lawsuits being filed against them all over the country. This gift to corporate agriculture from the Bush administration would penalize small family farms, while allowing the largest and richest facilities to do as they pleased.

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=bOL-NhsfcC4RPypoGStwBw..


Alright, you've earned serious bonus point for the last two actions, but now you need to contact the head of the Department of Agriculture, and voice your objections to this facility. Every letter they get has to be reviewed by their board, and included in their files. They need to know that people are concerned about clean air, clean water, family farms, and public health, and won't stand for these factories in Illinois.

Charles A. Hartke, Director
State of Illinois Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 19281, State Fairgrounds
Springfield, IL 62794-9281
(217) 785-4789
FAX: 217.785.4505

You can read much more about this issue at http://www.StopTheMegaDairy.org. Act now.

Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to reauthorize Great Lakes Legacy Act

Calling it one of its top legislative priorities for 2008, the Great Lakes Commission is calling on Congress to reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act in order to continue progress in remediating contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

First passed in 2002, the Great Lakes Legacy Act authorizes funding to remediate contaminated sediments in the U.S. and binational Great Lakes Areas of Concern designated under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

“The Legacy Act program has been highly successful in cleaning up toxic hot spots in Great Lakes rivers and harbors and has become a cornerstone of Great Lakes restoration efforts,” said Commission Chair and Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry Jr., in a letter to congressional leaders and members of the House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces. “It’s critical that Congress reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act and maintain this vital program for restoring the Great Lakes.”

Lt. Gov. Cherry noted that the Commission’s recommendations are consistent with the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and that the Legacy Act enjoys strong support from the Great Lakes states, the business community, regional environmental organizations and local Area of Concern advisory councils.

The Commission is recommending several amendments to benefit the Great Lakes states and improve the Legacy Act’s effectiveness and efficiency. They include:

• Reauthorize the Legacy Act through 2013 and increase authorized appropriations to $150 million annually. This would be consistent with the recommendations of the Great Lake Regional Collaboration and would better match the projected long-term costs of remediating contaminated sediments.

• Allow the use of general Legacy Act funds for pilot or demonstration projects in order to support research on innovative remediation technologies.

• Allow the use of Legacy Act funds to restore habitat at sites where contaminated sediment has been remediated under the Act.

• Allow contributions from potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to be counted as all or part of the nonfederal cost share for Legacy Act projects as long as that contribution is above and beyond what is required under a legal settlement.

• Allow all nonfederal contributions to Legacy Act projects to qualify for cost-share accounting, regardless of the timing of such contributions.

• Remove the maintenance of effort requirement, which can penalize project sponsors that invest in remediation efforts prior to the start of a Legacy Act project, and which is not appropriate for remediation projects in which costs can fluctuate widely from year to year.

• Allow the disbursal of Legacy Act funds to nonfederal contractors if doing so enhances the timing and effectiveness of a project.

• Extend the life of appropriated Legacy act funds beyond two years so that funds are not lost due to significant, unanticipated delays in completing complex projects.

• Reduce the current 35 percent nonfederal cost-share requirement to 25 percent for orphan sites where no responsible party is available to support the nonfederal cost share, to lessen the burden on states and local communities.

To date, five cleanup projects and seven projects to monitor and evaluate contaminated sediments have been implemented under the Legacy Act, with eight additional projects now under review. The original Great Lakes Legacy Act enacted in 2002 authorized $270 million over five years to remediate contaminated sediments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

To see the full recommendations, as approved by the Commission’s Board of Directors, visit http://glc.org/advocacy/legacyact.html. Contact: Matt Doss, mdoss@glc.org.

Great Lakes Citizens Health Report Blocked by Feds

For more than seven months, the nation’s top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially “alarming information” as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates.

Researchers found low birth weights, elevated rates of infant mortality and premature births, and elevated death rates from breast cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer.

The 400-plus-page study, Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern, was undertaken by a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the request of the International Joint Commission, an independent bilateral organization that advises the U.S. and Canadian governments on the use and quality of boundary waters between the two countries. The study was originally scheduled for release in July 2007 by the IJC and the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Certainly this is the greatest piece of government censorship to date in the Great Lakes.

Thanks to Sheila Kaplan and the Center for Public Integrity, the report is now online. It is in your best interest to start reading it now.