Great Lakes Daily News: 12 September 2003
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Dip in Great Lakes water levels continues
----------------------------------------
Already-low Great Lakes water levels have continued to decline this year,
according to the International Lake Superior Board of Control. Source:
Green Bay Press-Gazette (9/12)


EPA won't require permits for ballast water
----------------------------------------
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it won't require permits for
ships discharging ballast water despite complaints that the discharges are
introducing invasive species in the Great Lakes and elsewhere. Source: The
Associated Press (9/12)


New paving material puts PCBs, river sediment to use on road
----------------------------------------
Officials demonstrated Thursday that PCB-contaminated river sediments can be
melted into a glass aggregate, mixed with asphalt and used to pave roads -
an option in the federally mandated cleanup plan for the Fox River. Source:
The Appleton Post-Crescent (9/12)


Montreal waterfront cleanup gets kudos
----------------------------------------
Delegates to an international conference on waterfront development got a
taste yesterday of how Montreal has been faring. Source: The Montreal
Gazette (9/12)


Architects hired to plot canal course
----------------------------------------
The federal commission that oversees the Erie Canal began charting a course
for the historic waterway's future this week by hiring a New York City firm
to draw up a master plan for preserving the canal's historic nature while
promoting development. Source: The Syracuse Post-Standard (9/12)


EPA recommends that Michigan reject wetlands permit for road project
----------------------------------------
Federal regulators have recommended that Michigan reject wetlands permits
for a long-debated plan to build a four-lane road across the scenic Boardman
River valley. Source: Detroit Free Press (9/12)


Ohio pushes clean marinas
----------------------------------------
The Clean Marina program will first focus on the approximately 225 to 250
marinas on Lake Erie. Source: The Toledo Blade (9/12)


Endurance swimmer on second stage of Lake Michigan swim
----------------------------------------
As of Thursday afternoon, Jim Dreyer was about 7 miles from completing stage
two in swimming the length of Lake Michigan. Source: The Associated Press
(9/11)


All aboard the freedom ship Amistad
----------------------------------------
During two tours of the East Coast, one of the Gulf of Mexico and this
summer's Great Lakes visit, the Freedom Schooner Amistad has never had a
reception like the one it got in New York on Wednesday. Source: The Buffalo
News (9/11)


For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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- posted by Daniel @ 5:10 PM

 
New from ENN,

Friday, September 12, 2003
By Alexandra Amonette

It's January in central Mississippi's Yazoo Basin. Clambering along the eroding banks of a stream, members of a team of field workers and scientists from a small Montana company carefully plant willow and sycamore cuttings.

The dormant cuttings are harvested from a nearby sandbar and planted before the spring rains raise the stream's water level. Some of the cuttings are bundled together and anchored near the water's edge. Farther downstream, the team positions reinforced-fiber mats over the fine, crumbling soil and then anchors the mats with more live stakes.

The half-mile project is an effort to demonstrate new eco-friendly techniques for bank stabilization and river restoration instead of using rock and concrete, or "hard armor.

Trout Headwaters Inc. (THI), based in Livingston, Mont., has partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to demonstrate the effectiveness of these new techniques across highly varied river systems before they are applied nationally and internationally. With plenty of streams in need of restoration, the backyard research area for the Corps' Waterways Experiment Station in the Yazoo Basin is...(Read on in: River restoration gets greener)
- posted by Daniel @ 7:18 AM

 
0
Great Lakes Daily News: 11 September 2003
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

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archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


Power transferred to Kernan
----------------------------------------
While a still-critically ill Gov. Frank O'Bannon showed "small but
significant" signs of improvement Wednesday, the Indiana Supreme Court
formally transferred the power to run the state to Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan.
Source: The Indianapolis Star (9/11)


Upping Great Lakes traffic is trouble, group warns
----------------------------------------
Opening the Great Lakes to oceangoing container ships won't result in a wave
of new commercial shipping and billions in additional revenues for the
region, according to a new report. Source: Booth Newspapers (9/11)


Mercury taints rain in Minnesota
----------------------------------------
A report released this week by the National Wildlife Federation says
rainfall on parts of Minnesota contains levels of mercury seven times higher
than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for the Great
Lakes environment. Source: Duluth News Tribune (9/11)


First of three unique vessels visits Windsor
----------------------------------------
The Puffin, first of three new vessels designed specifically for Great
Lakes/seaway trade, made its inaugural visit to the Port of Windsor, Ont.,
Wednesday. Source: The Windsor Star (9/11)


COMMENTARY: Great Lakes issues deserve federal attention
----------------------------------------
When you consider the Great Lakes form Earth's largest freshwater system,
you realize they're almost impossible to ignore. Yet, their immense size
makes it difficult to create programs and set state, national and
international priorities for dealing with the system's more than 140
invasive species and 25 major pollutants. Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette
(9/11)


Mich officials: Ontario failed to report 3 chemical spills in St. Clair
River
----------------------------------------
Canadian agencies failed to report to Michigan authorities three spills that
contaminated the St. Clair River earlier this year, according to Macomb
County officials. Source: Canoe News (9/11)


Volunteer divers needed for underwater cleanup at island
----------------------------------------
The cleanup on South Bass Island is just one of dozens of activities along
the Lake Erie coast during the 12th annual Coastweeks celebration, which
started in late August and continues through Sept. 21. Source: Port Clinton
News Herald (9/10)


John Ball Zoo worker helps endangered coastal birds in Michigan
----------------------------------------
Zookeeper Merrie Pieri-Clark spent a week of July near Pellston, Mich.,
helping hatch and rear seven piping plover chicks, endangered in the Great
Lakes. Source: Advance Newspapers (9/9)


3 area projects funded
----------------------------------------
Nine grants totaling $375,000 were announced late last week at the Ohio Lake
Erie Commission's meeting in Cleveland. Source: The Port Clinton News
Herald (9/8)


Keeping Mac in the black
----------------------------------------
There's no bridge on the horizon for differences between Republican
legislators and Mackinac Bridge officials over the span's long-term
financial health. Source: Traverse City Record-Eagle (9/7)


For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
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- posted by Daniel @ 4:14 PM

 
New from ENN,

Wednesday, September 10, 2003
By Ellen Komp, E/The Environmental Magazine

"If you want to see what environmental terrorism looks like, just drive up Greenwood Heights road," said Sparrow, a diminutive elderly woman who has been supporting tree-sitters in her neighborhood, called Freshwater, nearly 300 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 101. "You will see beautiful, 1,600-year-old trees that have been cut down to feed one man's greed."

On the other side of the fray, a public relations campaign from Maxxam/Pacific Lumber was calling Michigan Earth First! activist Rodney Coronado a "convicted ecoterrorist" because he served a federal prison term for arson-related animal rights activities. While visiting California, Coronado allegedly confronted a climber hired by Maxxam/PL to remove tree sitters and warned that he was...(Read on in: The old-growth timber battle heats up
- posted by Daniel @ 7:08 PM

 
And on the good news side from ENN,

New National Study Shows Efficiency and Renewables Can Provide Immediate Relief from High Natural Gas Prices



From American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Tuesday, September 09, 2003

New investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy generation could begin lowering natural gas prices immediately and help retain manufacturing jobs, a study prepared by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released today shows. The Energy Foundation (EF) commissioned ACEEE to prepare the study, Impacts of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on Natural Gas Markets, to determine whether efficiency and renewables would produce significant price reductions and cost savings by reducing demand for natural gas.

"This study shows that we can quickly reduce wholesale natural gas prices 10-20 percent and save consumers over $75 billion in the next five years, " stated David Wooley, Vice President of the Energy Foundation. "The fastest, surest way to give gas and electricity consumers relief from spiking energy prices is to enact state and federal policies to expand renewable power generation and to help consumers install more efficient electric and gas appliances, and heating and cooling systems."

Specific policy solutions outlined in the study include: update state and federal appliance efficiency standards; require electric utilities to use more renewable power generation; expand rebates and grants to consumers to improve equipment efficiency and install clean on-site power generation; expand federal research and development support for emerging efficiency and renewable generation technologies; and establish tax credits for efficiency and renewable energy investments.

"The study, which is based on a scientific analysis of natural gas markets, outlines the specific benefits that energy efficiency and renewables would provide to our economy by reducing the high energy costs borne by consumers and industry," explained Dr. Neal Elliott, Industry Program Director at ACEEE and co-author of the study. "Contrary to what many are saying, there is something we can do about natural gas prices right now. Increased efficiency and renewable energy can reduce natural gas prices quickly and affordably."

According to the study, lower natural gas prices and consumption would save consumers $15 billion/year nationally from 2004 to 2008 for cumulative savings of over $75 billion over the next five years. This translates into an average residential household savings of $96 per year on natural gas bills. Additional savings would occur from lower electricity bills.

"Along with a robust and diverse supply of energy, increased efficiency is clearly a critically important component of our response to the natural gas crisis," said Peter Molinaro, Dow's Vice President of Government Affairs. "Affordable and available natural gas is critical to the health of American industry, our economy, and the environment. Leaders in the public and private sector need to do everything they can to spur investment in more efficient insulation, appliances, motors, heating and cooling systems, lighting, and clean on-site generation."

An increasing share of the electricity generated in the U.S., particularly in the Northeast, South, and on the West Coast, comes from natural gas-fired power plants. The analysis shows that natural gas expenditures by electric power generators would decrease by $6.2 billion in 2004 and by as much as $10.4 billion by 2008. This reduction in natural gas expenditures would reduce electricity rates in these regions, an additional benefit for electric power consumers.

ACEEE's Elliott noted that rapidly rising gas prices are forcing industries to close or move production to other countries. The study shows that higher levels of energy efficiency and renewable energy would stem this decline. He added, "Energy efficiency and renewable energy investments help employment in the manufacturing sector because they reduce natural gas prices and help preserve U.S.-based jobs that rely on natural gas as a manufacturing feedstock. They also create substantial numbers of jobs in construction, installation, and component manufacturing." Natural gas is used as a fuel and raw material for a wide range of products including fertilizer, plastics, chemicals, and steel.

In the wake of the northeastern blackout in August, Wooley of the Energy Foundation said that the policies that help reduce energy prices are consistent with steps needed to avoid future electric system failures. "Energy efficiency and distributed renewable generation lower peak demand on the electric transmission system and reduce the risk of system failures. They make our electric supply more secure without increasing our dependence on fossil fuel imports."

A copy of the summary report can be downloaded at http://aceee.org/energy/EFnatgas-study.htm. The ACEEE Web site also includes the following supplementary material: a resource contact list, a summary of the study's results, and a technical white paper on the methodology.


The Energy Foundation is a partnership of major foundations interested in sustainable energy. It was launched in 1991 by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and The Rockefeller Foundation. The Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation joined as a funding partner in 1996, and The McKnight Foundation joined in 1998. In 1999, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation joined to support two programs: the U.S. Clean Energy Program (now the Climate Program) and the China Sustainable Energy Program. In 2002, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation joined to support advanced technology transportation and clean energy for the West. For more information about the Energy Foundation, contact 1012 Torney Avenue #1, San Francisco, CA 94129 or visit http://ef.org.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection. For information about ACEEE and its programs and publications, contact ACEEE, 1001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036-5525 or visit http://www.aceee.org.



For more information, contact:

Neal Elliott
Industry Program Director
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
RNElliott@aceee.org


Web site:

http://www.aceee.org
- posted by Daniel @ 6:09 PM

 
Also from ENN,

Tuesday, September 09, 2003
By Charles Abbott, Reuters


WASHINGTON — The biggest American farmers received 71 percent of U.S. farm subsidies since 1995, environmentalists said Tuesday in a report that could fuel the fight in Congress for tighter limits on farm supports.

Activists say mammoth payments to large operators gives them the cash to out-bid their smaller neighbors for land and equipment. The result is higher operating costs but no improvement in farm income.

According to the Environmental Working Group, the top 10 percent of U.S. growers collected an average $278,932 a year. Their share of payments steadily grew from...(Read on in: Biggest growers pocket 71 percent of U.S. farm subsidies)
- posted by Daniel @ 6:06 PM

 
New from ENN,

Tuesday, September 09, 2003
By David Goodman, Associated Press


DETROIT — Stepped up antiterrorism measures at the U.S.-Canada border are regularly uncovering radioactive material and other illegal medical waste in Ontario trash bound for a Michigan landfill.

While the checks have found no known terrorists, they have found many shipments containing medical waste, including some with radioactive material, Robert Prause, the department's port director at the bridge, said Monday.

Steve Whitter, Toronto's waste services director, said...(Read on in: New U.S. border checks find radioactive Canadian trash)
- posted by Daniel @ 6:03 PM

 
Great Lakes Daily News: 08 September 2003
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


Legislators form Great Lakes caucus
----------------------------------------
State lawmakers from the eight states and two Canadian provinces that
surround the Great Lakes have formed a caucus to coordinate legislative
action on Great Lakes issues. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (9/8)


Fighting West Nile virus with native fish
----------------------------------------
One community is trying a different approach to preventing the West Nile
virus: increasing stocks of mosquito-eating fish. Source: Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (9/8)


Water break
----------------------------------------
The dramatic increase in the use of irrigation and the effects of suburban
sprawl over the last 50 years have strained groundwater supplies, even in
the Great Lakes region. Source: Earthwatch Radio (9/8)


Seven firms could 'cash out' of Fox River cleanup
----------------------------------------
Seven paper companies on the hook for cleanup of the PCB-contaminated Fox
River could write a check for cleanup costs and walk away from the
multi-year project under a so-called "cash-out" provision of the Superfund
law that guides the cleanup. Source: The Appleton Post-Crescent (9/8)


Plunging into Ohio's heart
----------------------------------------
More travelers are visiting the Ohio and Erie Canal Scenic Byway, a 110-mile
highway of history that plunges into the heart of Ohio. Source: The
Cleveland Plain Dealer (9/7)


Michigan weeding out invasive species
----------------------------------------
St. John's Marsh is just one among dozens of sites where state agencies and
nonprofit groups such as The Nature Conservancy are working to root out
invasive weeds and replace them with plants native to Michigan. Source:
Booth Newspapers (9/7)


Park on Whiskey Island mapped out
----------------------------------------
The Whiskey Island park is a key piece of Cleveland's plan to redevelop the
shores of Lake Erie. Source: The Cleveland Plain Dealer (9/7)


Stemming the sewer overflow
----------------------------------------
Combined sewer overflows during rainstorms are one of the most challenging
environmental issues facing the Niagara region today and are regarded as one
of the biggest threats to the safety and health of the community. Source:
The St. Catharines Standard (9/6)


Lake Michigan swim attempt starts today
----------------------------------------
An endurance swimmer who failed to make a direct crossing of Lake Superior
last month will start swimming the length of Lake Michigan today. Source:
South Bend Tribune (9/6)


Water levels in lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron remain well below average
----------------------------------------
The August water supply for Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron were well
below average for the month. Source: The Sault Star (9/5)


For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
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- posted by Daniel @ 5:59 PM

 
US Conressman Bernie Sanders, the Bernie Buzz:

September 8, 2003
bernie@mail.house.gov


Dear aquarianm@whizzyrds.com :
Sanders Exposes the Truth About the Bush Administration’s Environmental Record

The Bush Administration’s environmental record may be the most reactionary in the last hundred years of American history. Its anti-environmental agenda is being carried out on two fronts. First, the Administration is aggressively moving to stop any pro-environmental reforms. For instance, their policies encourage increased use of fossil fuels and nuclear power, oppose meaningful increases in CAFÉ standards, ignore international environmental treaties and underfund the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to do its job.

Click here to check out Bernie's environmental report card for the Bush Administration: http://www.house.gov/bernie/publications/newsletters/2003-1-environment.pdf

Congressional Town Meeting on the Environment at UVM

Please join Congressman Sanders at his Congressional Town Meeting on the Environment on Monday, September 15, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. at University of Vermont’s Ira Allen Chapel. The meeting, which is being held in conjunction with the University of Vermont School of Natural Resources, the National Wildlife Federation, the Vermont Sierra Club, the Vermont Natural Resources Council and Forest Watch, will focus on the current state of the environment and the anti-environmental polices of the Administration. Participating at Bernie’s Town Meeting will be John Passacantando, the national Executive Director of Greenpeace. John is also the founder of Ozone Action, an organization dedicated to stopping global warming.

For an invitation to the event click here: http://bernie.house.gov/calendar.asp?ID=12
- posted by Daniel @ 5:55 PM

 
Great Lakes Daily News: 09 September 2003
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


Gov. O'Bannon gravely ill after massive stroke
----------------------------------------
Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon was in critical condition today in a Chicago
hospital after suffering a massive stroke, leaving the state in the hands of
Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan. Source: The Indianapolis Star (9/9)


Carcinogen spilled into river during the blackout
----------------------------------------
A faulty tube in a Canadian manufacturing plant accidently dumped a
potentially dangerous amount of chemicals into the St. Clair River during
the mid-August outage. Source: Detroit Free Press (9/9)


Yachting club volunteers push to preserve lighthouses
----------------------------------------
The Grassy Island Range Lights have gotten a reprieve from the scrap heap
twice in the past half-century thanks to years of restoration work by
members of the Green Bay Yachting Club. Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette
(9/9)


Endurance swimmer completes first stage of Lake Michigan swim
----------------------------------------
Jim Dreyer, the endurance swimmer, completed the first stage of his attempt
to swim the length of Lake Michigan early Tuesday morning. Source: Duluth
News Tribune (9/9)


Amistad visit recalls city's liberating past
----------------------------------------
The Amistad will grace the Buffalo, N.Y., waterfront all this week, nestling
like a jewel of American history in the crown of a city that once built a
reputation for guiding enslaved people to freedom. Source: The Buffalo News
(9/9)


Great Lakes shipping hits slump
----------------------------------------
Less cargo has passed over the docks of Pennsylvania's port of Erie this
year than in 2002, and the immediate future doesn't look much brighter.
Source: Erie Times-News (9/8)


Battle for recognition
----------------------------------------
The historic Battle of Lake Erie, considered a pivotal event in the War of
1812, will be remembered Wednesday on its 190th anniversary with a
wreath-laying ceremony at Perry Monument in Presque Isle State Park. Source:
Erie Times-News (9/8)


Earliest-known description of city is part of history display
----------------------------------------
A report by a Jesuit missionary priest that may be the earliest-known
written descriptions of the Fort Wayne, Ind., area, is now a part of an
exhibit on Fort Wayne's heritage as a crossroads for travel. Source: Fort
Wayne News-Sentinel (9/8)


To find earliest North Americans, scientist follows ice
----------------------------------------
Newly discovered archaeological sites in Door County, Wis., provide evidence
that people lived at the margins of retreating glaciers between 11,500 to
14,000 years ago, confounding some long-held views of New World archeology.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/6)


For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
- posted by Daniel @ 5:50 PM