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Archive of Environment on Monday May 05, 2008
Fighting global warming block by block
SEATTLE - King County Executive Ron Sims has a simple test for every new public works project, building plan or government land purchase: Will it increase the region's total greenhouse-gas emissions, or reduce them? Read More
Plan calls for storing CO2 beneath Pa.'s public forests
Pennsylvania's publicly owned forest lands could be used for the underground storage of carbon dioxide captured from coal-burning power plants and other industrial sources of the greenhouse gas that is a major cause of global climate change. Read More
State looks to conserve land
The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks is coming close to final details on an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency that could pay landowners in the James River Valley to set aside as many as 100,000 acres for conservation and to allow the public to hunt it, watch wildlife and otherwise enjoy it. Read More
Conservationist accuses administration of cover up
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A prominent marine conservation specialist is denouncing the Palin administration's refusal to release findings on polar bears by the state's marine mammal biologists. Read More
Governor tracks storms from early radio show to late news conference
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Gov. Mike Beebe statewide radio program doubled as a weather broadcast early Friday, interrupted by several bulletins on a severe storm outbreak in the state that included some deadly tornadoes. Read More
Governor's budget plan grows green staff
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's near-and-dear fight to make the state greener is adding a lot of new jobs to the state's already-in-the-red payroll. Read More
Locals developing taste for locally grown food
Concerns about food contamination and the environmental impact of long-haul transportation are stoking demand for locally grown food in Connecticut. Read More
State energy policy at heart of dispute
When the Sustainable Energy Utility was formed last year, lawmakers envisioned a small nonprofit that could help Delawareans insulate their homes, buy energy-efficient refrigerators or install solar panels. Read More
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wrings success out of legislative session
With a sluggish economy's stranglehold on state finances, there should have been few winners at the 2008 legislative session. But Charlie Crist exits from his second session as Florida's governor with much of what he wanted. Read More
Winners and losers in the 2008 Florida Legislature
A list of legislation that passed in this year's regular session of the Florida Legislature, which ended Friday, from The Associated Press. Read More
It came down to money -- and there wasn't enough
Republicans at the helm kept one eye on a fuel gauge that showed tax collections on fumes and another on the approaching storm of the November elections. The result was a $66.2-billion budget with more than $4 billion in spending cuts targeted largely at school children, the sick and the elderly. Read More
Measure on illegal ATV use advances
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources could soon have the muscle it needs to combat a problem that has plagued Wai'anae Coast residents, pedestrians and motorists for years: Illegal all-terrain vehicles tearing along beaches, roadways and wilderness areas. Read More
Lingle pulls land talks with OHA off the table
Gov. Linda Lingle says the failure of the state Legislature to approve a ceded-lands settlement with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was shortsighted and a disappointment. Read More
Bill tackles Kokee cabins flap
LIHUE, Hawaii - A bill passed last week by the state Legislature aims to end long-standing controversies about Kokee State Park in Kauai's mountainous interior. Read More
Plan allows 25 N. Idaho wolf deaths
Wolves are gaining ground in Idaho's Panhandle region, where the numbers of the elusive predator are expanding about 30 percent per year. Read More
Official -- ID wolf hunt will be conservative
POCATELLO, Idaho -- An Idaho Department of Fish and Game official says a plan to manage wolf populations through hunting will be conservative and adaptive. Read More
State creates Seismic Task Force to prepare for earthquakes
The state's creating a panel aimed at improving earthquake preparedness. Read More
Illinois creates task force to prepare for earthquakes
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois has created a panel dedicated to preparing for earthquakes. Read More
Kansas Capitol Notebook - college's foundation comes in for criticism
Rep. Ben Hodge of Overland Park has some misgivings about the 113-member, nonprofit Johnson County Community College Foundation. Read More
Lawmakers want to sue Sebelius over coal plants
Kansas House leaders Friday introduced a resolution to allow the Legislature to sue Gov. Kathleen Sebelius over coal-fired electric power plants. Read More
Coal bill backers try new strategy
Kansas lawmakers struggled to end the 2008 legislative session Saturday, mounting last-minute efforts to resurrect two rejected coal plants. Read More
Coal debate still not resolved
Old-timers like to say politics is the art of compromise. The line holds true most of the time in the Legislature. Consider the Houdini-like escapes from a school-finance quagmire in 2006 and the bloody battle that accompanied expansion of casino gambling during 2007. Read More
Coal power plant issue keeps lawmakers from wrapping up
It was supposed to be the last day of the wrap-up session. But another coal plant measure emerged Saturday, the Senate adjourned in a huff and said it may not come back, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius gave the session a general thumbs down. Read More
Bush visits Greensburg, a town torn and then reborn after 2007 tornado
GREENSBURG, Kan. - Alvin Hewitt was the first baby born at Kiowa County Memorial Hospital after it opened in 1950. Today, the hospital is gone. Read More
Mining veteran to head DNR
A veteran state mining official will be the new commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources, said Environmental and Public Protection Secretary Bob Vance. Read More
Power line proposal draws fire
HENDERSON, Ky. -- Mike Sandefur has been enjoying the irony. Sandefur is the former environmental affairs director for Indiana power company Vectren Corp. Read More
Jindal asks Bush for levee cash
WASHINGTON - Making his second national television appearance of the week, Gov. Bobby Jindal used a speech to The National Press Club on Friday to call on the Bush administration to free up pledged levee money. Read More
Wind power debate whips up controversy
Self-styled "green" leaders across the country face a conundrum over wind power: Do they alienate part of their constituency by leveling pristine forests to build wind farms, or irritate the other part by rejecting a promising source of renewable energy? Read More
Government officials get input on Great Lakes levels study
MUSKEGON, Mich. -- Government officials gathering public input on a massive Great Lakes water levels study were told during a meeting in Michigan to tread lightly when tinkering with the lakes. Read More
St. Cloud man has small solution to gas prices: little cars
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Most days you'll find Brenton Netz under the hood of a car behind his St. Cloud home. Read More
Taxpayers paid for game warden meeting, records show
When game wardens from across North America were invited to a conference in St. Paul last year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources rolled out the welcome mat -- and pulled out the taxpayers' checkbook. Read More
DNR photo contest begins in May
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is sponsoring a Passport Photo contest, which will run from May through December. Read More
Four groups make deadline to file initiative petitions
Supporters angling to get their initiative petitions on the November ballot dropped off boxes filled with petitions and tens of thousands of signatures Sunday. Read More
Natives & newcomers -- Doing business
The Crow Tribe recently signed an innovative agreement with Montana and the federal government that will make it easier for banks to offer secured loans on the reservation. Essentially, it provides for seizure of personal property used as collateral when a loan is in default. (It does not apply to land held in trust for the tribe or its members.) Read More
NAWS water project is opposed both north and south
Parts of northwestern North Dakota have been waiting more than 20 years for a pipeline that will bring a stable supply of Missouri River water. It has run into opposition from north of the border, where Canadian officials are calling for an expensive treatment system, and from the south, where the state of Missouri says it could harm an already dry river basin. Read More
March, April among driest on record in much of N. Nevada
RENO, Nev. - The months of March and April were among the driest in the last 100 years across much of northern Nevada, the National Weather Service said Friday. Read More
Porter's nudge greenward
Washington - Going green has never been more popular. Shop at a department store, get a reusable tote bag. Channel surf and see celebrities greening their mansions. Take a summer vacation, make it energy efficient. Read More
Farmer pioneers green energy practices in Ohio
BROOKVILLE, Ohio - When he was laid up in the hospital recovering from knee surgery, farmer Ralph Dull picked up a thick notebook dropped off by a friend that detailed how wind generators are being used to produce electricity. Read More
State ice storm costs tallied
TULSA, Okla. - The cost of damage to Oklahoma homes, businesses and infrastructure from December's historic ice storm is approaching $180 million, state officials said. Read More
Budget, health care high on agenda as lawmakers return
When legislators return to the Capitol today, they will face a jam-packed agenda that includes Gov. Ed Rendell's proposals to help people without health insurance and develop alternative fuels. Read More
A panel suggests a cap on pollution in the Great Salt Lake that angers activists
After this public meeting, the steering committee will draft its final recommendation to the state Water Quality Board, which will transform the suggestion into regulations. Read More
State-sanctioned killing of mute swans shelved
Two weeks after the state-sponsored killing of 14 mute swans riled area residents, a state official said the program has been halted indefinitely. Read More
Greenpeace report labels carbon capture 'false hope'
Coal operators and their supporters are offering the public false hope when they promote pumping carbon dioxide underground to solve the global climate change problem, a new report from an environmental group says. Read More
Gov blasts BLM plan
Gov. Dave Freudenthal on Friday said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's latest draft of a plan for managing oil and gas drilling in the Pinedale area was unacceptable. Read More
Governor raps lawmakers for reluctance to feed wildlife trust fund
At a tour of a lakeshore here benefiting from Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund money, Gov. Dave Freudenthal called lawmakers on what he said is their reluctance to feed more dollars into the account. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Phantom voter stalks Ala. State House
An Alabama lawmaker says someone’s been using his voting machine. Florida’s House Speaker locks the doors and turns off Internet access to make legislators pay attention. And Mayberry’s Sheriff Taylor endorses a North Carolina gubernatorial candidate. In case you missed those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in. Read More
Turf wars rage over fake grass
State legislators are used to political turf wars. Now, debates in a handful of states really are about turf, pitting those who back the artificial variety against supporters of natural grass for playgrounds and athletic fields. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Illinois gov runs up travel tab
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s commuting costs start to add up. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds settles a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a cranky game warden. Read More |
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