• Green Mayoral Hopes Dashed in San Francisco
  
• San Francisco Bids to Host UN World Environment Day 2005
  
• Mercury Policy Project Urges Stricter Tuna Warnings
  
• Appalachian Mountain Club Buys Chunk of Maine Woods
  
• Missouri Trucking Company Faces Felony Charges
  
• Wisconsin Engineer Develops Microgrids for Reliable Energy
  
• Coral Park Buddies Raise Reef Saving Funds
  
• Coloradans Honored as Champions of Renewables
  

Green Mayoral Hopes Dashed in San Francisco

In San Francisco's November election, no candidate for mayor got the majority of votes. So today's vote was a runoff election between the two highest scoring contenders, Gonzalez and Newsom. Both candidates were members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Fewer than half the registered voters turned up at the polls, a factor that hurt Gonzalez, an attorney and former bassist in a punk rock bank, who attracted young supporters with a history of staying away from the ballot boxes.

Newsom, 36, a moderate Democrat, won by 11,621 votes out of a total of 226,523 ballots cast. He won 52 percent of the vote, while Gonzalez took 48 percent.

Gonzalez graduated from Stanford Law School in 1990, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and a member of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. He was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2001. As San Francisco's Board President, Gonzalez says he looks forward to working constructively with Mayor-elect Newsom.

But Green Party supporters called the results "a heartbreaking defeat for San Francisco's progressive voters." Despite being outspent 10 to one by Newsom, and after only four months in the race, Gonzalez "energized a whole new electorate and managed to attract a large and diverse coalition of voters," the Green Party said.

Both former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Newsom, who comes to the job from his position as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

As a supervisor, Newsom pushed to get a successful $110 million parks bond on the ballot, and a guaranteed set-aside for the acquisition of open space and for capital improvements to parks.

Newsom began his career in public service began in 1996 when he was appointed president of San Francisco's Parking and Traffic Commission. Later that year, he was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Supervisors. Voters elected Newsom to the Board of Supervisors in 1998, 2000 and 2002. He made his fortune in a chain of restaurants and lives in a mansion in exclusive Pacific Heights.

Newsome pledged to make San Francisco a leader in promoting the use of clean and renewable energy sources. "As mayor, I will take a multi-pronged approach to increasing the use of solar, hydro, wind and other clean energy sources in our city, beginning with a commitment by city government to obtain 100 percent of its energy from pollution free sources."

Newsome said he will require that by the year 2010 all of the city government’s power come from clean, renewable sources.

Currently, Hetch Hetchy Water & Power provides power to all San Francisco city government buildings, he said. Eighty percent of this power comes from San Francisco owned hydroelectric resources and is pollution free. The other 20 percent comes from power plants and is procured by the city through power purchase agreements. "I believe the city should move towards phasing out all purchases of nonrenewable energy by the end of this decade."

San Francisco Bids to Host UN World Environment Day 2005

United Nations World Environment Day is an international event involves countries worldwide, and if its bid is successful, San Francisco will be the first city in the United States ever to host the extravaganza, celebrated each year on June 5.

Since the first World Environment Day in 1972, host countries have included Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Kenya, Lebanon, Sweden, and Vietnam.

The year 2005 is also the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. The United Nations’ founding conference was held in San Francisco in 1945.

“San Francisco would make an ideal first U.S. host for World Environment Day,” said San Francisco Environment Director Jared Blumenfeld. “The opportunity would allow us to highlight the cutting edge environmental work that San Francisco is known for, as well the good work by individuals, nonprofits, universities, businesses, and government agencies.”

If San Francisco is selected, World Environment Day 2005 will be planned as a zero waste event. Festivities typically include such activities as cleanup campaigns, tree planting, street rallies, exhibitions, green concerts, essay, painting and photographic competitions, recycling efforts, green seminars, and roundtable discussions.

UNEP will announce its final selection at the beginning of February 2004.

Mercury Policy Project Urges Stricter Tuna Warnings

Of the 300 cans sampled, the FDA found that the canned white tuna averaged 0.358 parts per million (ppm) mercury, while the light tuna was 0.123 ppm.

Yet the agency's newly proposed fish consumption advice for pregnant women and children does not advise a limit on the amount of canned tuna that can be eaten without a harmful buildup of mercury in the blood.

"FDA's tests confirm earlier findings that white tuna has far more mercury than light," said Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project, an advocacy group. "Yet inexplicably, FDA still refuses to warn women and kids to limit canned tuna consumption - like 12 states have already done."

Methylmercury - the organic form of mercury found in fish - is a potent neurotoxin that poses the greatest risk to the fetus, infants and children. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that eight percent of women have unsafe mercury levels in their blood.

Bender says this means more than 300,000 babies born at risk of high blood mercury levels each year.

"FDA's new advice says it's okay for women and kids to eat up to 12 ounces of seafood, including white tuna that have mercury levels over 0.3 ppm," said Bender.

"By doing so, FDA is placing millions at risk of mercury exposure through exceedence of the EPA's reference dose - a health standard endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences."

The FDA will present its new findings and three versions of a draft mercury advisory on Wednesday at a meeting of its Food Advisory Committee in Washington, DC.

All three draft versions of the mercury in fish advisory for women and children state, "Tuna is the most frequently consumed fish in the United States. Mercury levels in tuna vary. Unlike canned light tuna, tuna steaks and albacore canned tuna contain higher levels of methylmercury because they are larger fish."

But no specific limit is stated for the amount of tuna that can be eaten safely.

Bender is urging the FDA to specifically warn women and children to limit canned tuna consumption and avoid consuming albacore, also called white canned tuna, as the Rhode Island Department of Health has done.

"Fish can be part of a healthy diet, even for pregnant women," said Dr. Patricia Nolan, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, in a June 2003 statement. "By avoiding fish that are high in mercury, such as swordfish, shark, local freshwater fish, and albacore tuna, mothers-to-be can enjoy the benefits of fish, with minimal concern for their pregnancy."

The FDA draft advisories all warn pregnant women and nursing mothers and women that may become pregnant not to eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish, as these large, long-lived fish have had time to accumulate high levels of methylmercury in their bodies.

In July 2002, the FDA's Food Safety Committee recommended a series of policy changes including harmonizing the agency's action level with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's more stringent standards.

The committee recommended conducting mercury testing for canned tuna and other fish, determining what the exposure risks are for sensitive populations, particularly for young children, and warning specific sensitive populations to limit consumption of canned tuna. To date, none of these measures have been implemented.

Appalachian Mountain Club Buys Chunk of Maine Woods

The land, known as the Katahdin Iron Works property, was purchased from International Paper Co. in a transaction facilitated by the Trust for Public Land. Located 10 miles east of the town of Greenville on Moosehead Lake, the acquisition includes all or part of Chairback Mountain, Columbus Mountain, Fourth Mountain and Third Mountain, Baker, Elephant and Indian mountains and is adjacent to the nationally protected Gulf Hagas, the deepest gorge in Maine.

The purchase is "transformative" for the 127 year old club, said AMC Deputy Director Walter Graff. The organization will now be able to protect a "treasure trove" of natural resources in the undeveloped valley of the West Branch of the Pleasant River.

The club's strategy for the property, called the Maine Woods Initiative, is to integrate habitat protection, recreation, education and sustainable forestry. AMC intends to keep part of the land in timber production to support the local forest products economy.

AMC intends to develop recreational facilities that will increase access into the area and help create new tourism to the region.

The club will soon launch a new capital campaign to pay for the Maine Woods Initiative. The $14.2 million was borrowed from Citizens Bank and the nonprofit Open Space Institute under short term agreements. Besides private donations, the organization will seek funds from federal and state land conservation programs.

Its previous $33 million capital campaign to expand operations and fund the multi-million dollar Highland Center lodge in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, ended successfully two years ago.

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is America's oldest conservation and recreation organization. It promotes the "protection, enjoyment, and wise use" of mountains, rivers, and trails in the Appalachian region. The club has been primarily identified with its popular hut system in the White Mountains National Forest of New Hampshire and its long involvement in the protection and maintenance of the Appalachian Trail.

Missouri Trucking Company Faces Felony Charges

Owner David Voss, dispatcher Merry Robinson, and Voss Transportation, Inc. face multiple felony charges.

The indictment alleges that Voss and dispatchers conspired to violate federal law by directing drivers not to leave bills of lading which would show transfer of conventional gasoline at service stations that required reformulated gasoline.

The indictment also alleges that on March 5, 2001, Voss and Voss Transportation negligently caused the discharge of diesel fuel into into Pleasant Valley Creek, a tributary of the Meramec River in violation of the Clean Water Act. In addition, Voss and Robinson are charged with failing to notify the National Response Center about the oil spill from diesel tanks at the Voss Truck Port.

According to the indictment, between April 2000 and June 2001, the Voss and Robinson directed Voss drivers to drive in violation of federal safety regulations by exceeding the number of driving hours permitted by federal regulation.

The indictment alleges that Voss and Robinson conspired with others to conceal the fact that Voss Transportation drivers were driving over legally allowed hours. It was further part of the conspiracy that they caused drivers to conceal from regulators illegal trips dispatched by Voss and Robinson and another dispatcher by "dropping," not recording, illegal trips from log books or record of duty status reports.

The indictment alleges that a driver was dispatched over-hours on April 24, 2000 and was killed in an accident. Following this accident, Voss admitted that drivers drove over-hours, the indictment alleges.

In August 2000, regulators discovered drivers "dropping" loads from their log books and issued a compliance order requiring that Voss be in compliance with and assure compliance with all regulations pertaining to motor carrier safety and hazardous material.

Instead, Robinson and Voss developed and implemented an "X" load system whereby drivers submitted odometer readings and/or delivery tickets designated by an "X" for excess trips/loads, according to the indictment.

Beginning in September 2000, after regulators discovered driver violations by reviewing pay sheets and bills of lading, drivers were paid for "X" loads on bonus pay sheets to conceal the discovery of illegal loads, the indictment claims.

If convicted, Voss and Robinson face maximum penalties of five years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.

Wisconsin Engineer Develops Microgrids for Reliable Energy

Researchers from the College of Engineering have designed a system where a small network of local generators can reliably disconnect from the rest of the power supply, enabling locations where electricity is critical to stay in operation during a blackout.

Most buildings receive their electrical power from transmission lines branching off a main power grid. With energy coming from a large network - the one responsible for the August blackout stretched 157,000 miles - any disruption could cause a cascade of powerlessness in cities as occurred August 14.

Because the new technology developed at UW-Madison receives its power locally, it can leap frog transmission lines, avoiding any failures within those lines, says lead inventor Robert Lasseter, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering.

The technology consists of a microgrid, a small network of several power generators located at a single site. These generators, integrated into the main energy distribution system, encompass a wide range of power sources, including micro-turbines, gas internal combustion engines, fuel cells and photovoltaic solar cells.

When problems occur within the transmission lines, the generators and the devices each one powers can separate from the main distribution system to isolate particular areas such as hospital rooms or a factory floor from the disturbance.

Lasseter said, "The critical loads in a microgrid can ride through any event. That means they can stay alive when the grid fails."

Providing reliability requires more than separating the microgrid from the main power system, says Lasseter. Drops in voltage, even from generators in a small network, can lead to fluctuations in power that shut down equipment or recalibrate machinery. These are the types of costly problems that businesses want to avoid during a blackout.

To dodge these fluctuations, Lasseter and his graduate student, Paolo Piagi, have fit the generators in the migrogrid with voltage source inverters that allow each generator to regulate voltage, thereby regulating electric current and the energy it produces.

All generators - whether part of a utility plant or small building - produce more waste heat than electricity. Smaller generators, such as those in Lasseter's microgrid network, can be placed in areas that need to be heated, he says.

This placement of the generators and the waste heat they produce can increase their usable energy to nearly 90 percent, and can do so without the use of complex heat distribution systems, such as steam and chilled water pipes.

Lasseter and his UW-Madison colleagues are planning to build a working microgrid with the California Department of Energy and the Sandia, Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. The project would simulate the possible use of a microgrid at a small factory.

The microgrid design is patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that patents and licenses intellectual property for the university.

Coral Park Buddies Raise Reef Saving Funds

They have formed the Coral Park Buddy program with a goal of raising $35,000 by Earth Day April 22, 2004 to pay for grassroots conservation projects at six of the world's most important coral reef protected areas.

The campaign seeks to safeguard reefs in Hol Chan, Belize; Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles; Namena, Fiji; Cozumel, Mexico; Rock-Islands, Palau; and Southeast Cebu, Philippines.

The Coral Park Buddy program is part of the annual Dive In To Earth Day event coordinated by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL). It was developed in response to a call for help from park managers in coral reef protected areas around the world.

"Marine protected areas are one of the best tools we have to protect coral reefs," said Brian Huse, CORAL's executive director.

Anyone can be a Park Buddy and help raise funds.

Nancy Stryble of Oakland, California, visits Namena, Fiji whenever she can. While local villagers set aside a coral reef protected area at Namena, the lack of moorings means that anchor damage is still a problem.

"I've been so fortunate to see how beautiful Namena's reefs are, and future generations deserve the same opportunity," said Stryble. "The program is special because it not only preserves the reef and fisheries, but it directly benefits the local villages and provides a model for other communities as well."

Nancy plans to donate $1,000 to fund the mooring buoy project, and she plans to ask her dive buddies to match her donation.

Fundraisers get creative, holding benefit dinners, to contests, and dive-a-thons. Donovan Watts of Berkeley, California, plans to hold an online raffle to help pay for a park ranger education course in Bonaire.

Snorkeling enthusiast and platinum selling flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert has agreed to donate one of his guitars to the raffle. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask Mr. Liebert, and he said okay! That's music to my ears," said Watts.

The Dive In website at: http://www.coral.org/divein links to the raffle and lists other fundraising ideas. Since 2000, nearly 135,000 people have organized 874 Dive In events in more than 80 countries around the world, including beach cleanups, community festivals, educational programs, and reef monitoring events.

The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) coordinates Dive In To Earth Day in partnership with Project AWARE Foundation, and with the support of Air Pacific, Earth Day Network, International Coral Reef Action Network, and West Marine.

Coloradans Honored as Champions of Renewables

NREL is recognizing Lola Spradley, speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives who has promoted the use of renewable energy in the state. In February, Spradley introduced a bill establishing a renewable energy standard for Colorado. Although killed in the state Senate, the measure would have required investor owned utilities to increase the amount of electricity they produce from wind, biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal and solar energy to 900 megawatts (MW) by the year 2010 and to 1,800 MW by 2020.

Currently, Xcel Energy produces about 62 MW from wind power in Colorado and there is a planned wind farm at Lamar that will generate another 162 MW.

Cal Marsella, general manager of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) who has championed the use of clean alternative fuels for RTD's huge fleet of heavy vehicles.

Roger Ogden, president and general manager of KUSA-TV, the Denver NBC network affiliate, and former president and managing director of NBC Europe has undertaken several highly visible initiatives to educate Colorado consumers about the advantages of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Each of these achievements was recognized at the annual NREL Stakeholders Reception this evening at the Pinnacle Club in Denver. The title of this year's event is, "Celebration of Invention and Innovation: 50th Anniversary of the Solar Cell & Leadership in Renewable Energy."

Also honored was Dr. Morton Price of the Bell Labs, a pioneer in the development of early solar cells.

Based in Golden, NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy's laboratory for renewable energy research and development. NREL is operated for the government by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.