The agency's action comes one week after it acknowledged the validity of the concerns raised by the biologist, Andrew Eller, Jr.

Eller is a 17 year veteran of the Fish and Wildlife Service and has spent the past decade working in the Florida panther recovery program.

In his May complaint, Eller said the federal agency knowingly uses faulty studies to inflate the Florida panther population and minimize the species' habitat needs in order to put the interests of developers ahead of one of the nation's most endangered species.

Only 50 to 80 adult Florida panthers are believed to remain in the wild - the species was listed as endangered under federal law in 1967.

According to the complaint, the Fish and Wildlife Service has relied on panther literature that "contains unsupported assumptions, uses inappropriate analytical methods, and selectively uses data to support conclusions."

In a July 7 response to Eller's complaint, the Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges that "despite being published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, some of the information you are challenging has, over time, been determined to have limitations…"

But the agency said it would keep relying on flawed data until 2006.

By that time critics fear several major developments in Southwest Florida may be approved for construction within shrinking panther habitat.

One week later, on July 13, the Fish and Wildlife Service served Eller with a notice of proposed termination for "unacceptable" performance.

Many of the assignments cited by the agency involve the controversies surrounding the science on the endangered panther and other threatened species in one of the fastest growing areas of the country, known as the Western Everglades.

"When it comes to intimidating its own scientists, the Fish and Wildlife Service is about as subtle as a Mack truck," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, jointly filed the complaint with Eller. "The Fish and Wildlife Service is signaling that under the Bush administration scientists who will not play ball will be blackballed."

Eller has 30 days to respond to the proposed termination.

If the agency does remove him, he can challenge the action before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the federal civil service court.

"Scientific dissent is not a firing offense," said Ruch, an attorney whose organization provides legal support for environmental agency whistleblowers. "Although the Fish and Wildlife Service is under tremendous political pressure to approve these projects, it should not be insisting that its scientists become biostitutes."

American Heart Association Seeks Stronger Air Regulations

The association supports educational efforts such as the EPA's AIRNow website, which provides localized air quality information and recommends limiting activity during times of increased pollution.

Interest Groups Plan Suit Over Simi Valley Nuclear Site

They charge that the DOE's cleanup plan for the site, where various U.S. agencies conducted nuclear research over four decades, would leave dangerous levels of radioactive tritium, the solvent trichloroethylene, perchlorate, and other toxic chemicals and radioactive materials that pose a threat to public health.

The Energy Department says it intends that the land will eventually be used for housing, but has embraced a plan that would leave 99 percent of the contaminated soil in place.

The two organizations - the Natural Resources Defense Council and Committee to Bridge the Gap (CBG) - informed the agency on Monday of their intent to file the lawsuit.

The Energy Department now has 60 days to comply with the law in its cleanup effort to avert the legal action.

The groups charge that the agency is in violation of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Endangered Species Act.

The Energy Department, along with the Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have performed nuclear experiments at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory since the 1950s.

These projects included a plutonium fuel fabrication facility, a facility for cutting up irradiated nuclear fuel, and approximately 10 nuclear reactors, one of which experienced a partial meltdown.

Operators of the site also routinely burned contaminated reactor components in an open pit overlooking Simi Valley.

In late 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined that DOE's cleanup efforts at the site will leave too much radioactivity in place to meet federal standards for unrestricted land use.

Scientists Resist Republican Endangered Species Act Changes

Proponents of the proposals say they are needed to revise a law that is failing to recover endangered species and is burdening land owners.

The first bill up for consideration is the "Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2003." The sponsors of the bill contend the Endangered Species Act does not clearly define scientific standards to be used in making decisions - a finding rejected by many conservationists.

Critics say the Planning Act forces agency scientists to jump through many more hoops when making key decisions under the ESA, dismisses the importance of scientific "modeling" in wildlife research and seeks to make political appointees the arbiters of what constitutes "sound science."

"Some people who are critical of the way the Endangered Species Act has been employed think that perhaps too much attention and reliance has been given to models as opposed to empirical data," said Gordon Orians, professor emeritus, department of biology, University of Washington. "This, I think, reflects a serious misunderstanding about how science works."

Orians said asking which is more important, the data or the models, "is equivalent to asking a person, which is more important, your heart or your liver?"

"You cannot get along without either of them, and science simply cannot function without this constant interplay between facts, empirical data, models, and hypotheses that the models embody," he said.

The second bill, known as "The Critical Habitat Reform Act of 2003," would prohibit the designation of critical habitat until a recovery plan is developed - a concept which many environmentalists support.

But the bill sets no deadlines for action and would call on the federal government to only issue a critical habitat designation if "practicable, economically feasible and determinable."

It would also require involvement of local governments and private landowners and would exempt areas from critical habitat designations that are already covered by other state or federal conservation plans.

Critics say this bill has the practical effect of making the designation of critical habitat the exception, rather than the rule.

"This legislation changes provisions of the ESA pertaining to critical habitat in ways likely to lessen protection for such habitat," according to the letter, which was organized by the Unified Endangered Species Campaign and sent to members of Congress.

The campaign is supported by the following seven environmental groups - The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, the Endangered Species Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and The Sierra Club.

Researchers Warn of PCB Risk from Older Caulking

The researchers say a survey of masonry buildings from that era is necessary to determine where in the United States these materials had been used, and that caulking should be routinely analyzed for PCBs and managed appropriately to reduce potentially significant health risks.

Caulking is the rubbery, flexible material seen around windows in masonry buildings.

The study, published in the July 2004 issue of "Environmental Health Perspectives," is based on an investigation of 24 buildings in the Greater Boston Area.

The investigation revealed that one-third of the buildings contained caulking materials with PCB content exceeding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards of 50 parts per million, in some cases containing nearly 1,000 times the standard.

Elevated PCB levels in caulking were found in schools, universities and other public buildings.

"At the time of construction of these buildings in the '60s and '70s, this material was commonly used," said Robert Herrick, Harvard University senior lecturer on industrial hygiene and leader of the study.

"The situation is very similar to lead in paint, where a material used in building construction leads to contamination of the building interior and the soil around the buildings," Herrick said. "This is of special concern as the studies in Finland found that children's play areas were located in areas of high soil PCB contamination near buildings containing these caulking materials."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned PCBs in 1977 but the agency has not required that caulking be tested to determine PCB content, so the extent to which this material is still in buildings is unknown.

PCBs are considered probable human carcinogens and are linked to other adverse health effects such as low birth weight, thyroid disease, as well as learning, memory, and immune system disorders.

Herrick said after 30 years these materials are deteriorating, and just touching caulking may cause exposure.

The researchers said that their limited investigation into two dozen buildings in Boston, suggests that were this testing done, many buildings would be found to contain high levels of PCBs in their materials and also in the building's surrounding environment.

Long Island Utility Buys Into Energy Efficiency

CSGServices, one of six companies chosen by LIPA to accomplish the efficiency measures, will deliver the largest portion of the energy efficiency contract. LIPA’s energy resource plan aims to achieve up to 73 megawatts of energy and capacity savings through long term energy efficiency programs.

The program to be implemented by CSGServices (CSGS), a Conservation Services Group affiliate, will deliver roughly 24 percent of the efficiency measures that LIPA is seeking - saving about 17.5 megawatts of power from energy efficiency measures.

CSGS will achieve energy economies by retrofitting buildings with energy efficient lighting, heating and ventilation systems, appliances and refrigeration systems.

Building owners will be offered incentives for installing the energy efficient equipment. CSGS is targeting medium size to large buildings including multi-family housing projects, schools, warehouses and commercial facilities.

Work is scheduled to begin this fall, pending final agreements between CSGS and LIPA. The project is expected to continue through December 2007.

In addition to securing CSGS as one of six energy efficiency contractors, LIPA has signed several other firms to reduce load through demand response and load management programs, as well as renewable energy technologies.

LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel, said, "Through these new contracts, we are expanding efforts to stretch our energy supply resources with a wide range of conservation and energy efficiency initiatives. At the same time, these strategies can help businesses on Long Island to remain competitive by reducing energy costs."

LIPA is not alone in its energy efficiency initiatives. In April, CSGS won a four megawatt contract to implement an energy efficiency program for New England’s Independent System Operator (ISO-NE).

Stephen Cowell, CSGS chief executive officer, said the first anniversary of the biggest blackout in U.S. history which hit on August 14, 2003, will raise public consciousness about conserving power this summer. "We hope that the pioneering new approaches of LIPA and ISO-NE will pave the way for other groups to utilize cost effective, environmentally sound solutions for managing power."

Migrating Ducks Find Dry Conditions in U.S. and Canada

The study finds that although many areas received winter snow, the parched ground absorbed the snowmelt, leaving little in pools and ponds that ducks need to thrive.

In the traditional survey area, known as the Prairie Pothole region, the total duck population estimate was 32.2 million birds, 11 percent below last year's estimate.

The blue-winged teal was one species showing a significant decrease. The survey estimated 4.1 million teal, 26 percent below last year's estimate of 5.5 million and 10 percent below the long term average.

Among other duck species, shoveler ducks were counted at 2.8 million, and wigeons at two million - both were 22 percent lower than in 2003 estimates.

"The duck factory in the prairie potholes was much drier this May than last," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve Williams.

"Unfortunately, the return of water to the shortgrass prairie of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan seen last year did not continue, and habitat in these areas went from good last year to fair or poor this year."

Still, said Williams, "Areas east of the Great Lakes had plenty of water, and breeding conditions there were better than last year."

The survey samples 1.3 million square miles across the north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska.

It is an important source of information used by the Fish and Wildlife Service and by states to establish regulatory frameworks for waterfowl hunting season lengths, dates and bag limits.

Most of the U.S. and Canadian prairies were much drier in May of 2004 than in May of 2003, with total pond numbers 24 percent lower than last year.

The change was greater in Canada, down 29 percent to 2.5 million ponds. In the north-central United States, pond numbers are down 16 percent to 1.4 million ponds.

Biologists said the late snow and low temperatures during May probably had an adverse impact on early-nesting species and young broods.

Although many prairie areas received abundant rain after the May surveys, the Fish and Wildlife Service reports that this water likely did not alleviate the dry conditions for ducks because much of it also soaked into the ground.