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National Academy of Sciences to Review Everglades Restoration JACKSONVILLE, Florida, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - The federal government and the state of Florida have agreed to allow an independent scientific panel to review the massive $8 billion, 30 year Everglades restoration plan.The review of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) will be accomplished by the National Academy of Sciences and will produce biennial reports to Congress on the progress of the restoration. The agreement to set up the review, announced Tuesday, was signed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Interior Department and the South Florida Water Management District. "Ecosystem restoration is a complex undertaking," said Assistant Secretary of the Army John Paul Woodley. "The National Academy of Sciences will provide valuable expert assistance in independently reviewing our progress in restoring the Everglades. The Department of the Army will continue to work quickly and diligently to ensure timely and successful restoration of the Everglades." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, will establish a cooperative agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, which will convene an Independent Science Review Panel composed of a diverse team of internationally recognized experts in restoration science. The panel will produce biennial reports to Congress, which will include an assessment of ecological indicators and other measures of progress in restoration of the Everglades. "It is critical in this long term ecosystem restoration process, which is breaking new ground, to have some of the leading scientists from throughout the country give us their input," said Henry Dean, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. "We are glad to be part of this review process." The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is a daunting effort by any measure. It covers 16 counties across more than 18,000 square miles and centers on revamping the Central & Southern Florida Project, which includes 1,000 miles of canals, 720 miles of levees, and hundreds of water control structures. This enormous water control project has provided south Florida with a reliable water supply and flood protection, but it has contributed to the widespread degradation of the Everglades ecosystem, which is dependent upon a natural, slow, steady flow of clean water. The Everglades has been ravaged by agricultural pollution, invasive species and inhibited natural water flows caused by Army Corps projects and subsequent development. The ecosystem is about a fifth of its original size and contains some 60 endangered or threatened species.
EPA Awards $75 Million for Brownfields Redevelopment MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, June 16, 2004 (ENS) – On Tuesday U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Leavitt handed out more than $75 million in federal grants for brownfields redevelopment.The money will fund 265 grants that will be shared by 42 states and Puerto Rico to help revitalization of former industrial and commercial sites. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Leavitt announced the grants at the site of a former metal foundry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The abandoned site is being redeveloped as a light industry business park. "Brownfields sites like this are a blight on thousands of cities, towns and rural areas across the country," Leavitt said. "We are helping turn these eyesores into opportunities, bringing new life to communities and cities, everything from new jobs and new housing to new shopping opportunities and new recreational facilities." Public-private collaborative efforts in Milwaukee have already redeveloped six other Brownfields sites, bringing $13.7 million of new investment into the city and creating or retaining 149 jobs. In all, 219 applicants, including five tribal nations, were selected to receive 265 grants. The $75.4 million will provide 155 assessment grants totaling $37.6 million to be used to conduct planning for eventual cleanup at one or more Brownfield sites or as part of a community effort. The total includes some 92 cleanup grants totaling $16.9 million to provide funding for grant recipients to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites they own,. In addition, 18 revolving loan fund grants totaling $20.9 million will allow communities to capitalize their own revolving loan funds and to provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites.
Park Service Plans Cell Tower Inventory WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - The National Park Service is asking all its superintendents to report where existing wireless communication facilities are located in national parks. The request, revealed in an agency memo released Tuesday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), comes as the park service is taking criticism for its policies regarding the siting of cell towers and wireless equipment within national parks.Last week the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation opened a formal review of a National Park Service decision to allow construction of a 100 foot cell phone tower over the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. In the May 25, 2004 memo to all park superintendents, Deputy Park Service Director Donald Murphy asked for an "inventory of all the existing wireless communications facilities" on park property, including cell towers, radio antennas and microwave transmitters. The park service had acknowledged in April that it does not have a database or inventory of cell sites or telecommunication equipment permitted in the national park system. "While collecting the information is a good, though belated, first step, the park service is still evading the central question, which is whether and where these facilities are appropriate on national park lands," said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. He pointed out that only one of the 397 units of the national park system - San Francisco's Golden Gate National Recreation Area - has a plan for siting cell phone towers and other telecom facilities. "The current philosophy of the Park Service is to grant commercial permits first and then perhaps question the implications later," said Ruch. When the Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened federal lands to tower construction, Congress directed the National Park Service to develop appropriate regulations for preventing unsightly proliferation of towers. But critics note the agency does not have clear policies to help superintendents decide what is appropriate or not. As a result, decisions vary from park to park or over time in the same park as the superintendent changes. The park service routinely fails to notify the public about applications to erect new cell towers. In addition to the Yellowstone controversy, PEER says that the public only learned of applications to build three cell towers in Great Smoky Mountain National Park from the news media, not from public notices. "By both its failure to plan and its deference to commercial concerns, the National Park Service is on a default path to blanketing the great outdoors with wireless coverage, even in the depths of the wilds," Ruch said. "There should be an informed, national debate before the Park Service sacrifices the solitude and the scenery of our parks to the marketing plans of telecom companies."
Report Warns U.S. Must Adapt to Warming Climate WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - The United States needs to adopt measures to adapt to global warming, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.The report details that even if extreme measures could be taken immediately to curtail emissions, the momentum of the Earth's atmosphere is such that the planet will continue to warm for many years to come. "Unfortunately, we are already past the point where climate change can be prevented entirely, said Eileen Claussen, president of the Center. "Now we need a two-pronged approach that combines reductions in greenhouse gas emissions with policies that will help us adapt to the climate change that is going to occur." The report "Coping with Global Climate Change: The Role of Adaptation in the United States" is authored by William Easterling of Pennsylvania State University, Brian Hurd of New Mexico State University, and Joel Smith of Stratus Consulting, Inc. It highlights the importance of anticipating the impacts of climate change rather than simply reacting to challenges as they occur. Making climate conscious decisions now while designing and investing in long-lived infrastructures, such as water management, transportation and health care systems, will help the United States adapt to climate change later, the authors say. The study finds that adaptation to global warming will not be an easy or cost-free process, but it details that the capacity of the U.S. economy to adapt is high, because of the broad range of resources - wealth, technology and information - that can be directed at the problem. The authors contend government policies can promote the development and adoption of strategies and technologies for adaptation through research, information sharing and institutional reform. "But the longer we delay," Claussen said, "the greater the cost will be." Even if the country as a whole adapts well, individual regions and communities may still face damages and disruption. For example, agriculture in many northern regions is expected to adapt to climate change by expanding production during longer growing seasons, but agriculture in southern regions is expected to contract with warmer, drier temperatures. The report details that the more quickly the climate changes, the more difficult and costly adaptation will be. Other regions of the world, particularly developing countries that lack the tools and resources for adaptation are even more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. "In reality," the authors speculate, "we are more likely to muddle through, taking adaptive actions as necessary, but often not doing what may be needed for optimal or ideal adaptation."
Bubonic Plague Found in Colorado Prairie Dogs GREELEY, Colorado, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - The bubonic plague that killed thousands in a 17th century Europe without antibiotics has surfaced in Colorado. Officials at the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment are asking everyone visiting the Pawnee National Grasslands to be alert for signs that plague may be in the area and to take precautions.On Friday, health officials announced that a researcher conducting a rodent population dynamics study on the Pawnee National Grasslands discovered a die-off in a prairie dog colony at the northwest intersection of Weld County Roads 96 and 97. Eight prairie dogs were submitted to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta for testing. Six have been confirmed positive for plague. Prairie dogs are highly susceptible to plague and when it enters a colony the mortality rate will be nearly 100 percent, county officials said. Other animal species are more resistant. Dogs, cattle and other livestock may become infected but rarely develop any illness. Cats become very ill and will die without treatment. Plague is maintained in the environment in a rodent to flea to rodent cycle. Humans are usually infected when they are bitten by an infected flea or handle an infected animal. Symptoms in humans include a high fever, severe malaise and a large, painful bubo, hence the name bubonic plague. While it can be fatal, health officials say the plague is readily treatable with antibiotics. The symptoms normally occur three to five days after infection and strike very suddenly. To reduce the risk of exposure to plague, health officials reccommend taking precautions.
Food and Drug Agency Asked to Assess Cosmetics' Safety WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall or issue warning labels on a wide array of personal care products whose ingredients have not been adequately assessed for safety or may harm health.The legal action was prompted by a six month study by the research group, which found that 356 personal care products contain ingredients that, according to the chemical industry's own review panel, lack sufficient data to support their safe use in personal care products. "Most consumers believe that if a product is on a store shelf, government scientists have approved it," said EWG Vice President for Research Jane Houlihan. "But the $35 billion cosmetics industry appears to have the freedom to put whatever chemicals it wants into our personal care products. FDA needs to update decades-old safeguards and make sure that personal care products on store shelves contain only ingredients that have been proven safe." The products reviewed by EWG included shampoos, shaving products, moisturizers and other common items sold under brand names such as Jergens, L'Oreal, St. Ives, Dove and more. The EWG study found that another 19 products, including Desitin Diaper Rash Ointment and Stridex Triple Action Pads, contain ingredients that, according to industry assessments, may cause harm when used as directed on the product label. Only 11 percent of 10,500 personal care product ingredients have been publicly assessed for safety, according to the EWG study. The cosmetic industry polices the safety of its own products - the Food and Drug Administration cannot require safety testing of ingredients or products before they are put on store shelves. But the agency can recall and require warning labels on products. The petition notes that the FDA has no definition for the term "safe" as it applies to personal care products and requests the agency give practical meaning to its term "adequately substantiated for safety." EWG also petitioned FDA to require Internet vendors to clearly list all ingredients in all products they are selling, and to assess the safety of chemical ingredients that have not been studied by industry or the government.
Two Condor Nestlings Confirmed in Arizona ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - Two California condor nestlings have been found by federal biologists in northern Arizona, indicating that the ongoing captive breeding and release program is succeeding in producing condors in the wild. The California condor is one of the most endangered birds in North America - the entire wild and captive condor population numbers only 242 birds.But that number is at least 10 times what it was in 1982 when the entire remaining condor population was just 22 birds. One condor chick is living in Grand Canyon National Park, while the second chick was found at a nest site located on the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The Arizona nestlings were confirmed using behavioral observations of adult birds as an indicator. This is the second consecutive year that wild California condors have been hatched in Arizona since releases began in 1996. "A generation of wild hatched, fledged and reproducing animals is a significant benchmark in any reintroduction program," said H. Dale Hall, Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Regional Director. "These hatchlings bolster our hope of reestablishing a truly wild population of California Condors." Condors are scavengers that historically lived from British Columbia to northern Baja California and in the southwestern United States. According to the Peregrine Fund, the main reason for the decline of the condors was an unsustainable mortality rate of free-flying birds combined with a naturally low reproductive rate. Most deaths have been directly or indirectly related to human activity. Shootings, poisoning, lead poisoning, and collisions with power lines are considered the major threats to condor survival. California condors are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty and the Endangered Species Act. According to intensive behavioral observations made largely by The Peregrine Fund and National Park Service biologists and volunteers, both nesting pairs were judged to have laid their eggs in March. Females lay a single egg directly on the floor of a cave and due to prolonged extensive care giving, may only lay one egg every other year. Condors typically do not reach reproductive maturity until they are five to eight years of age. If the two newest chicks fledge successfully it will bring the number of free-flying condors in Arizona to 47. In April, biologists also reported that three condors had hatched at separate nesting locations in southern California. A total of 97 condors are now flying in California, Arizona, and in Baja Mexico. The California condor is the largest bird in North America, with a wingspan reaching up to 9.5 feet. The birds typically fledge full-grown at around six months of age. But juvenile condors may be dependent on their parents for more than a year, so it will be some time before biologists know if this year's nesting attempts in either Arizona or California will be successful. "Patience really is a virtue when working with California condors," said Bill Heinrich, species restoration manager for The Peregrine Fund. "The seven years that it took from the initial Arizona release to the first successful fledging of a condor in the wild seemed to take forever. Now, with two more young hatched this year, we hope to be able to look forward to the production of wild-hatched young on an annual basis."
North Carolina Ecosystem Rebounds From Hurricanes RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - In 1996 and 1999, powerful hurricanes pummeled the Neuse River and Estuary and western Pamlico Sound in eastern North Carolina. But researchers have found that these ecosystems appear to have suffered few long term ill effects from the storms, and have in some ways have benefited ecologically from the storms' scouring effects.Those are the findings of a team of North Carolina State University (NC State) scientists and collaborators from various North Carolina universities and government agencies. The research is published online this week in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." "The overall story we see is of estuarine resilience to impacts from these types of major storms," said Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, NC State professor of botany and director of the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology. "The negative predictions about long-term devastation of water quality and fisheries, made right after the storms, were not borne out." The research shows that water quality, numbers and health of most of the area's shellfish and finfish, and the overall health of the surveyed water systems - though initially acutely affected by storms, especially Hurricane Fran in 1996 - have since returned to normal, suggesting the resilience of estuarine systems such as the Neuse and Pamlico Sound. Some harmful organisms that took hold before the storms are now in abeyance, suggesting the storms beneficially flushed the areas studied. The scientists found that commercial catch numbers of shrimp or bivalve molluscs such as clams and scallops did not suffer long-term effects from the storms. One estuary dweller that has been slow to recover is the blue crab, researchers say, although its numbers are now creeping back toward average abundances. Reductions in the number of blue crabs can be attributed to the relationship between hurricane floodwaters, the crabs' migration response to the floodwaters and the subsequent overfishing of the mass-migrating crabs, said Dr. David Eggleston, professor of marine science at NC State and coauthor of the paper. "We feel the historically low abundances of blue crabs in 2000 and 2001 are a direct result of the interactions between floodwaters and overfishing," Eggleston said. "The blue crabs migrated en masse, which concentrated them and made them more vulnerable to fishing."
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