AmeriScan: March 20, 2002

Star Wars Sites to Get Environmental Reviews

The agency pledged to perform the reviews in exchange for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) dropping a lawsuit filed on August 28, 2001. The plaintiffs in the suit, who also included Greenpeace, Kodiak Rocket Launch Information Group and No Nukes North, challenged the DoD's failure to perform required environmental studies at the proposed missile sites.

"We originally filed this suit because the Department of Defense tried to skirt around the law and move forward with this construction based on an outdated and incomplete environmental analysis," said Stacy Studebaker of the Kodiak Rocket Launch Information Group. "This settlement will force the U.S. to analyze the impacts that this construction may have on Kodiak Island and Ft. Greely, and will allow the public to have an opportunity to review and participate in the analysis. That was not the case before we filed this lawsuit."

Under the settlement, the DoD will adhere to environmental regulations set by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This includes undertaking environmental studies of the impacts that a missile defense program, sometimes called Star Wars, would have on Kodiak Island and Fort Greely.

For example, any flight interceptor tests from Kodiak or Fort Greely would require full blown analysis under NEPA. Greenpeace intends to monitor the DoD's compliance with the letter and spirit of the settlement, and performs the required environmental reviews.

"The missile defense construction not only endangers the environment on Kodiak Island and Ft. Greely it is also a threat to global security," said Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace Nuclear Disarmament and Climate Campaigner. "This construction puts the world closer to employing Star Wars. These public environmental analyses will expose the dangers of not just this construction but the entire missile defense program."

In addition to these sites, the U.S. plans to use the Thule radar site in Greenland to deploy the missile defense system.

Navy Bombing Violates Migratory Bird Treaty Act

Judge Emmit Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment last week in a lawsuit over the bombing of Farallon de Medinilla, an island in the Northern Marianas.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, passed in 1918, prohibits killing or otherwise harming migratory birds without a permit issued in accordance with federal regulations.

The Navy admitted that protected birds are killed by the training exercises, and applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for a permit to continue the bombing. The USFWS declined to issue a permit in 1996.

The Defense Department continued to bomb the island, claiming that the MBTA does not apply to federal agencies.

On March 13, Judge Sullivan ruled that the military exercises violate MBTA, and ordered the parties to submit additional briefs concerning the nature and scope of an injunction limiting or halting training activities that kill protected birds. A hearing in the remedy phase of the case is scheduled for April 30, 2002.

"We are pleased that the court has held that all federal agencies, including the military, need to follow federal environmental laws," said Paul Achitoff, attorney for Earthjustice.

Sullivan chastised the government for arguing that environmentalists should support the Navy bombing because it make bird species more rare, offering birdwatchers additional enjoyment when spotting a live specimen. That argument was introduced by the Washington Legal Foundation, which supported the Navy in the suit.

"Suffice it to say, there is absolutely no support in the law for the view that environmentalists should get enjoyment out of the destruction of natural resources because that destruction makes the remaining resources more scarce and therefore valuable," wrote Sullivan in his decision. "The Court hopes that the federal government will refrain from making or adopting such frivolous arguments in the future."

Farallon de Medinilla is an island used by at least two dozen species of birds, including at least a dozen species that nest on the island. Farallon de Medinilla is home to breeding colonies of great frigatebird and the masked boobies as well as endangered Micronesian Megapodes.

"The ruling upholds the U.S. commitment to the protection of migratory birds and to meeting our treaty obligations," said Peter Galvin, conservation biologist for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Klamath Tribes Could Recover Reservation Lands

Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the agency's proposals could include returning some historic reservation lands, now part of the Winema and Fremont national forests, to the Klamath Tribes.

"Klamath tribes have property rights that must be respected and interests that must be honored as we develop solutions," Norton said.

Though the federal government acquired much of the Klamath Tribes' former reservation lands in the 1960s, the Klamath Tribes retained the right to hunt, fish, trap and gather in the area of their former reservation, as well as the right to water necessary to sustain those rights. The Klamath Tribes' proposed economic self sufficiency plan proposes restoration of the biological integrity of these lands, and improving water quality for the benefit of the entire basin.

"We will discuss ideas to settle land and water conflicts so that everyone can live together in the Basin, served by a functioning watershed and a healthy environment," Norton said. "It is indisputable that a restored ecosystem in the Klamath Basin will have positive impacts not only for fish and wildlife but also for the people of the Basin. This is particularly true for irrigated agriculture, which must use the waters of the Basin to make a living. Restoration of the upper basin watershed is one of the places where we need to focus our attention."

President George W. Bush appointed Secretary Norton, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality James Connaughton to the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group on March 1.

The Working Group, chaired by Secretary Norton, has held two meetings and announced measures, including investigating $1.6 million to accelerate the delivery of conservation, technical and financial assistance for irrigation water management and accelerating the construction of proposed fish screens on A Canal, the major water diversion point out of Upper Klamath Lake.

"President Bush had made finding solutions to the complex economic and environmental challenges in the Klamath Basin a high priority," Norton said. "We will do this by working in partnership with farmers, ranchers, fishermen, tribes and others in the Basin."

Pennsylvania Seeks Action on Interstate Waste

"Pennsylvanians have been struggling with this issue for more than a decade," said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Hess, testifying before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee.

"In 2001, 26.6 million tons of waste was disposed in Pennsylvania waste facilities," Hess told the committee. "Of this, nearly half - 12.6 million tons or 47.3 percent - was imported from at least 20 states."

Noting the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review a lower court ruling that Virginia's laws regulating out of state waste interfered with interstate commerce, Hess argued that it is time for Congress to act.

"We face an ever increasing flood of waste from outside our borders, almost doubling the millions of tons of garbage disposed in our state every year," Hess continued. "In 1988, Pennsylvania faced a garbage crisis with only 18 months of disposal capacity. In the last 14 years, we have toiled to create a comprehensive and accountable waste management system. But in our struggle to deal with trash imports, Congress holds the power to provide the missing piece."

Secretary Hess said that as long as states can export all the trash they want to export, there is no incentive for them to develop their own waste management infrastructure.

Pennsylvania is seeking federal legislation that would impose an immediate freeze on waste imports, with a schedule for reducing imports over time. Other measures sought by the state include regulations allowing states to impose a cap on the amount of imported waste that a new facility could receive, and to consider in state capacity as part of the permitting process for new landfills and incinerators.

"While we await Congressional action, Pennsylvania has moved forward in our efforts to strive for cleaner, safer communities and environmentally educated citizens," Hess said.

In 1988, Pennsylvania recycled 167,000 tons of material. Today, that figure stands at more than 3.4 million tons per year, an increase of more than 20 fold. Materials that were once considered unusable and un-recyclable now are being used to build roads, for example.

"We have begun pilot projects that incorporate the use of recycled plastics in 'phasphalt,' glass cullet for pipe backfill along roadways, and shredded tires as lightweight fill in highway bridge approaches," Hess noted.

California Plans Boost in Renewable Portfolio

Speaking at the solar powered Potrero Hill Neighborhood House in San Francisco, Davis voiced his support for the Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (SB 532), introduced by state senator Byron Sher. The bill would require the state's three investor owned utilities to increase the percentage of energy they generate from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2010.

Energy from the wind, sun, geothermal sources, biomass, and water now provides about 12 percent of the state's electricity supply - more than any other state.

"California has long been the nation's leader in renewable energy," Davis said. "This legislation will continue that tradition of ensuring that renewables are a critical part of our energy future."

If the bill becomes law, California would have the most aggressive effort to increase the use of alternative energy of any state in the nation. Last year, Davis endorsed the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Renewable Investment Plan and its goal of increasing the state's renewable electricity consumption from 12 percent to 17 percent by 2006.

To help promote renewable energy use, the CEC administers a $135 million annual Renewable Energy Program that provides up to a 1.5 cent per kilowatt hour production incentive. To date, this program has kept 4,400 megawatts of existing renewable energy online, and provided incentives for the development of an additional 1,300 megawatts.

The program provides cash rebates to investor owned utility customers that choose to install small solar photovoltaic and wind energy systems.

The California Power Authority (CPA), working in concert with the private sector, has the financing ability to make the requirement of reaching 20 percent renewable energy by 2010 a reality, Davis said. The CPA has signed letters of intent with renewable developers for about 2,500 megawatts of new power sources.

The CPA portfolio costs less than what Californians now pay for generation at retail rates.

River Traffic Creates Air Pollution

The report in the March 15 issue of "Environmental Science and Technology," a publication of the American Chemical Society, shows that pollutants emitted by boats include nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and sulfur oxides.

Around riverside cities, nitrogen oxide pollution from shipping can equal that from a major freeway full of traffic, said Dr. James Corbett, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies, Newark, who conducted the study.

Corbett's findings are based on a detailed inventory of air emissions from commercial vessels - such as ships, tugs and towboats - in the Northwest United States. The results suggest the importance of boat and ship emissions in many regions of the country, he says.

The inventory is the first to detail the type of emissions estimates that modelers need to determine how boat and ship emissions affect regional air quality, according to Corbett.

Corbett, a former U.S. Merchant Marine engineering officer, combined analyses of engine operations with trade data about the tons of cargo and vessel movements over specific segments of the major rivers in the Pacific Northwest to come up with his estimates.

The study was commissioned to find out if ship and boat emissions contribute to haze that occurs in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Washington and Oregon states, said Michael Boyer, an environmental scientist with the Washington Department of Ecology, which helped fund the study.

"In the past all we had were rough estimates of marine vessel emissions and we couldn't specify where the pollution occurred," Boyer said. "This study means that we will be able to pin down the effects of ship emissions."

Two years ago, Corbett inventoried national emissions from commercial waterborne vessels and found emissions were double previous estimates. His research showed that, as a source of nitrogen oxides for the entire country, unregulated waterborne commerce ranks higher than many regulated industries, including metals processing, petroleum industries and chemical manufacturing.

Waterborne commerce transportation is an essential element of the U.S. transportation infrastructure that often seems invisible to the U.S. public, according to Corbett. Ships and boats that carry very large loads for very long distances move between 22 percent and 24 percent of U.S cargo, measured in ton miles - comparable to truck transportation, which accounts for 25 percent to 29 percent, Corbett said.

Waterborne transportation can also be one of the most energy efficient ways to move cargo, using about one-tenth of the energy consumed by the U.S. trucking industry, Corbett added.

Prototype Snowmobile Cuts Pollution

A typical snowmobile can produce as much air pollution as 100 cars. The engine design developed by the CSU students has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of snowmobiling and decrease pollution in developing countries.

"Our design should appeal to the environmentalist and the snowmobiler," said Jessica Rupp, one of the student engineers. "This snowmobile demonstrates a phenomenal reduction in environmental impact while improving overall performance."

The CSU student team has been selected to compete against 16 other schools in the Third Annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge, March 23-30 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The international competition challenges teams to design, build and operate snowmobiles that reduce emissions and noise while matching or improving the performance of machines sold on the market.

"Most commercial snowmobiles use two-stroke engines that are highly polluting," said CSU team captain Tim Bauer. "Our team has developed new technology to dramatically reduce pollution from two stroke engines."

Bryan Willson, associate professor of mechanical engineering and team adviser, said the technology developed at CSU has important applications beyond snowmobiling. The innovative engine design could provide means to reduce pollution in Third World countries, he said.

"A major part of the air pollution in Asian and African cities is generated by vehicles with traditional two-stroke engines such as those used in snowmobiles. Our new cost effective, two stroke technology has the potential to significantly reduce pollution throughout the developing world," said Willson. "In fact, we have already been contacted by agencies in India and West Africa to discuss how this type of engine can be used to reduce pollution and increase the quality of life in these countries."

CSU representatives have been invited to visit with U.S. government officials in Washington, DC in April to discuss potential applications of this two stroke technology for use in developing countries.

Researcher Helps Increase African Farm Yields

Trees, shrubs and rocks are helping tens of thousands of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa increase crop yields two to four fold, providing strong evidence that innovative soil fertility replenishment programs work and should be expanded, argues Pedro Sanchez, a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley's College of Natural Resources.

In a policy article published March 15 in the journal "Science," Sanchez said the high cost in Africa of commercial fertilizer has put it out of reach for most farmers. As a result, farmers have been unable to replenish nutrients depleted from the soil, which becomes barren.

In cases where the replenishment programs in sub-Saharan Africa have been used and proven effective, farmers are reaping the rewards in higher crop yields. The programs involve the use of decaying vegetation and crushed rocks, which are mixed into the soil.

A family in Zambia stands before their farmland. The field has been planted with leguminous trees to replenish the soil with vital nutrients that will nurture future crops of corn. (Photo courtesy UC Berkeley)

Sanchez launched these programs 10 years ago to replenish nutrients in soil using resources available in Africa. As the director-general of the International Center for Research in Agroforestry, he was responding to the need to provide local farmers with a means to restore the agricultural health of their land.

The methods pioneered by Sanchez include planting nitrogen fixing trees within maize crops, adding crushed, phosphorus rich rock to the soil, and planting an introduced shrub species that releases phosphorous, potassium, nitrogen and micronutrients as it decomposes.

Scaling up these low-tech methods to reach tens of millions of farm families throughout Africa would cost an estimated $100 million per year for the next decade, or 10 percent of the annual investment suggested for overcoming hunger and malnutrition in Africa, said Sanchez.

"The farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is in such dire need of help that we need to do as much as possible to make it fertile," said Sanchez. "Increasing crop yields will help alleviate the hunger and malnutrition that is so pervasive in Africa, and it would go a long way towards improving the general health of the people there."

Increasing the use of trees in farming can also have the added benefit of removing large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus tempering the impact of global warming, Sanchez added.

Rescue Dogs, Handlers Studied for Health Effects

Rescuers spent days, weeks or even months searching the rubble of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon. The debris included asbestos, diesel fuel, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and countless other toxins.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now begun a three year study of the search and rescue mission's effects on rescue dogs and their handlers. Comprised of veterinary researchers and psychologists, the team will focus on the physical and psychological toll, which could offer insights into which ailments to watch for among those now working to clear the wreckage.

"Few dogs at the World Trade Center and Pentagon suffered acute injuries, but during the next three years we expect them to serve as our sentinels on long term consequences," said lead researcher Cynthia Otto, associate professor of critical care in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. "We may see health effects that will follow in humans 10 or 20 years from now."

Because the canine teams put in an average seven to 10 days at sites thick with carcinogenic chemicals, Otto's team will pay particular attention to the incidence of cancer.

"These dogs were exposed to huge amounts of known toxins and unthinkable amounts of unknown ones," Otto said.

The study involves more than 200 search dogs and handlers from across the U.S. Some were part of trained rescue teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while others arrived unannounced in New York and at the Pentagon as part of the nationwide outpouring of support.

The FEMA dogs will undergo intensive, periodic examinations by their local veterinarians. Dogs brought in by private individuals will be assessed through surveys of their handlers. The questionnaires will focus on behavioral disorders, such as aggression or fearfulness, that may have been induced by long hours of work without adequate play or the reward of finding live victims.

Melissa Hunt, associate director of clinical training in Penn's Department of Psychology, will lead the associated study of dog handlers. Patterns of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder among this small group of personnel could be replicated among the thousands of others who have combed the ruins of the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Hunt said.

"We're very concerned that many volunteers, particularly those with no formal training in search and rescue, may have difficulty putting their experiences behind them," said Hunt, who has studied depression and anxiety disorders. "Rescuers who helped clean up after the Oklahoma City bombing have experienced unusually high rates of divorce, sleep disorders and other trauma related signs of stress."