• U.S. Releases Food Aid to Iraq
  
• Environmentalists Seek Legal Action on Bush Fuel Policy
  
• U.S., Canada Say Toxics in Great Lakes Have Decreased
  
• U.S. Settles with Puerto Rico over Illegal Sewage Dumping
  
• Court Rules to Protect New Mexico Wilderness Trail
  
• Conservationists Sue to Protect Pocket Gopher
  
• Forecast: Western Drought, Spring Floods in the East
  
• Colorado State Students Showcase Eco-friendly Snowmobile
  

U.S. Releases Food Aid to Iraq

WASHINGTON, DC, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - The U.S. government announced Thursday that it has released 200,000 metric tons of food aid for the Iraqi people and promised an additional 400,000 tons as needed.

Bush administration officials said the food aid will arrive in the Middle East within one month to be distributed once the war in Iraq is resolved.

The action is part of a U.S. effort "to prepare for the humanitarian consequences of conflict and to ensure that the Iraqi people have the help they need to attain freedom and prosperity in a liberated nation," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

International organizations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, and Doctors Without Borders are warning of unprecedented disaster from food shortages and disease outbreaks within an Iraqi population that is already underfed.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that Iraqis have some six weeks of food left, and it is seeking an additional $1 billion for food aid. WFP has brought some 32,000 tons of food to surrounding countries, pre-positioning it for distribution.

The food aid from the United States is wheat from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, an emergency reserve administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food aid from this trust is available for humanitarian relief in developing countries and earmarked for unanticipated food crises.

A portion of the 200,000 tons of wheat will be exchanged for rice.

Bush administration officials say the food aid reflects its continued work in close partnership with international institutions and other nations to ensure the rapid delivery of humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people.

"The United States is committed to ensuring that there is minimal disruption to the Iraqi food distribution system" said U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew Natsios. "This donation will go a long way to ensuring that the people of Iraq continue to have access to food."

Environmentalists Seek Legal Action on Bush Fuel Policy

SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - Three conservation groups are seeking a contempt of court order against Bush administration officials for refusing to implement an energy conservation law designed to increase the use of alternative fuel vehicles.

The legal action, announced Thursday, is being pursued by environmental law firm Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Bluewater Network and Sierra Club.

It centers on the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) which was signed into law in 1992 after the first Gulf War by President George H.W. Bush.

EPAct aims to reduce American demand for transportation oil fuels by 10 percent by the year 2000 and 30 percent by 2010. The law requires federal agencies with light duty fleet vehicles in major metropolitan areas to gradually convert their fleets to alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs).

It states that if government actions seem unlikely to attain the 30 percent oil fuel reduction by 2010, the federal government should require large private fleets, as well as local governments, to convert their fleets to AFVs.

These private and municipal fleets total another 750,000 vehicles, but the U.S. Department of Energy determined that reductions in gasoline consumption by these fleets could not compensate for how short the government has fallen in meeting EPAct requirements.

"It's ironic that in the same week the administration pushes for a vote opening the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling, it throws in the towel on a common sense conservation program designed by the President's father," said Earthjustice attorney Jay Tutchton.

This latest legal action has its roots in January 2002, when the three organizations filed suit to force compliance. In July 2002 a federal district court judge ruled that many federal government agencies had violated EPAct.

These agencies, the judge found, had failed to buy or lease the legally required percentages of AFVs. The judge ordered reports on the government's non-compliance and asked for them to be available to the public by January 31, 2003.

The conservation groups contend most of the federal agencies did not turn in reports or filed incomplete reports. They have asked the court to hold the federal defendants in contempt and to force them to comply with the reporting requirements.

"Mr. Bush has proven once again that he has no real interest in reducing the nation's dependence upon foreign oil," said Russell Long, executive director of Bluewater Network. "This is a bizarre contrast to his father, who instituted this policy in the first place."

U.S., Canada Say Toxics in Great Lakes Have Decreased

WASHINGTON, DC, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - The environmental agencies of the United States and Canada announced Friday that the levels of the most critical persistent pollutants around the Great Lakes continued to decrease in 2002.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment Canada issued the "2002 Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy Progress Report," which finds levels of toxics continue to decline, part of a downward trend in toxic substances in the Great Lakes over the last 15 years.

The Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy is a plan formed in 1997 by the two nations to reduce or eliminate persistent, bioaccumulative toxic substances from the Great Lakes basin.

"The focus of this strategy is on pollution prevention and voluntary efforts," said U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager and Regional Administrator Thomas Skinner. "The key to success is working in partnership with industry and improving public awareness. We need more innovative programs that offer incentives for those who emphasize pollution reduction."

The priority substances identified by the strategy are mercury, PCBs, dioxins/furans, hexachlorobenzene, benzo(a)pyrene, octachlorostyrene, alkyl lead, aldrin, dieldrin, mirex, chlordane, toxaphene and DDT. They are all toxics, and many of them are on the list for worldwide elimination under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The report highlights a 78 percent reduction in mercury emissions in Ontario since 1988 and a decrease in mercury of some 40 percent on the U.S. side since 1990.

Dioxin releases on both sides of the Great Lakes have declined since the late 1980s by some 92 percent in the United States and 79 percent in Canada.

The nations cited their efforts to reduce hexachlorobenzene, Canada by 65 percent and the United States by 75 percent, since 1990. Another highlight in the report is the reduction, since 1990, of benzo(a)pyrene went down 48 percent in Canada and 25 percent in the United States.

"I am pleased at the tremendous progress thus far," said John Mills, regional director general of Environment Canada's Ontario Region. "Attention now turns to the next five years and the additional progress we can make toward virtual elimination."

U.S. Settles with Puerto Rico over Illegal Sewage Dumping

WASHINGTON, DC, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - The U.S. federal government announced a settlement Friday with the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) to allegations the company illegally dumped untreated sewage in the waterways of Puerto Rico.

The settlement, announced by the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stems from PRASA's violation of pollutant discharge permits issued by the EPA under the Clean Water Act.

"We believe that this far reaching agreement puts PRASA on the right track to reducing the threat raw sewage poses to people and the environment," said Jane Kenny, EPA regional administrator.

"Puerto Rico's water bodies and beaches play an enormous role in its economy," Kenny said. "To protect this resource, PRASA has agreed to make sweeping changes in the operation of its pump stations, which are one of the largest sources of raw sewage discharges in the Commonwealth."

The U.S. government alleged in February 2002 that PRASA continued to discharge raw sewage and other pollutants into navigable waters from 471 pump stations throughout the island of Puerto Rico. In addition, it charged that the company had failed to properly operate and maintain the pump stations.

The agreement between the government and the company requires PRASA and the current operator of its aqueducts and sewers to complete construction and take other remedial actions to eliminate longstanding noncompliance at 185 sewage pump stations.

PRASA must develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the operation and maintenance of its entire system of more than 600 pump stations and implement a spill response and cleanup plan.

The government and the company estimates the actions dictated by the settlement will cost some $308 million.

PRASA must pay a $1 million civil penalty and an additional $1 million must be spent on a supplemental environmental project that will help low income, rural communities improve the quality of their drinking water.

Court Rules to Protect New Mexico Wilderness Trail

ALBURQUERQUE, New Mexico, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - A federal court judge issued a ruling Thursday that prevents a four wheel drive club from using a trail within a proposed wilderness area north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The ruling supported arguments put forth by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the environmental law firm Earthjustice, which represented the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and The Wilderness Society in the case.

"By being part of this suit and working with the BLM, our message is simply that we are defending our wildest public lands from the vandalism that comes with irresponsible and misguided off-road vehicle use," said New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Executive Director Jim Scarantino.

The suit centered on a trail within the heart of the Robledo Mountains Wilderness Study Area in southern New Mexico. This area is filled with high limestone peaks and vistas, as well as deep canyons, caves, streams and significant archaeological sites. It provides habitat for bald eagles, peregrine falcons and mule deer.

The BLM closed this trail because increased off road vehicle use was degrading the environment, but a four wheel drive club filed suit to reopen the trail. They argued that the trail should be kept open under a 137 year old mining law, called the Revised Statute (RS) 2477, which was repealed in 1976 but is still used to support right of way claims.

But the court said the statute of limitations for contesting the creation of a Wilderness Study Area had expired before the suit was brought to court.

The conservation groups were pleased that the court rejected this attempt to use an "old loophole to claim a highway where none ever existed through this wild desert," said Pam Eaton, director of The Wilderness Society's Four Corners Region.

"It sends a message that these kinds of legal shenanigans are a dead end."

The Wilderness Society and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance praised BLM for its decision to close the trail and for contesting the suit in court.

"The BLM made a great decision to protect this part of the Robledos and simply refused to back down," Scarantino said. "That is important for the future of our wildest public lands in New Mexico."

Conservationists Sue to Protect Pocket Gopher

DENVER, Colorado, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - Conservationists filed an emergency Endangered Species Act listing petition for pocket gophers found in Douglas County, Colorado.

The conservation groups, Forest Guardians and the Center for Native Ecosystems, contend that only five populations of the pocket gopher remain within Douglas County. They believe increasing sprawl in the metropolitan Denver county has brought the small mammal to the brink of extinction through rapid loss of habitat.

Although there are some 35 species of pocket gophers within North and South America, conservationists say the Douglas County pocket gophers merit protection because their home ranges are very small, and the animals have evolved local adaptations to their environments that are maintained from one generation to the next.

The species plays an important role in the local environment, explained Nicole Rosmarino, endangered species coordinator for Forest Guardians, by maintaining soil health and serving as prey for other wildlife.

"As we destroy the last of our open space on Colorado's Front Range, we are watching the hawks, eagles, and other wildlife disappear," Rosmarino said. "Protecting the habitat of this pocket gopher will mean protecting habitat for all these other species while protecting our dwindling open space for water quality, green space, and scenery as well."

The danger of extinction that faces the pocket gopher is a "symptom of uncontrolled growth," said Erin Robertson, staff biologist for Center for Native Ecosystems.

The citizen listing petition begins a process where the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will formally consider designating the Douglas County pocket gopher as an endangered species.

The service has 90 days to respond with an initial determination about the status of the species, and must make a final determination about granting full protection within 12 months. FWS could opt to immediately establish the short term emergency protection requested by the conservation groups.

Forecast: Western Drought, Spring Floods in the East

WASHINGTON, DC, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - Government forecasters announced Thursday that they are "increasingly confident" that drought will linger in areas of the West and floods could possibly threaten portions of the South and East during the spring of 2003.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) said that the influence of El Nino on the nation's fall and winter precipitation patterns was not enough to lessen the multiyear drought and serious water supply shortages over much of the Western United States.

But El Nino, a disruption of the ocean atmosphere in the Tropical Pacific Ocean, did help to alleviate abnormally dry conditions in the East.

"We can say goodbye to El Niņo in the next month or so," said NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher. "Depending on where you live or play, you're either thankful for the drought busting Eastern rains and snow, or disappointed by the lack of Western snow pack."

The winter weather pattern has given the nation "the tale of two regions," Lautenbacher explained.

Despite this week's massive snowfall in the Denver area, below normal snows in much of the West means the drought will linger through spring. The heavy snows and rains in the East have pushed the region out of widespread drought, but snow melt and river ice have increased the threat of flooding, Lautenbacher said.

Heavy spring rains, if combined with rapid snow melt, could bring serious flooding to some states in the Northeastern United States.

Drought and water supply problems loom in the West, NOAA officials said.

NOAA reported that for the winter season as a whole, temperatures averaged well above the long term average from the West Coast into the Upper Midwest, and Alaska had its second warmest year on record.

In contrast, NOAA officials explained, 27 states in the eastern half of the United States had significantly cooler than average winter temperatures.

"With El Niņo's influence fading, the major factor this spring is the long term, multiyear water shortages in parts of the West," said John Jones, deputy assistant administrator of NOAA's National Weather Service.

"The wet season will end in the West in the next several weeks. Afterward, significant widespread precipitation is unlikely until the summer monsoon season or when precipitation typically resumes in the fall of 2003."

Colorado State Students Showcase Eco-friendly Snowmobile

FORT COLLINS, Colorado, March 21, 2003 (ENS) - A group of engineering students from Colorado State University have developed a cleaner, quieter and lighter snowmobile for entry into the Fourth Annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

"One average commercial snowmobile produces as much air pollution as 100 cars," said Colorado State team leader Walt Hull. "Our design drastically reduces pollution while also reducing noise, increasing fuel efficiency and improving overall performance, which should appeal to everyone from environmentalists to serious snowmobilers."

The students say their new entry cuts pollution by more than 99 percent and fuel consumption by 35 percent compared to typical models, and reduces noise to "below conversation levels" without compromising on power. The machine matches or exceeds the power of the top performing commercial machines, according to the students.

Last year's Colorado State team won first prize for best emissions in last year's contest with a fuel injected two stroke snowmobile engine.

But its model came in third overall, they say, because it exceeded the maximum noise level by one decibel.

This year's model has a new exhaust system that decreases noise while increasing power and is also fitted with new custom intake silencers. The students say the noise of this year's model is about half of last year's.

The team set "aggressive goals to further enhance the engine, but focused primarily on the exhaust and packaging of the snowmobile, creating a machine that is 250 pounds lighter, significantly quieter and faster, and has improved handling, power and fuel economy," said team member Flint Jameson.

This year's model has integrated altitude compensation technology into the engine, eliminating the need for manual recalibrations for elevation changes. In addition, belt drives were enhanced and the engine was placed in a smaller, lighter snowmobile chassis consistent with modern snowmobiles.

"Last year we set out to prove that a two-stroke engine could be modified to meet or exceed all performance criteria with the larger four-stroke engines," said team member Joel Lentz.

"This year, we improved the design and created a machine that is much more relevant to the snowmobile industry to demonstrate that this technology can be integrated into the industry without any reduction in performance."

The contest, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, is being held in Houghton, Michigan from March 19 to 23.

The Colorado State team's advisor, Bryan Willson, who is research director of the university's Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, said the technology developed by the university's students has important applications beyond snowmobiling.

"A major part of the air pollution in Asian cities is generated by vehicles with traditional two-stroke engines such as those used in snowmobiles," said Willson. "Our new cost effective, two-stroke technology has the potential to significantly reduce pollution throughout the developing world."