• Bush Appeals Mountaintop Mining Decision
  
• Bill Would Open Denali Wilderness to Snowmobiles
  
• Altered Algae Soaks Up Toxic Metals
  
• U.S. Lends Environmental Satellite to Japan
  
• Federal/State Agreement Protects Seven Rare Species
  
• Grant Targets Unhealthy Indoor Air
  
• Ocean Model Could Aid Oil Spill Cleanup
  
• Lobsters Still Declining in Long Island Sound
  
• Harrison Ford Wins Harvard Environmental Award
  

Bush Appeals Mountaintop Mining Decision

Last week, Federal District Court Judge Charles Haden ruled that all permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers to allow mining waste to be discharged into waterways are inconsistent with the Clean Water Act, and therefore illegal.

Haden also ruled that the new regulations signed by the Corps and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday to legalize this practice are not within those agencies' authority under the Clean Water Act and contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the law.

In its appeal, filed by the Justice Department, the Bush administration warned that Haden's ruling "casts a tremendous cloud of uncertainty over all future coal mining in Appalachia."

Lawyers for the Justice Department asked Haden to restrict the scope of his ruling, by clarifying that it "should be read as not applying nationwide or to activities other than coal mining." The agency also asked that Haden suspend his ruling pending the results of the administration's appeal.

According to the Justice Department, Haden's ruling could mean that "companies will almost certainly suspend future coal mining projects in the region, lay off existing workers and abandon plans for hiring new ones. The ripple effects of such actions would be felt throughout the region, with devastating implications not only for the tens of thousands of people directly employed by the coal mining industry, but the many thousands of other people who live there," the Justice Department argued.

Haden ruled that Section 404 of the Clean Water Act prohibits valley fills by mountaintop removal coal mines unless they serve a constructive purpose. His ruling would bar the issuance of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for such fills unless they are part of a larger land development plan.

The Justice Department's appeal included sworn statements from several mining officials and industry representatives.

William Grable, executive director of the Kentucky Coal Council, said Haden's ruling "will have a severe and irreparable effect on the economy of the state, but will be felt more heavily in the counties where coal is extracted and employment is most dependent upon it being mined."

The coal mining industry is also expected to file an appeal against Haden's ruling.

Bill Would Open Denali Wilderness to Snowmobiles

Snowmobiling in the park's wilderness core has been prohibited since the area was set aside as Mt. McKinley National Park in 1917. The area is also protected under the Wilderness Act, written in 1964, which prohibits the introduction of motorized vehicles in designated wilderness areas.

A provision of the 1980 Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANICLA) provides that snowmobile use is to be permitted for "traditional activities" on Alaska federal lands, including those designated as wilderness, but only if snowmobiles had been used in that area in the past. Because there has never been any snowmobile use in the wilderness core of Denali, recreational snowmobile use is banned under ANICLA.

On May 7, Representative Young, a Republican, introduced a bill (HR 4677) that would allow snowmobile access to the Denali wilderness. The bill would undermine the Wilderness Act and revoke a National Park Service (NPS) regulation that reaffirmed decades of law and practice by prohibiting recreational snowmobile use in the park's designated wilderness area.

The 2000 NPS rule underwent a three year comment process and garnered strong public support. A full 98 percent of the public and 96 percent of all Alaskans who commented on the Park Service's rule supported it.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources studied land use over 34 million acres in south-central Alaska and found that more than 95 percent of this land is already managed for snowmobile use, providing millions of acres for the use of recreational snowmobilers.

"For 85 years, the core of Denali has been free of snowmobiles," the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition stated this week. "The Park Service's long standing and law abiding decision to keep snowmobiles out of the wilderness core of Denali should not be overturned."

Altered Algae Soaks Up Toxic Metals

Toxic metals from area industry accumulate in Lake Erie sediment and pose a risk to human health and to wildlife. Bio-remediation researchers supported by Ohio Sea Grant funding are now further enhancing genetically altered algae to maximize its ability to pick up trace metals.

The researchers say the algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, is a common unicellular algae that responds well to genetic engineering and grows fast into large quantities. Previous research by Ohio State University researcher Richard Sayre found the algae to be more effective, less expensive and safer than using chemical extraction methods to remove the metals.

Now, Sayre and his team have found further ways of altering the algae to increase the algae's ability to attach itself to heavy metals in Lake Erie sediment. They used three approaches of genetic alteration, and found that each enhanced the cell's ability to bind with the metals.

The most effective method involved attaching metallothionen, a protein that binds heavy metals, to the outside of the algae cell. It picked up five times more metal than a regular cell and grew three times faster when surrounded by high concentrations of heavy metals.

The algae used are dead, they are used in water treatment plants and are not introduced into the lake.

Research will continue to study how much of each trace metal binds to the Chlamydomonas cell. Sayre will also work with engineering firms to test pilot facilities for treatment of contaminated wastes and sites.

"By increasing the algae's ability to attach to trace metals, we believe this research will be an important step in the identification of the best strategies for reducing heavy metal pollution and the remediation of contaminated sites and waters of the Great Lakes," said Sayre.

U.S. Lends Environmental Satellite to Japan

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the loan of this satellite sets the stage for long term mutual backup arrangements between the United States and Japan.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-9, will ensure continuous weather coverage in the Western Pacific, including U.S. territories, U.S. military facilities, and U.S. military and commercial vessels in the region.

"This is especially important for severe weather prediction and typhoon forecasting," said Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator. "Without this backup agreement, the Japanese people and U.S. territories and assets in the Pacific could be at risk due to severe weather."

GOES-9 will be readied to back up the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-5 (GMS-5), operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency. GMS-5, launched in 1995, is past its useful life and is encountering imaging problems and fuel shortages.

GOES-9, also launched in 1995 and now in storage mode, does not meet U.S. weather forecasting requirements, but does have sounding and limited imaging capabilities which will supply data comparable to that of the GMS-5.

Japan's Multifunctional Transportation Satellite (MTSAT)-1 was planned as a replacement for GMS-5, but its launch failed in 1999 when the rocket carrying the satellite went off course and had to be destroyed. The replacement follow-on, MTSAT-1R, is now planned for launch in the summer of 2003.

NOAA's Command and Data Acquisition Station in Fairbanks, Alaska, will be upgraded to allow the U.S. to control a GOES Satellite over the Western Pacific.

The Japan Meteorological Agency will pay for all upgrades and operations costs. The agreement lays the groundwork for a separate long term mutual backup agreement, which would enable the United States to call on Japan if the U.S. had problems with one of its geostationary satellites.

More information about NOAA's satellite and data services is available at: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov

Federal/State Agreement Protects Seven Endangered Species

In keeping with a negotiated agreement to expedite the protection of 29 species under the Endangered Species Act, the USFWS has acted to protect seven species in Washington, California, New Mexico, Texas and North Carolina.

The agreement with the USFWS was negotiated by the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Native Plant Society, and the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project in August 2001. So far it has resulted in 14 final listings, six proposed listings, two initial listing decisions, and three proposed critical habitat designations under the Act.

In March, the Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew was listed as an endangered species. The shrew once inhabited the million acres of wetlands and riparian areas surrounding Tulare, Buena Vista, Kern and Goose Lakes in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. More than 95 percent of these wetlands have been destroyed by agriculture, reducing the shrew to just four small, scattered populations. Just 30 shrews have been sighted in the past decade.

More information about the ornate shrew is available at: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/shrew/index.html

The showy stickseed was listed as an endangered species on February 6. This plant occurs in a single population of 500 plants on about two acres in Chelan County, Washington. Invasive weeds, herbicide spraying, highway maintenance and fire suppression which allows the growth of shading shrubs and trees all threaten the species.

The golden sedge was listed as an endangered species on January 26. It occurs in just eight populations in the Cape Fear watershed in Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina. Its habitat, the area between pine savannas and wet hardwood forests, is very rare and diverse, and supports several other endangered and unique species. The sedge is threatened by sprawl, industrial development, mining, agribusiness, fire suppression and herbicide spraying.

Four cave species - the Roswell springsnail, Koster's tryonia, Pecos assiminea and Noel's amphipod - were proposed as endangered species on February 6. These species occur in four small wetland areas in the Roswell Basin of southern New Mexico and northern Texas.

Two aquifers beneath the basin create unique cave and surface formations including underground streams, springs, seeps and wetlands. The area in which these three snails and Noel's amphipod are found is the last known habitat for a number of native species, but the region is threatened by groundwater pumping, oil and gas exploration, water pollution and wetland draining.

For more information on the agreement with the USFWS, visit: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/activist/ESA/settlement.html

Grant Targets Unhealthy Indoor Air

The project, which teams up the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Syracuse University's New York Indoor Environmental Quality Center (NYIEQ) and the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), will cost a total of almost $834,000.

"This is a sound investment that will help to improve our indoor air quality in an energy efficient and cost-effective manner," said Governor George Pataki. "New York State is committed to utilizing the latest technologies to conserve energy, reduce costs and protect the health and well being of our workforce."

The FSEC has conducted extensive field research in the past showing that commercial buildings leak far more air and heat than residential buildings, and that air systems, the building envelope, and the interior design all impact indoor environmental quality.

Research conducted in Florida has showed that almost all commercial buildings exhibit what is termed "uncontrolled air flow." Due to Florida's warm weather climate, the study examined the impacts of efforts to address uncontrolled air flow on cooling.

The study found that repairs to a sample of these buildings resulted in cooling energy savings of 15 percent and substantial improvement of indoor temperature and relative humidity. The current project will try to transfer lessons learned in Florida to New York's colder climate.

"Energy efficiency and indoor air quality go hand in hand," said NYSERDA president William Flynn. "This project will help us get a handle on the energy implications of addressing uncontrolled air flows in New York's commercial buildings by developing models and analysis tools for architects, contractors, and building owners to identify cost effective ways of improving their indoor air quality."

Some of the problems associated with uncontrolled air flow include problems with indoor humidity, mold growth, moisture damage to furnishings, damage to walls and floors, and health problems for occupants. Leaky buildings also use more energy than better sealed structures.

"Air quality is vitally important to our energy future," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "The Bush Administration is pleased that we can work with New York to invest money to meet America's environmental challenges to develop and advance clean energy technologies."

Ocean Model Could Aid Oil Spill Cleanup

Temple University civil and environmental engineering assistant professor Dr. Michel Boufadel is recreating the energy of the ocean in his laboratory to help the EPA determine how effective dispersants are in fighting oil spills in certain sea environments.

"We know that oil spills constitute major environmental problems and that once you have a spill at sea, you want to consider ways to deal with it," said Boufadel, whose expertise is in oil remediation.

Boufadel said a spill at sea can be cleaned up by skimming, burning or adding dispersants, which are like detergents, to the oil. The environment in which the spill has occurred must be taken into account before a method is chosen, he said.

"If you have a lot of waves, then skimming or burning the oil is not an option," said Boufadel. "In most cases, when you do have a spill, it occurs when a tanker has run aground during a storm."

After a certain period of time, the oil absorbs water through emulsion, making the oil difficult to burn. The other option, adding dispersants, helps break the oil into small droplets, which can then be consumed by marine organisms because the oil is organic matter.

But, like detergent in a washing machine, dispersants need agitation in order to work, which means you need waves to use them on oil spills, said Boufadel.

"What the EPA is interested in is developing a new protocol to test the effectiveness of dispersants," Boufadel said. "The one currently adopted by the EPA, essentially, consists of putting the oil in a smooth flask that contains water, applying dispersants on the surface, and then shaking the flask on an orbital shaker."

With the support of an EPA grant and a new flask that contains four baffles, Boufadel is developing new protocols for the EPA that correlate the shaking of the water in the flask with the mixing energy of ocean waves, which will determine the effectiveness of dispersants used to clean up oil spills.

Boufadel, who is also researching the effect of waves on the large scale transport of oil, expects to be able to quantify how much mixing energy is occurring in the flask by the end of this summer, before correlating it with certain wave heights.

"We need to give the EPA something concrete," Boufadel said. "We have to come up with recommendations for the EPA that they can take and say 'Okay, this is the way the testing will be done.'"

Lobsters Still Declining in Long Island Sound

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released results of the latest survey of the lobster population in Long Island Sound last week. The survey revealed a remarkable increase in the percentage of female lobsters that are egg bearing.

The survey also revealed the overall population has declined, resulting in the lowest number of legal sized lobsters in 18 years.

The percent of all female lobsters bearing eggs increased to 23 percent, more than double the average observed since 1984. About 46.5 percent of all smaller than legal sized female lobsters collected were egg bearing, the highest ever observed.

However, the 2001 annual fall trawl survey yielded population numbers that were the fourth lowest in the 18 years that the DEP has been performing the study.

"The information gleaned from the annual trawl surveys are helpful in assessing the health and abundance of lobsters throughout Long Island Sound," said David Leff, DEP deputy commissioner.

"Unfortunately, the total number of lobsters collected during the survey and the abundance of legal size lobsters continue to be down following the 1999 die off," Leff said. "However, there are strong indications that the fishery has the ability to rebound, due to the unprecedented high percentage of egg bearing lobsters observed in the fall survey."

The trawl survey, which is conducted during the spring and fall, monitors the relative abundance and size of lobsters and finfish throughout the Sound. In 2000 the DEP added six new tow sites in the western Sound, the area most affected by the 1999 lobster die off.

"Western Long Island Sound has excellent lobster habitat, this area historically produced more than half of the annual harvest of lobsters in Long Island Sound," said Ernie Beckwith, director of DEP's marine fisheries division. "While the immediate future of the lobster fishery in Long Island Sound is uncertain, the population appears to be compensating for the die off by increasing its' reproductive potential which should set the stage for a strong recovery. However, it may take five to six years before a recovery is seen in increased harvests."

The DEP is working with other organizations within Connecticut and neighboring New York to investigate the 1999 lobster die off. These ongoing research projects will focus on the biology of lobsters and their response to stresses including parasite infection, water temperature, pesticides, and overall environmental changes in the Sound. Preliminary results are expected this summer.

Harrison Ford Wins Harvard Environmental Award

"Our health relies entirely on the vitality of our fellow species on Earth," said Ford. "When we protect the places where the processes of life can flourish, we strengthen not only the future of medicine, agriculture and industry, but also the essential conditions for peace and prosperity. It is an honor to receive this award. The Center's leadership renews my belief that we can improve the course of our relationship with the natural world."

The Center for Health and the Global Environment is the first medical school based facility in the U.S. applying scientific methods to the relationship between human health and the health of the global environment.

Harrison Ford holding the 2002 Global Environmental Citizen Award presented to him by Dr. Eric Chivian, director of Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment. (Photo by Steve Gilbert, courtesy Harvard Medical School)

"Ecosystems provide the network on which all other life depends," Chivian continued. "Harrison's efforts to protect Earth's most critical places are helping advance human health and well being."

Harrison Ford is a vice chair of the board of Conservation International (CI), on which he has served for more than 10 years. A field based organization with more than 1,000 professionals in 30 countries, CI concentrates on protecting biodiversity hotspots - 25 places comprising 1.4 percent of Earth's surface, but home to 60 percent of the variety of species.

Ford's most recent work on biodiversity conservation is his narration of the IMAX film "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance," now showing at the New England Aquarium, the site of Monday's award presentation. The film examines the planet's biological diversity from the polar regions to the tropics.

Habitat degradation, invasive species, pollution, population growth, over-harvesting, and climate change are all major factors influencing species loss. As a result of human activity, the planet is now experiencing 100 to 1,000 times the rate of species extinction than occurred before humans populated the planet.

"Forty percent or more of the species now alive could be gone in the next 50 years if we don't change our practices," said biologist Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University professor of biology, two time Pulitzer Prize winner and last year's Global Environmental Citizen Award winner.

"Mr. Ford's work has lead to the protection of hundreds of thousands of acres of land on multiple continents," Wilson said. "It will be my pleasure as last year's winner to pass on the award to someone so dedicated to preserving biodiversity."