• Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas
  
• Indiana Fish Kill Settlement Funds Enforcement
  
• Drinking Water Safety Research Funded
  
• Virginia's Farmland is Disappearing Faster
  
• Almost $7 Million Funds Radiation Research
  
• Snakehead Imports Now Banned
  
• Coral Reef Protection Has Wide Support
  
• Massachusetts Voters Divided Over Wind Farm
  
• World's Oldest Tree to be Cloned
  

Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas

The 25 walkers ranging in age from 15 months to 70 years old, are from all over the United States, Belgium and Austria.

Their walk began August 9, at Tsangawi, a site sacred to the Tewa people indigenous to New Mexico and has taken them down roads in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

They walked through the town of Los Alamos, and through dozens of indigenous communities affected by the nuclear chain - uranium mining, weapons production and testing, military and civilian waste, routine radioactive releases from nuclear power plants, according to Kalynda Tilges, executive director of the Shundahai Network, who is organizing the Nevada anti-nuclear events.

This afternoon, walkers gathered in a circle in the parking lot of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) building, after being refused access to the main entrance. They were greeted by Western Shoshone elders Corbin Harney and Katherine Blossom who blessed the walkers as they entered traditional Western Shoshone lands.

Walkers asked to meet with a representative of the NNSA, and attempted to phone public relations head Darwin Morgan. When he was told that people had walked 800 miles to voice their concerns about nuclear issues, he said, "I see no reason to come talk to you."

Marieke Van Coppelle, who left her two sons in Belgium in order to participate in the walk, says, "Nuclear proliferation is a global problem. U.S. weapons of mass destruction are stored in my home country."

Steve Lamar, a farmer from New Mexico who has been on the walk since it began, says "Humans are the custodians of planet Earth. We want to protect it for our children, and children's children."

On Saturday, the walkers will participate in the People's Nuclear Abolition Summit in Las Vegas. Then they will head for the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and Yucca Mountain, approved by the Bush administration as the nation's first permanent high-level nuclear waste repository.

Walkers are expected to arrive at the Action for Nuclear Abolition events at the Nevada Test Site the morning of October 11.

African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American representatives from other communities across the country affected by nuclear and chemical contamination are joining the Family Spirit Walkers for the Nevada events. The multiracial delegation consists of members of the Building Action for Sustainable Environments Initiative of the Peace Development Fund, a peace and social justice foundation based in Amherst, Massachusetts.

"Environmental activists representing the 'four colors' and traveling from the 'four directions' of the continent are coming to stand together against the U.S. nuclear policies that have terrorized our communities and threatened the lives of our children and families," said Doris Bradshaw of the Defense Depot of Memphis Tennessee - Concerned Citizen's Committee.

"We are proud and excited to join in solidarity with our Western Shoshone neighbors to defend and protect our children's future," she said.

Indiana Fish Kill Settlement Funds Enforcement

On September 25, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) received a check for $1.5 million from the federal government as part of a settlement with Guide Corp. of Anderson, Indiana. The auto parts manufacturer pleaded guilty in June 2001 to misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act for a wastewater discharge that killed millions of fish and other wildlife in the White River.

In December 1999, Guide discharged 1,610,000 gallons of improperly treated wastewater into sewers that led to the Anderson treatment plant, damaging the plant and killing about 100 tons of fish and aquatic life along a three county, 50 mile stretch of the White River. Lawsuits filed by the federal and state governments charged that workers at the plant used excessive amounts of a chemical to treat the wastewater created by its metal plating process.

In a related civil settlement, Guide agreed to pay $6 million to two White River restoration funds, $2 million to reimburse state agencies that responded to the fish kill, and $2 million in civil penalties.

The Indiana DNR will need to funds to help meet its environmental mandates. In February, Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon announced $109 million in permanent cuts for all state agencies, including $8.2 million in permanent cuts from the DNR's $54 million general fund budget.

Governor O'Bannon said the cuts were needed to help the state balance its budget and deal with a fiscal crisis brought on by a national recession that reduced tax revenues.

Indiana DNR has also increased gate and camping fees at state facilities to help meet the budget gap, but was also forced to hire fewer people to work at state parks, reservoirs and forests, close some campgrounds, cabins, gates and entire sites, and delay property maintenance.

The settlement over the Guide Corp. spill has already helped to fund the establishment of a buffer strip along both sides of the White River to filter runoff and improve water quality.

Drinking Water Safety Research Funded

The grants were awarded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program for research in environmental science and engineering, which employs a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review. Grant recipients at the University of Kentucky will work on an early warning tool for surface water treatment plants to detect unsafe levels of bacteria.

Scientists at the Lovelace Clinic Foundation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will research the health risks associated with a type of water filtration called bank filtration. At Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, 900 southeastern households will be examined for a possible relationship between the risks of gastrointestinal illness and conventionally treated ground water.

In separate grants, the University of Virginia and University of Kentucky will both investigate whether high concentrations of aluminum in drinking water are a concern to public health. The Washington State Department of Health will look at an area with high nitrate waters to investigate a possible relationship between so called "blue baby" syndrome and the chemicals that form methemoglobin, a suspected cause of this disease.

For more information on these research projects, click here.

To learn more about EPA's STAR program, see: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/

Virginia's Farmland is Disappearing Faster

The study, "Farming on the Edge," finds that Virginia developed 105,000 acres of its highest quality farmland between 1992 and 1997, ranking among the top 20 states in prime acres lost. As a nation, the United States converted more than six million acres to other uses during the same period - an area about equal to the size of Maryland.

"Keeping farmland affordable is critical to the future of agriculture in Virginia," said Wes Kent, a young dairy farmer from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. "The rising cost of land combined with the costs of production make it nearly impossible for young farmers to get a start."

"Vital farming areas like the Shenandoah Valley that are struggling with drought, disease and depressed local economies are vulnerable to the demand for land, particularly along the Interstate 81 corridor," said Mary Heinricht, Mid-Atlantic regional director for AFT. "The governor and legislature have made a commitment to protecting our working lands, but the fiscal crunch facing Virginia makes it extremely difficult to find funding. The citizens and communities of Virginia will need to continue to 'step up to the plate' to assure the future of agriculture and farmland in the Commonwealth."

To help staunch the loss of working lands, "Farming on the Edge" calls for national, regional and local policy changes to redirect development away from high quality farmland. Some changes have already come to the Commonwealth.

"The Virginia Agricultural Vitality Program, which gained universal support from legislators and has been actively promoted by farm and conservation organizations, will give communities the support needed to guarantee the future of farming in the Commonwealth," said state Senator Emmett Hanger, a Republican. "American Farmland Trust's 'Farming on the Edge' study maps the threat to Virginia's highly productive agricultural lands and gives us another tool to use when planning for their protection."

In September, Virginia was allocated $1.5 million in federal Farmland Protection Program money from the federal 2002 Farm Bill. Local programs and non-profits have taken the initiative to secure the federal funding for land protection by providing matching money.

"In spite of the hard economic times, Virginia communities are funding land protection, showing just how dire the need is and how great the commitment to our agricultural resources," Heinricht said. "And even without a funded state farmland protection program, Virginia is successfully implementing innovative tools like a transferable tax credit on easement donations and a state farm transition program to help ease the transfer of working lands to the next generation of farmers."

AFT is a private, nonprofit farmland conservation organization founded in 1980 to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment.

The "Farming on the Edge" study and maps are available at: http://www.farmland.org

Almost $7 Million Funds Radiation Research

The six three year projects will be funded for a total of $6.69 million. The research teams will apply similar experimental techniques and research designs to study problems that are relevant to both the DOE Low Dose Radiation Research Program and the NASA Space Radiation Health Program.

The goal of DOE's program is to help determine human health risks from exposures to low levels of radiation encountered in work and cleanup environments. The goal of NASA's program is to pinpoint health risks from radiation exposure to astronauts working in the space environment.

DOE's research focuses on very low doses of x-rays and gamma rays, whereas NASA studies low levels of particulate ionizing radiation - alpha particles, protons and high energy heavy ions - that comprise the solar wind and cosmic rays. In both cases, this information is needed to determine adequate and appropriate protective measures for personnel.

Brookhaven National Laboratory will use its grant to study how low level radiation damages clusters of DNA in human cells. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will explore the effects of low doses of radiation on DNA repair.

The University of Texas will look at chromosome responses to low doses of ionizing radiation, while the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A & M will research the responses of respiratory cells.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will investigate how a genetic defect may account for some people's higher susceptibility to low dose radiation. Loma Linda University will look at whether low doses of gamma radiation to thyroid tissue increases risks from additional exposure to gamma rays or other radiation.

The projects will be funded by the DOE Office of Science's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and by NASA's Space Radiation Health Program, Office of Biological and Physical Research.

More information on the funded projects is available at: http://lowdose.tricity.wsu.edu

Snakehead Imports Now Banned

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) made the ban official today with publication of a final rule in the Federal Register.

The Federal Register notice was the last step in a process that began July 23 when Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that the USFWS planned to invoke a provision of the Lacey Act. The Act allows the Secretary to add a species to the list of injurious wildlife if it is deemed "injurious, or potentially injurious, to the health and welfare of people," as well as to agriculture, forestry, horticulture or to wildlife or wildlife resources of the United States.

Four species of snakeheads have been found in California, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, although only Florida, Hawaii and Maryland are known to have reproducing populations. Discovery of the fish in the other four states date as far back as 1968 and in most cases, involved a single fish.

Almost 100 juvenile northern snakeheads were found in a pond in Crofton, Maryland, in July, after an angler snagged an adult fish and reported his find to state wildlife officials. Two snakeheads, one male and one female, had been dumped in the pond by their owner. The pond is not fed by a stream, nor does it empty into any tributary, but the fish caused alarm because it is able to survive out of water for up to three days and can, under certain conditions, move across land from one body of water to another.

USFWS Director Steve Williams said some species of snakehead are "voracious eating machines that can devour anything in their path. When they run out of other fish, amphibians or even small mammals, they will cannibalize their own. Snakeheads have the ability to dramatically alter almost any ecosystem."

Some species of snakehead are prized as a food fish in other parts of the world and have been shipped to ethnic markets and restaurants in the United States, although some snakehead have also gone to pet stores.

Individuals who owned the fish prior to the injurious wildlife listing in states where possession is legal, are now prohibited from transporting the fish or their eggs across state lines. About 16 of the 50 states already prohibit possession of the fish.

UFSWS inspectors at U.S. ports of entry who discover snakeheads or their eggs will require the shipments to be returned to the originating country, or the shipments will be destroyed at the owner's expense.

Coral Reef Protection Has Wide Support

A majority - 56 percent - of Americans rate reefs around the world as unhealthy. They are almost unanimous - 85 percent - in their belief that it is important for the U.S. to take a leadership role in protecting coral reefs worldwide and that regulations should be used to ensure best conservation practices.

The survey, conducted by the national research firm Edge Research in collaboration with the Coral Reef Foundation and SeaWeb sampled 1,000 American adults between May 29 and June 3, 2002. This comprehensive poll surveyed the public's knowledge and attitudes towards coral reefs and the growing threats to their survival.

The survey results follow on the heels of "The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States," the first national assessment of the health of the nation's coral reefs by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published last month. It found that every U.S. reef system is suffering from both human and natural disturbances.

U.S. reefs share problems with reefs around the globe, particularly the effects of growing coastal populations. Over 10.5 million people now live in U.S. coastal areas near shallow coral reefs.

"Coral reefs are home to over 25 percent of all marine life and are among the world's most fragile and endangered ecosystem," says Vikki Spruill, executive director of SeaWeb. "We know that there is strong public support for designating marine protected areas to safeguard them from the increasing threats posed by human and natural activities."

On average, Americans believe that 27 percent of reefs worldwide are already protected from damaging activities. The reality in the U.S. and around the world is that less than one percent of ocean waters are fully protected from destructive activities.

"Though many Americans feel they know little about coral reefs, they believe that reefs are in trouble and should be protected," says Shawn Reifsteck of the Coral Reef Foundation. "The American public cares about coral reefs and looks to both the U.S. government and private sector to be worldwide leaders in coral reef protection."

For a complete report of the poll, visit: http://www.coralreeffoundation.org

Massachusetts Voters Divided Over Wind Farm

The Cape Wind project on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound would be the largest offshore wind energy industrial complex in the world, providing, on average, half of the electricity used on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Voters on Cape Cod and the Islands who favor the project outnumber opponents by 55 percent to 35 percent, revealed the new poll, released Thursday. The phone survey was conducted by Opinion Dynamics Corporation (ODC), which has conducted research for hundreds of national and international clients, including national media organizations, government agencies, public interest groups, and Fortune 500 corporations.

"This survey was designed to record a truly objective measure of how voters feel about the Cape Wind project," said Ernest Paicopolos, principal of ODC. "Cape and Islands voters' awareness of the Cape Wind project ranks at an astonishingly high level - 84 percent. This nearly universal awareness reinforces the significance of the solid majorities of voters who now support the proposed project."

Statewide, when voters were asked about Cape Wind Associates' proposal to build an offshore wind farm on Nantucket Sound based only on what they "now know," 52 percent were in favor, 10 percent were opposed and 38 percent were undecided or did not know. When statewide voters were first provided with some basic information about the project - including what supporters and opponents say - and then were asked about the proposal, 64 percent were in favor, 22 percent were opposed and 14 percent were undecided/did not know.

But the project is controversial and opposed by some environmental groups. On September 24, a Massachusetts judge issued a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Cape Wind Associates. The order came in response to a taxpayers' suit alleging the Army Corps violated Massachusetts state law when it granted Cape Wind a permit to install a 200 foot data tower in Nantucket Sound in preparation for constructing the offshore wind farm.

The four count complaint, brought by a Citizens Taxpayer Group and several fishing and boating concerns, charges that the U.S. Army Corps "unlawfully and arbitrarily" issued Cape Wind Associates a permit to construct the data tower in violation of their own regulations and in violation of environmental law. Critics of the project say it would hamper air safety, harm migratory birds and be an eyesore.

"The only one who would seem to benefit from this project is Cape Wind and the wealthy investors trying to make a financial windfall," said Isaac Rosen, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. "This illegal use of public resource will wreak havoc on fishermen; it will turn Nantucket Sound into an obstacle course for boats and airplanes; and it will ultimately destroy the Cape's natural beauty and an economic engine for Cape Cod and the Islands by turning this irreplaceable natural resource into an industrial energy park."

But Cape Wind Associates president Jim Gordon says the new poll shows that many Massachusetts residents approve of the project.

"These results are totally consistent with what we have found in talking with people across the Cape and Islands over the past year," Gordon said. "Most folks support this project, they see it as a step toward a cleaner and more sustainable energy future."

The survey is available at: http://www.capewind.org

World's Oldest Tree to be Cloned

Starting on Tuesday, October 8, the partnership between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Champion Tree Project International will try to clone the 4,767 year old bristlecone pine known as "Methuselah."

For eons the bristlecones have flourished atop the arid mountains of the Great Basin, from Colorado to California, enduring extreme hardships and adjusting to their environment. Their great age was unknown until 1953, when Edmund Schulman, working in the White Mountains of Inyo National Forest, found a multiple stemmed bristlecone named "Patriarch" by a local ranger. After taking samples of the 36 foot (10.9 meter) wide tree, they found it to be 1,500 years old, with the typical ring growth of the upper tree line.

Even older trees were found nearby on even drier sites. From 1954-1955, an extensive search from California to Colorado was carried out by Schulman and his assistant C.W. Ferguson. They found the oldest trees at elevations of 10,000 to 11,000 feet (3048 to 3354 meters), often growing in inhospitable locations.

These ancient trees showed large areas of die back or dead wood, and thin strips of living bark. The trees growing in the most extreme conditions, with scant soil and moisture, seemed to be the oldest.

Several trees in the 3,000 to 4,000 year range were discovered. All but one were found in the White-Inyo Range, so Schulman devoted his attention to this area. The first tree proven over four thousand years old he named "Pine Alpha." Then in 1957, "Methuselah" was found to be 4,723 years old, and remains today the world's oldest known living tree.

"The capacity of these trees to live so fantastically long may, when we come to understand it fully, perhaps serve as a guidepost on the road to understanding of longevity in general," wrote Schulman.

"We fully support the concept of studying the country's largest and oldest trees to learn more about their genetics and all the factors that have allowed them to live for such a long period of time," said Larry Payne, director of cooperative forestry at USFS. "Understanding the genetic make up of these trees will provide foresters and scientists with the knowledge and tools to improve the health and longevity of species throughout the country and internationally."

The Champion Tree Project International will be represented by its 23 year old co-founder, Jared Milarch, who has cloned champion trees throughout the country.

"What we are trying to do is leave a living legacy that future generations can enjoy and preserve the last remaining old growth forest genetics that we've got," said Milarch. "We can preserve that link to the past and show future generations what it used to be like. By doing that, we're also going to be able to study these trees, possibly come up with trees that will survive in all the harsh environments in which we plant them, and do some good for all of us because we all know the benefits of trees."

More information on Inyo National Forest is available at: http://r05s001.pswfs.gov/inyo/vvc/bcp/index.htm

More information on bristlecone pines is available at: http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/home.html