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Park Service Allows Sale of Creationist Grand Canyon Text WASHINGTON, DC, October 14, 2004 (ENS) – The Bush administration has opted not to review the legality and appropriateness of allowing a creationist book to be sold in park facilities within the Grand Canyon National Park.The decision, revealed in internal Park Service documents released Wednesday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), reverses an earlier pledge by administration officials to Congress and the public that a review “at the national level by several offices” would take place. “In order to avoid offending Christian fundamentalists, the National Park Service has been forced to adopt a position of geologic agnosticism,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the Grand Canyon National Park no longer offers an official estimate of the age of the Canyon. “On the same basis that public schools do not approve creationist books as science textbooks, the National Park Service has no business promoting Christian ideology masquerading as science,” he said.
Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (Photo by Mike Bucheit courtesy USGS)The book “Grand Canyon: A Different View” claims the Grand Canyon is only 6,000 years old.Geologists have determined the oldest rocks at the canyon bottom are close to two billion years old and the canyon itself formed some five to six million years ago. In August 2003, the Grand Canyon National Park superintendent appealed to national headquarters, raising questions about the “appropriateness” of offering a book claiming that the central feature of the park developed on a biblical rather than an evolutionary time scale. A January 2004 review by National Park Service (NPS) geologists found the book wildly inaccurate and that its sale violated agency policies and undercut its scientific education program. A January 25 memo sent to top officials by David Shaver, the chief of the Park Service’s Geologic Resources Division called for removal of the book. Shaver said the review “leads us to conclude that this book: does not use accurate, professional and scholarly knowledge; is not based on science but a specific religious doctrine; does not further the public’s understanding of the Grand Canyon’s existence; does not further the mission of the National Park Service…and finally, that this book should not have been approved for sale in NPS affiliated book sales.” But officials allowed the book to be reordered and it is being marketed on the Grand Canyon Association’s Internet site as “natural history.” “Promoting creationism in our national parks is just as wrong as promoting it in our public schools,” said Ruch, whose organization obtained the internal documents through the Freedom of Information Act. “If the Bush administration is using public resources for pandering to Christian fundamentalists, it should at least have the decency to tell the truth about it.”
Electric Fence Will Keep Asian Carp Out of the Great Lakes CHICAGO, Illinois, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - A $9 million funding package has been put together to construct a permanent electric barrier that will keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Recent monitoring shows the voracious fish to be in the Illinois River within 50 miles of Lake Michigan.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Paul Woodley, Jr. announced Wednesday construction of the barrier has been funded by a group that includes the Great Lakes Congressional delegation, Great Lakes governors, federal agencies, and the city of Chicago. The U.S. House and Senate voted to increase the cap on federal spending for the project, authorizing $6.825 million, which is 75 percent of the $9.1 million needed to complete the barrier. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project, says, with this authorization approved, it can fund the federal share. The state of Illinois has committed $1.7 million and the Great Lakes governors have committed to funding the remaining nonfederal share of $575,000. "Asian carp threaten both the ecology and the economy of the Great Lakes system," Leavitt said. Large and prolific, the invasive fish consume so much food that they deprive native species. The big carp are comfortable in the climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native habitats. If they entered the system, they could become a dominant species in the Great Lakes. The increased funding means the permanent electric barrier now under construction on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal can be built as originally planned. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes via the Illinois River. This barrier, scheduled to be completed in February 2005, stretches two rows of electrodes across the canal approximately 220 feet apart. The electrodes pulse DC current into the water; fish will turn back rather than pass through the electric current. Funding announced Wednesday will cover construction of a second control house so that the two sets of electrodes can be operated simultaneously. Funding also covers design changes to provide a stronger, more consistent electric field. Two species of Asian carp - the silver and the bighead - escaped into the Mississippi River from southern aquaculture facilities in the 1980s and expanded their range during floods in the early 1990s. The carp have made their way northward, becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the Mississippi, out-competing native fish, and causing hardship to the people who fish the river. On December 3, Great Lakes governors, members of the President's Cabinet, members of the Great Lakes Congressional Delegation, Great Lake mayors and Tribal leaders will meet in Chicago to convene the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. The Collaboration will serve as the mechanism to develop a widely understood and broadly supported strategy to further protect and restore the Great Lakes.
REACH Chemical Safety Costs Offset By Benefits BOSTON, Massachusetts, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - A new system under consideration for the authorization of chemicals in Europe will not subject the chemical industry to costs high enough to be harmful, according to a new report by Professor Frank Ackerman and Rachel Massey of Tufts University in Boston.Dubbed REACH, for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, the proposal is far-reaching, but the Tufts report shows that the total direct cost to the chemical industry is €4 billion over 11 years – a small fraction of the chemical industry’s revenues. First outlined by the European Commission in 2001, REACH was opposed by the European and U.S. chemical industries, and also by the Bush administration. A weaker version was written in 2003. The version of REACH analyzed for the Tufts report is the stronger version first proposed. It would require chemicals produced in the quanties of one to 10 metric tons to have the same tests as those demanded of chemicals produced in quantities of 10 to 100 tons. It would require Chemical Safety Reports of all chemicals produced in volumes above one metric ton a year. Published today by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Tufts report states, "Economic analysis confirms that costs of this magnitude are unlikely to harm European industry, while several studies have suggested that the health and environmental benefits of REACH will be substantial." The report also finds that "European industry will gain the competitive advantage from being the first to move toward cleaner and safer production and use of chemicals." Ackerman also puts into perspective the often repeated industry claim that 80 percent of the costs will fall on 20 percent of producers. His report finds that even this disproportionate burden would actually cost only between 0.20 and 0.39 percent of the sales of the fine and speciality chemicals sector. If the chemical industry fully passed on to its customers the direct costs of REACH, "the resulting price increases would be well within the range of price changes routinely experienced by business," Ackerman and Massey conclude. "The conclusion that the total costs of REACH are too small to cause noticeable economic harm remains true across several studies, regardless of which of the cost estimates and methodologies are chosen," they find. In a review of the REACH cost analysis conducted by Arthur D. Little and commissioned by the chemicals industry, Professor Ackerman finds that the costs of REACH were exaggerated by a factor of at least 35. "Exaggerated industry claims about the cost of chemical law reform have already caused REACH to be considerably weakened," said Karl Wagner, director of WWF’s DetoX Campaign. "Now the tactic appears to be to delay REACH for as long as possible," said Wagner. "Unless the EU Council and Parliament get a move on in adopting a strong REACH, their failure to properly control chemicals in time could cause the sort of misery and suffering already witnessed by the lack of speedy action on tobacco and asbestos." As the world's largest chemical market, Europe has the ability to act as a catalyst for reform of global legislative policies on the regulation of industrial chemicals. The U.S. government and chemicals industry are closely watching the progress of REACH on its path through the European legislative process.
Washington State Plans to Limit Toxic Flame Retardants OLYMPIA, Washington, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - The Washington state Department of Ecology and Department of Health are seeking public comment on a draft plan to reduce the levels of the chemical flame retardants that are showing up in the environment and in people.These retardants, known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), are often added to plastics or fabrics so they will not catch fire or burn so easily. The problem is that PBDEs leave these products and make their way into the environment, wildlife and humans. A recent study found the level of PBDEs in the breast milk of Washington women was the highest of all those tested. The study, released in September by Northwest Environment Watch of Seattle found the chemicals in 100 percent of nursing mothers tested in Washington and other Northwest states. "We don't know exactly how PBDEs get into people, though we suspect exposures are from indoor air, dust and food," said State Health Officer Maxine Hayes. "We are concerned about the possibility of health problems resulting from these rising levels of PBDEs in the environment. The health effect of PBDEs on humans is unclear, but we know exposure is occurring and we want to change that." The agencies' plan is due to Governor Gary Locke in December. The plan calls for controlling the handling and disposal of existing PBDE products to limit the continued release of PBDEs into the environment and food chain, as well as phasing out the sale of many new products that contain certain PBDEs. Levels of PBDEs in the environment are rising steadily and are highest in North America, home to the largest producers and consumers of PBDE products. PBDEs have been found in everything from orcas to polar bears in the Arctic to human breast milk in the Pacific Northwest. Studies show that the levels in body fat, breast milk and blood of people in the U.S. are 10 to 100 times higher than the levels found in people in Europe and Japan. The plan by Ecology and Health comes at a time when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is drafting a regulation that will establish new fire safety standards for residential upholstered furniture. The agencies believe the new flammability standards can and should be met by using alternative flame retardants that don't increase the public's exposure to PBDEs. "We need to lower PBDE levels, not keep raising them," said Linda Hoffman, director of Ecology. "We can't be like the frog in the pot of slowly boiling water that doesn't realize the problem until it's too late." The draft plan and additional information about PBDE flame retardants are available online at www.flameretardants.org. The public can comment on the draft PBDE action plan in meetings this month in Seattle and Spokane and also via email to chep461@ecy.wa.gov, via fax to 360-407-6884. The public meetings are scheduled for:
Bush Salmon Plan Inadequate, Legislators Urge a Redraft WASHINGTON, DC, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - A bipartisan group of more than 100 legislators sent a letter to the White House Tuesday urging President George W. Bush to rethink his plan for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River Basin.The current plan, a redraft of an earlier version rejected by the courts, has been criticized by environmental groups, scientists and fishermen for failing to provide for the recovery of self-sustaining, harvestable populations of salmon. Once abundant, dozens of salmon populations are now threatened or endangered not only in the Columbia and Snake basin but across the Pacific Northwest. The legislators are led by House Republicans Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, as well as House Democrats Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio of Oregon, and Jim McDermott of Washington. "For too long, we have treated the Columbia River and its tributaries like a machine," said Blumenauer. "We can no longer enact policies that result in the status quo for the river, and the fish and wildlife species that inhabit it. The federal government's numerous legal obligations to recover salmon mandate that any action we take must leave the river and these fish in better shape than before." In 2000, NOAA Fisheries released its plan to mitigate for damage done to salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia and Snake River basins by the region's hydroelectric dams, as required under the Endangered Species Act. A formal document called a Biological Opinion, the administration's plan was challenged in court and in 2003, a federal judge ordered NOAA Fisheries to redraft it. The latest draft plan makes the unprecedented assumption that dams do not put salmon in jeopardy, and attempts to ensure only the survival of salmon, not their recovery. "Restoring salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River Basin is of national importance and a high priority," said the lawmakers in their letter to President George W. Bush. "The new draft Biological Opinion does not ensure self-sustaining, harvestable populations, by relying on legal technicalities to justify not having to fully mitigate for the operations of the hydropower system. Rather than settle for a Biological Opinion that redefines the problem instead of fixes it, we urge you to direct federal agencies to revise this draft to ensure significant recovery of salmon and steelhead," the legislators wrote. Restoring salmon and steelhead runs will preserve economic benefits, they pointed out. The Northwest salmon and steelhead industry accounts for more than 36,000 jobs in the Western United States and generates more than $3 billion in Western economies annually. The letter concludes that if the current plan is adopted, "We risk our past and future investments in one of the nation's greatest national treasures, the wild salmon and steelhead of the Pacific Northwest." The letter has the support of Save Our Wild Salmon, Taxpayers for Common Sense, U.S. PIRG, the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, American Rivers and a coalition of other environmental and fishing groups.
Blight-Resistant Trees Key to American Chestnut Restoration TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - More than 50 years after it was nearly wiped out by the chestnut blight, the American chestnut tree is going to be restored to forests of the eastern United States.The U.S. Forest Service and the nonprofit American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) will work together to introduce blight resistant American chestnut trees into the forest ecosystem of the eastern landscape. On Tuesday, representatives of the two organizations signed an agreement that establishes a framework for the restoration. A breeding program developed by founders of the American Chestnut Foundation to create blight-resistant chestnut trees is the core of the project. It will be augmented by scientific research in an effort to restore the once dominant hardwood tree. “This agreement with The American Chestnut Foundation is a prime example of how partnerships with nonprofits and other groups can double our efforts in restoring and preserving our nation’s forests and wildlife habitat,” said Dale Bosworth, chief of the Forest Service. “One of the greatest benefits of restoring the American chestnut will be a food source to wildlife because of its capacity for large and plentiful nut production,” said Bosworth, a second generation forester. Chestnut, nicknamed the "redwood of the East," is a very fast-growing hardwood. Naturally resistant to rot, it is an environmentally friendly alternative to pressure treated wood and can be used to fit the demand for fencing, landscape timbers and utility poles. “The loss of these trees is considered by some measures to be among the greatest environmental disasters to befall the Western Hemisphere since the last Ice Age,” said Marshal Case, president and chief executive officer of the American Chestnut Foundation, a 5,000 member organization based in Bennington, Vermont. At the beginning of the 20th century, the American chestnut comprised up to one-quarter of the total stand in its range, from Maine to Georgia, from the Piedmont to the Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes region. First discovered in 1904 in New York City, the blight spread quickly, killing billions of trees. The blight was caused by a fungus accidentally imported on Asian chestnut trees to which native chestnuts had little resistance. By 1950, the keystone species which had covered some nine million acres of eastern forests was nearly gone. “Restoration of this keystone species," said Case, "will greatly benefit both local economies and the ecosystem in the eastern United States." For more on the technical side of creating a blight-resistant chestnut, visit The American Chestnut Foundation at: http://www.acf.org/r_r.htm
Vanishing Migratory Bird Wins Critical Habitat WASHINGTON, DC, October 14, 2004 (ENS) – In compliance with a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reproposed 1,556 miles within the 100 year floodplain of waters in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico as critical habitat for an endangered migratory bird, the southwestern willow flycatcher, which was listed as endangered in 1995.The Service designated 599 river miles of flycatcher critical habitat in New Mexico, Arizona and California in 1997. Since the initial designation, the existence of additional breeding locations in southwestern Colorado, and southern Nevada and Utah has been recognized. In 2001, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside designated critical habitat within New Mexico - the only state under the court's jurisdiction where critical habitat was originally proposed. The court found the economic analysis of the designation to be inadequate. The Service then set aside critical habitat designated for the species in all three states until a reassessment of the economic effects of designation could be completed. "We used all the expanding body of scientific information available on flycatcher conservation to lay out a proposal outlining those areas that appear to be essential to conservation of the species," said Dale Hall, Director of the Service's Southwest Region. "Now we need input from local residents, area industries and the conservation and scientific community to refine our strategy and the proposed designation. We're asking if our rationale for designating critical areas needs to be refined. Are adequate protections already in place? Did we designate the right areas? What are the anticipated costs of designating various areas?" The Service is nearly finished with an associated draft economic analysis and environmental assessment. When those documents are available, the Service will schedule eight public hearings in five states. Information supplied by either individuals or groups during the comment period will be "essential," the Service said, in evaluating and finalizing critical habitat areas and determining where the benefits of designating an area might outweigh the benefits of not including it - an evaluation required under the act . All comments collected during the comment period will be considered and addressed in a final rule anticipated in a year. The proposal identifies locations that support 10 or more flycatcher territories and is designed to maintain those nesting birds' access to other flycatcher populations in order to provide population stability, assure that birds can expand into other locales, and ensure genetic flow among populations. The 5.75 inch flycatcher breeds and rears its chicks in late spring and through the summer in dense vegetation along streams, rivers, wetlands and reservoirs in the arid Southwest. The flycatcher migrates to Mexico, Central, and possibly northern South America for the non-breeding season. Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species that may require special management considerations or protection. This critical habitat proposal was completed in compliance with a September 30, 2003, opinion issued by the District Court of New Mexico in a case brought against Interior Secretary Gale Norton by the Center for Biological Diversity. The Service is required to arrive at a final determination by September 30, 2005. The Service said, as it invariably does when the court force the agency to make a critical habitat designations, that in 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the designation of critical habitat provides little aditional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation benefits. In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat, the Service said, which adds that habitat for endangered species is provided on many national wildlife refuges, managed by the Service and state wildlife management areas. But, conservation groups point out, hunting is permitted on many refuges, and others are littered with unexploded ordnance from military operations. Send comments to Field Supervisor, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, 2321 W. Royal Palm Rd., Ste 103, Phoenix, AZ 85021, or email to WIFLcomments@fws.gov or fax to 602-242-2513. Documents relevant to flycatcher critical habitat and recovery planning are available at http://arizonaes.fws.gov.
Endangered Butterflies Attract Expert Assistance SILVER SPRING, Maryland, October 14, 2004 (ENS) - "Few people are aware that many North American butterfly species are endangered or threatened with extinction, the victims of habitat loss, pesticides and introduced species," said Michael Hutchins, director of the Department of Conservation and Science of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA).Hutchins is one of the prime movers of the three year old Butterfly Conservation Initiative, which brings together nongovernmental organizations and government agencies to aid the recovery of imperiled butterflies in North America. "These pollinators are essential to the survival of many native plants and are an indicator of the quality of a variety of habitats," Hutchins said. Alarmed at the recent decline in butterfly populations, the AZA and 11 of its accredited zoos and aquariums, together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Xerces Society, founded the Butterfly Conservation Initiative in 2001. Since then, nonprofit organizations Environmental Defense and the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, plus 40 more AZA accredited zoos and aquariums have joined the coalition. On Friday, dedication ceremonies were held at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville to open the McGuire Center, which features the living Butterfly Rainforest, the world's tallest enclosed butterfly habitat, and exhibits about Lepidoptera and rainforests worldwide. The most recent member is the Zoological Society of San Diego, which this month became the 51st participating organization. Through workshops and planning sessions, members focus on recovery, research and outreach. They cooperate on projects such as the restoration of butterfly habitat in southeastern Ohio in which six AZA accredited facilities participated. "It is important that we not take these most beautiful and charismatic of insects for granted," says Hutchins. A summary of the recovery needs of threatened and endangered butterflies is available on the the Butterfly Conservation Initiative website at: http://www.aza.org/ConScience/bfci/
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