Rhode Island Feeds

The really key point comes later in the story: “Most weathermen and women have degrees in meteorology – the study of how Earth’s atmosphere behaves in the short term – but few have studied climate science, which examines the wider system where weather occurs.” Sounds like a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

• Source: Reuters

But weather forecasters, many of whom see climate change as a natural, cyclical phenomenon, are split over whether they have a responsibility to educate their viewers on the link between human activity and the change in the Earth’s climates.

Only 19 percent of U.S. meteorologists saw human influences as the sole driver of climate change in a 2011 survey. And some, like the Weather Channel’s founder John Coleman are vocal in their opposition.

Read more at: www.reuters.com

Earlier this week the Maine Department of Environmental Protection made a formal determination that Maine would benefit from an expansion of the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill located in Old Town. In doing so, it cut in half what the State and Juniper’s private manager Casella Waste Systems Inc.’s subsidiary NEWSME had asked for, authorizing an expansion that would increase capacity of the landfill by up to 9.35 million cubic yards, thereby adding ten-plus years of capacity. By cutting the proposal down to size, the DEP sent the clear message that it doesn’t want Maine to continue to be the dumping ground for New England’s waste. That relatively conservative approach is a good start but more work needs to be done to define the role of Juniper and other landfills and to fully address other flaws in Maine’s waste management system.

CLF opposed the Juniper expansion largely because an approval of the 20 years of landfill capacity proposed would have amounted to a surrender to the forces that are keeping Maine’s recycling rate down, limiting our reuse of waste as compost or for other beneficial purposes and driving (literally) Maine and out-of state waste to be disposed of in Juniper and other landfills in the state. So did this decision have the State only half capitulating to Casella and its waste partners?

The answer to that question is complicated and it is still too early to know for certain, but some things are clear at this point. There is no doubt that this decision indicates that the Maine DEP is willing to continue to make landfills a centerpiece of its waste management regime. However, that does not necessarily mean that it intends for Juniper and other landfills to be the option of first resort for our trash. Indeed, the DEP decision justifies its reduction in the expansion size by citing to the potential negative impacts that a fully expanded Juniper Ridge would have had on initiatives to encourage waste reduction, reuse and recycling. To its credit, DEP also implies that it will seek to eliminate disincentives in the tipping fees charged by Juniper that have the effect of making landfill disposal less costly than processing or composting waste as well as to limit the practice of disposing of massive quantities of construction and demolition debris processing residues at Juniper. DEP should be encouraged to aggressively pursue these efforts.

There are also positive indications in the DEP decision that it would like to change the 10-year solid waste status quo in Maine. The Department’s findings seem to encourage statutory changes that would limit the landfilling of waste from other states by redefining what is considered out-of-state waste. It also gives implied support for a statutory waste fee structure that would serve as an incentive to limit imported waste and to increase our beneficial reuse and recycling of garbage. Finally, DEP uses its authority in this decision to place some specific limitations on the manner in which Juniper in managed, by limiting the amount of both unprocessed waste and construction and demolition debris that can be disposed of each year at Juniper and by requiring audits designed to keep Casella honest and operating more for the benefit of Mainers than its own bottom line. These are needed improvements.

So despite the DEP’s decision to allow NEWSME to pursue an expansion of Juniper Ridge, there is some reason for hope in addressing the many remaining issues on the solid waste to-do list of the DEP, the Legislature and the Governor. At a minimum, the list contained in the DEP’s decision should be expanded to include: a meaningful increase in fees charged by the state for waste disposal at any landfill to fund recycling programs and disincent land disposal; re-establish and invigorate municipal recycling programs that create jobs, save towns money and reduce our waste; and, establish caps on the amount of solid waste that can be disposed of annually in Maine landfills to limit disposal and avoid the importation of waste by our waste to energy facilities, the residues of which fill our landfills. These actions would sufficiently counterbalance an expansion of Juniper Ridge to ensure that it is only one piece of a larger and more forward thinking strategy.

 

 

Feel like deja vu? In August, 2010, Greenland calved an iceberg four times the size of Manhattan. Now it’s Antarctica’s turn .. and this baby’s even bigger.

• Source: National Geographic

Snaking across the floating tongue of the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica, the crack is expected to create an iceberg 350 square miles (907 square kilometers)—versus 303 square miles (785 square kilometers) for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx combined, according to NASA.

As for when the iceberg might shove off, “that is very difficult to predict,” said oceanographer Eric Rignot of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “but in the coming months for sure.”

Read more at: news.nationalgeographic.com

This post begins with a photo of a sign that reads “Love your enemies. It messes with their minds.” Then Andy Revkin puts out a call for readers to note one “worthwhile idea” raised by someone they generally disagree with. I’ll second that. Do it here, there, wherever.

• Source: Nytimes

By 2050 or so, the human population is expected to reach nine billion, essentially adding two Chinas to the number of people alive today. Those billions will be seeking food, water and other resources on a planet where, scientists say, humans are already shaping climate and the web of life.

Read more at: dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

The best part? The Jellyfish Database Initiative, or JEDI. But seriously, an interesting story that highlights the need for long-term ocean monitoring programs.

• Source: Nytimes

In 2009, a Japanese fishing boat capsized when its crew tried to haul in a net full of the gigantic Nomura jellyfish. That was just one of the grabber headlines from that year, when the 450-pound jellyfish species was clogging Japanese waters.

Read more at: green.blogs.nytimes.com

The next general advocacy meeting will be held on February 13th @ 6:30pm at the Narragansett Library, Narragansett, RI.  In addition to our our usual round of topics, we’ll be talking about projects and issues specific to Washington County and Southern Rhode Island and learn more about organizations working to improve bicycling conditions.  Anyone interested in discussing bicycle advocacy or other issues facing cyclists in Rhode Island is welcome and encouraged to attend.  Thanks to Karen Votava for working with us to bring the RIBIKE monthly meeting to Washington County.

On the agenda for this month’s meeting:

• Officer Reports (Pres, VP, Treasurer, Secretary)
  • Pres – Membership appeal update
  • VP – 2013 TIP status
  • Treasurer – Current Financial picture
  • Secretary -
• Committee Reports
  • Legislative — Vulnerable Roadway User Legislation Update
  • Membership/Technology update
• Project Reports/Activity
  • BikeToWorkDay Providence Status
  • Road Project involvement (Elmwood Ave-Providence)
  • PVD Biking group activity
  • Pawtucket
  • Commuter Guide
• Washington County and Southern Rhode Island
  •  Projects, Issues and Organizations

The meeting location for this months meeting is:

Maury Loontjens Memorial Library
35 Kingstown Rd.
Narragansett, RI 02882 (map)

 

Desert solar farms divide environmentalists (LA Times).

Two key federal agencies urge rejection of a coal mine near a national park (Washington Post).

Beware, green projects may be a UN plot (NY Times).

Water has to be trucked in to some Texas towns (NY Times).

British politicians call for cutting wind turbine subsidies (BBC).

The groundhog may have said 6 more weeks of winter, but it doesn’t have quite the same meaning this year (LA Times).

High-speed rail faces an uncertain future in California (LA Times).

Audubon Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
Sunday, February 5, 2012, 2:30 – 3:30pm

Looking to get out of the house this winter? Take a trip to Audubon for an afternoon of fascinating Nature documentaries on the big screen.

Free with admission.
Sponsored by Rhode Island PBS

February 5 - My Life As a Turkey Based on his true story, My Life as a Turkey chronicles Joe Hutto's remarkable and moving experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood.

February 12 - American Eagle From the pristine wilderness of Alaska to the Upper Mississippi River Valley, American Eagle goes behind the scenes and into the nest to provide the ultimate bird's eye view into the private life of an American icon.

February 19 - Fortress of the Bears Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska supports the largest concentration of bears anywhere in the world. Sustained by a wealth of salmon streams, isolated and protected by their environment, some 1,700 Alaskan brown bears are part of a unique circle of life that has played out here for centuries.

February 26 - Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom Come discover wolverines, among the most elusive creatures on the planet. They seek out the toughest terrain - the most rugged, remote and fiercely raw - and they've always been scarce to begin with. So they're hard to find. They weigh only about 30 pounds, but they have a ton of attitude and a reputation to match.

March 4 - Raccoon Nation Are people, in an effort to outwit raccoons, actually making them smarter and unwittingly contributing to their evolutionary success? Are the ever more complex obstacles that our fast-paced, urban world throws at them actually pushing the development of raccoon brains?

March 11 - The Himalayas Take a stunning journey to the Himalayas. From Everest to the Tibetan Plateau, from the Gaumukh to the Ganges, this episode introduces us to a complex, interconnected natural world that continues to inspire, challenge and amaze the human race.

March 18 - The Animal House Skyscrapers towering over major cities or spectacularly-designed bridges often come to mind when we think of great feats in architecture and engineering. However, some of the most amazing, creative, and innovative structures on earth are not man-made or urban at all, but residences built by animals in the natural world.

Kudos to the NFL for working towards a greener event: A Pleasant Surprise: Super Bowl XLVI Goes Green!

Tom Szaky
Business / Corporate Responsibility
February 1, 2012


"When I went to check out the eco-cred of the Super Bowl, I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised.

I learned about how the NFL is partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation’s longest serving provider of clean energy, to the Super Bowl this year.

That means that Green Mountain will provide 15,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy certificates (RECs) that will power everything at the Super Bowl: the lights, the computers, the scoreboard, everything. The company is also providing carbon offsets to balance out the greenhouse gas emissions created from the the Patriots' and Giants’ air and ground travel.

I was, admittedly, surprised and impressed.

This is a positive step in the right direction for an event and a business that don’t really need to market themselves. Everyone knows what the Super Bowl is, what the NFL is, and if they love football, they’re going to watch. The Super Bowl and NFL don’t really need to convert people to being football fans.

The point I’m trying to make here is that generally, as a consumer, I am an eco-skeptic, but I couldn’t help thinking to myself that this is something the NFL probably isn’t doing to gain new viewers. I suspect they’re doing it out of a larger sense of corporate responsibility. I then started thinking about other major events, including the campaigning events that stretch across small towns all over the country and culminate in the National Conventions for each political party. Super Bowl like events in their own respect!

I’m wondering what political parties and other corporations that stand to gain more than the Super Bowl are doing to offset their impact and make their event and cause more sustainable. The Super Bowl and NFL’s efforts deserve applause and respect, and I’m looking forward to seeing other corporations embrace sustainability efforts like the NFL has and work with solution providers like Green Mountain Energy.

What events, corporations or businesses have you spotted doing the “right-thing” recently? Frito Lay has partnered with TerraCycle and the NFL has partnered with Green Mountain Energy. Who else?

And what about you – what activities are you doing to lower your carbon footprint? The first step can come during this weekend’s Super Bowl – Green Mountain Energy offers a few tips on greening your Super Bowl party, but we’d love for you to go further."

Enjoy the game.

Thanks to the generosity of the producers of the film, the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition is hosting a second showing after a sellout at the premiere of the movie Bicycle Dreams. The showing will be Wednesday Feb. 22, 2012, 6:30PM at the Cable Car Cinema.

Bicycle Dreams documents the extreme hardship endured by teams of cyclists competing in the annual non-stop Race Across America bicycle race.

To purchase advance tickets, order online (make sure you select the Providence showing).

The Cable Car Cinema & Café is located at 204 South Main St. in Providence.

From the press release:

Bicycle Dreams, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the Race Across America(RAAM), after a sell out at its premiere on Feb 2 in Providence will be shown again at the Cable Car Cinema & Cafe on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the film’s ongoing nationwide winter tour. The screening is presented as a benefit for the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition.

The film, which has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, “is an up-close look at what RAAM riders go through,” says Stephen Auerbach, the director and producer of Bicycle Dreams. “They deal with searing desert heat, agonizing mountain climbs, and endless stretches of open road. And they do it all while battling extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It’s a great subject for a film.”

You can read the full Press Release.

A few months back, I posted a slideshow of heat maps (in the most literal sense of the phrase) showing the change in 10-year average temperatures over the past 130 years. Well, NASA has taken that one step further, creating an animated 30-second video using annual average temperatures that dramatically demonstrates the accelerated warming we’ve experienced since about 1970.

If watching that a few times has got you thinking, and you’d like to see more of what climate change looks like … well, see for yourself.

Interesting that a company that just fell into bankruptcy, Kodak, is aspiring to a better future with a better, more eco-friendly product.

This from Eco-Geek:

Written by Megan Treacy on 20/01/12


"Kodak may be in the middle of some financial trouble -- it just filed for bankruptcy yesterday and has shut down almost all of its camera film production -- but they're looking at solar energy as a way to a fresh start. The camera and film maker is hoping to use its already existing manufacturing processes to produce thin-film solar cells.

Kodak is working with Natcore Technology to develop and produce flexible, thin-film solar cells made of nanotubes that could match the efficiency of conventional silicon cells. Thin-film cells haven't made as much of a splash in the market yet mainly because of the efficiency lag between them and silicon cells, but thin-film is catching up.

If Kodak can make a major improvement in efficiency, they have two major advantages compared to other manufacturers: cost and experience. Kodak could use its existing and proven film production equipment to produce the solar cells, potentially cutting costs in half.

It will likely be tricky transition for the company, but we'll be interested to see if Kodak can make this work and improve on the thin-film technology available today."

We've been using thin-film on the solar application to our trucks, and it has worked great. We look forward to testing the Kodak product. Good luck to them in their transition. Let's hope they, and they jobs they hold, stay in our economy.

Don'forget, if you are in RI, MA, CT, watch our show tomorrow at 1:30pEST as we move to ABC 6, then watch each Saturday at 3pEST. Also, look for us soon on the Living Well channel.

We'll have a report this weekend. Enjoy the game on Sunday.

Empire Tea & Coffee, 22 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840
Friday, February 3, 2012, 6 – 9pm

FUEL is a comprehensive and entertaining look at energy in America: a history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil. Rousing and reactionary, FUEL is an amazing, in-depth, personal journey of oil use and abuse as it examines wide-ranging energy solutions other than oil, the faltering US auto and petroleum industries, and the latest stirrings of the American mindset toward alternative energy.

Link to trailer is below:

More info: thefuelfilm.com

The Vermont Statehouse

A bill nearing completion will soon give the public much more say in environmental enforcement actions in Vermont.

Historically in Vermont, agencies and violators of environmental laws have often negotiated resolutions behind closed doors without notice to affected members of the public. The results have often been weak penalties and ineffective remedial action by polluters, a problem which Conservation Law Foundation has long worked to correct.

Vermont’s exclusion of the public from environmental cases was not only bad policy, but contrary to the requirements of federal environmental law, as pointed out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Vermont Environmental Division Judge Thomas Durkin.

The issue is also part of CLF’s petition asking the EPA to revoke delegated authority for the state to administer the Clean Water Act unless shortcomings in the program are corrected.

Last year, CLF and Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, which helped draft the bill co-sponsored by Rep. Tony Klein and Rep. David Deen, brought the issue before the Vermont Legislature. A long effort in the House, including many versions of the bill and testimony from a wide variety of interests in two committees, paid off in a 109-25 vote of support.

This year, the second of Vermont’s legislative biennium, the work was taken up in the Vermont Senate by Sen. Ginny Lyons’ Natural Resources and Energy Committee. Another round of rigorous review by legislators resulted in broad support for the bill, which won final support on a voice vote Thursday after Tuesday’s roll call of 27-2.

If the bill moves on to be signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin as anticipated, Vermont will not only come into compliance with federal requirements, but it will help make sure that environmental cases are fairly and thoroughly dealt with, including consideration of evidence, where deemed worthwhile by a judge, from those affected by pollution.

The measure goes beyond federal programs like the Clean Water Act – it offers the same opportunity for public participation in state environmental cases as well.

CLF was helped in its work on the issue by the Vermont Law School’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, by members of CLF’s Vermont Advisory Board and by fellow environmental organizations, in particular the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Furthermore, as the bill was worked on and considered, some companies and industry groups who originally opposed the measure came to support its passage, helping to secure support by wide margins in both houses of the Vermont Legislature.

From left: Barbara Kates-Garnick, Carl Horstmann, Tommy Beaudreau, and Sue Reid. Credit: Meg Colclough.

Earlier today my colleague Sue Reid, VP & Director of CLF Massachusetts, joined state and federal officials to announce the latest milestone for obtaining plentiful and clean renewable wind energy from the Outer Continental Shelf offshore of Massachusetts. Specifically, they initiated the process for developers to begin leasing and site assessment, and for data gathering and public input, to facilitate off shore wind deployment in an area approximately 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 13 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket. (The federal press release can be found here.) The “Call Area” as it is termed, was identified following consultation with ocean users, such as fishermen and other stakeholders, through an intergovernmental renewable energy task force led by Massachusetts officials.

Today’s announcement follows President Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he expressed the compelling need to develop alternative sources of energy. CLF agrees: the environmental imperative and ongoing energy transformation replacing obsolete uneconomic fossil fuel power plants requires deployment of the full range of available renewable energy resources. Because offshore wind is strong and persistent, it is among our most robust emissions-free renewable energy sources. We also support the laudable efforts of the Commonwealth and federal government, who share jurisdiction over marine resources, to join initiatives to expand our clean energy resources with efforts to engage in thoughtful ocean planning, both of which have been major themes in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has been a leader in both coastal marine spatial planning and in offshore wind deployment. Those experiences are now being replicated by other states and the federal government – something CLF welcomes.

In speaking alongside Tommy P. Beaudreau, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director, and Barbara Kates-Garnick, Massachusetts Under Secretary of Energy, on the steps of the Wind Technology Testing Center, Sue said:

“One might think it’s unusual for environmental advocates to be championing efforts to develop energy resources; after all, CLF led the charge successfully fighting off all oil and gas drilling in New England waters. That’s because we recognize that, while we need to pursue a portfolio of clean energy alternatives, there is NO other resource that has the sheer magnitude of clean energy potential as offshore wind. Offshore wind holds promise for displacing many gigawatts of fossil fuel-fired generation, keeping the lights on and homes and businesses thriving while we shut down old, dirty, inefficient coal and oil-fired plants.”

She also underscored how important this work is. She said:

“While most local eyes are trained on a different Tommy, out in Indianapolis for a certain small-stakes football game, we’re thrilled that this Tommy, the new quarterback of the Obama Administration’s offshore renewable energy team, is in Massachusetts, focused on moving the clean energy ball rapidly down the field here, in concert with the Patrick Administration and a host of other stakeholders. This is a battle that we must win. Success is our only option.”

Sue is right – milestones like this help us to realize the potential for a new clean energy future—one that is being fostered in Massachusetts through some of the strongest state renewable energy policies in the nation. Our challenge is to advance from salutary policies to new renewable energy deployment that benefits Massachusetts with jobs, economic activity, cleaner air and a healthier environment. Today’s development was one step on a path just begun.

• Monkfish with apple butter and shaved vegetables prepared by Chef Matt Jennings of Farmstead & La Laiterie - get his recipe on TalkingFish.org! (Photo credit: Matt Jennings)

  “Ask an Expert: Chef Matt Jennings never compromises on serving fresh and local seafood” - TalkingFish.org interviews Matt Jennings, Executive Chef, Co-owner and Master Cheesemonger of Farmstead & La Laiterie, who buys locally-caught whole fish from dependable sources he knows personally and trusts wholeheartedly – and he has a great recipe for monkfish as well!

• “Talking Eeelgrass” – When we talk about fish, it’s good to remember that they not only come from somewhere but that that somewhere makes the fish. Habitat is essential; without it even many migratory fish won’t have a place to call home. Many North Atlantic fish spend an important part of their life cycles in coastal eelgrass habitat, and eelgrass is declining.
• “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, February 3″ – A weekly roundup of stories we think will interest readers. This week: a new system to estimate recreational catch, Massachusetts’s new Commercial Fisheries Revolving Loan Fund and its efforts to brand Massachusetts seafood, raising tilapia in garbage bins in the Bronx, the latest in CLF’s work to protect estuaries and fish habitat, and updates on Gulf of Maine cod.