Rhode Island Feeds

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236?RS_show_page=0

GreenEconRT: 15 Gulf Oil Spill Myths http://shar.es/mEEbM

GreenEconRT: Prov Jewelry District Cleanup & Block Party Thu JUL 9th @ 1pm.. help clean up the neighborhood & get some free 'gansett http://bit.ly/aF12ZM

Dubbed by Lights Out, Green In as Say Hello to the Sun Day, Monday was also the first day of summer. And what a great day to display how useful natural sunlight is.

From 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., the sun shined with all of its strength on the longest day of light all year. Hourly conservation tips were posted from sunrise to sunset on Facebook. The tips are aimed to help cut down waste whether it be from leftovers or coffee cups. You can see all 16 tips by visiting our Facebook page. But fear not - more tips (as they have been for two years) will be shared every Monday on this site at 10 a.m.

But the sun was the true star of the day was the sun - you could’ve used natural light to light your home or office almost all day.

From the New England Section of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM):

The New England Section of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) and the Connecticut Association of Land Surveyors (CALS) are proud to present a GNSS Positioning Short Course offered on five consecutive Saturdays this summer starting on July 10, 2010 and ending on August 7, 2010. Each Saturday class begins at 8 am and ends at noon, and will be held at the University of Connecticut located in Storrs, Connecticut.

Summary:

This course will present the foundation information needed for a GNSS positioning professional to understand how their equipment works, with guidance to its proper usage. It is not a course on GNSS processing software or GNSS orthometric heighting.

For more information and to download the PDF Registration form Click Here.

RECYCLE USED COOKING OIL AT
RHODE ISLAND RESOURCE RECOVERY

JOHNSTON, R.I. (June 22, 2010) – Starting immediately, Rhode Island Resource Recovery will be accepting used cooking oil at the Central Landfill in Johnston. The service is free for Rhode Island households.
RIRRC has placed two 55-gallon drums in the small vehicle drop-off area, which is where they accept small loads of household waste, recycling, tires, appliances and motor oil.
“This is yet another material for which we offer a disposal alternative for Rhode Islanders,” said Sarah Kite, director of recycling services at RIRRC. “Instead of throwing the oil in the trash, which is messy, or pouring it down the drain, which is dreadful for plumbing, people can bring it to RIRRC for recycling.”
RIRRC is working with Newport Biodiesel, a Rhode Island company, to dispose of the oil dropped off in Johnston. The company will use the oil to produce a clean-burning and sustainable fuel from vegetable oil waste.
“This service is another good example of finding creative solutions for converting waste products into new products with new uses,” said Kite. “Here, cooking oil is prevented from hurting the environment by reusing it as an alternative fuel source that can improve our economy as well.”
Rhode Island Resource Recovery will recycle the containers used to carry the used vegetable, corn and olive oil to the landfill.
The Central Landfill is open Mondays through Fridays from 6:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. and on Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to noon. For information about recycling, visit the Rhode Island Resource Recovery website at www.rirrc.org, or call 942-1430 x775.
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the quasi-state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage waste. The agency helps fund and promote the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates the Materials Recycling Facility and Central Landfill in Johnston.

ecoRInews: Latest ecoRI news! R.I.’s Summertime Thirst Stresses Municipal Water Supplies http://ow.ly/17QBLA

ecoRInews: Latest ecoRI news! Investment in Transportation Changes is Tough Hill to Climb http://ow.ly/17QBLE

Rhode Island residents can now dispose their cooking oil at the Central Landfill free of charge.

RIRRC: Hey city-dwellers! Here's a less-known benefit of composting, even when the finished product can't be used: http://www.slate.com/id/2257025/

June 21, 2010 from Barbara Healy
Many thanks Barbara for this update on Harbor issues in Bristol.

First, thanks to Lindsay's blog, I learned that the Planning Board is holding a Public Informational Meeting tomorrow night, June 22, at 7 PM, at Town Hall regarding the Robin Rug building. Please go to the Town website to review the agenda. The purpose is to review the master plan which is available at Town Hall and can be viewed by appointment. This was a major issue of discussion when we were holding regular meetings as a Task Force. It faded away for a while but now seems to be on the table again, perhaps as a result of the slowly improving economy. I do have some concerns, particularly regarding the handling of wastewater from this site and plan to be at this meeting.

Second, the Charter Review Commission, of which I was a member, has completed its task of review and has now forwarded its recommendations to Town Council. The Council has the final word on what reaches the ballot and will hold a public hearing later in the summer. Please note the the Council has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, June 24, as a working session to iron out among the members what will be presented to citizens for the public hearing. Regarding waterfront issues, we have recommended that the Harbor Department be under the charter aegis, which it currently is not, in the section dealing with public safety along with Police and Fire departments. This was well received at a recent workshop. We also recommended that the harbormaster report to the administrator rather than Town Council. This seems to be a more contentious issue and bears watching as it really is the crux of the whole harbor department organization. Regarding the issue of job descriptions, the charter commission had several discussions. Finally, we recommended that job description for department heads be compiled by the town administrator (or mayor, if title changed) and Personnel Board and be placed on file in the administrator's office. We also recommended an organization chart of Town government be placed on file. I also plan to be in attendance at this meeting.

Third, the water sampling project for Bristol Harbor is in full swing for its second season. Keith Maloney is one of the coordinators of this effort by Save Bristol Harbor to gather data in support of a Predictive Habitat Model for the harbor. This is an ongoing project which will take several years to gather data. URI is a partner in this experiment. It is efforts like this, by interested and committed volunteers that make this town so special. Contact Keith if you have the time or inclination to help out.

Fourth, one of the long term issues that really concerns me, and is a component of many of the development projects is the effect on water quality in the harbor and beyond down into Narragansett Bay. I attend just about every Harbor Commission meeting. These meetings are also regularly attended by shell fishermen, and they are expressing increasing concern over closing of the shellfish beds due to pollution. There was a massive outpouring of sewage during the recent torrential rains in March. This was understandable because of the huge volume which had to be handled, but the regular, run-of- the- mill closings seem to be increasing and the fishermen are concerned. It is their livelihood. They are worried that the aging sewer system is being overwhelmed and we should be, too. I see no long-term planning in the works about this issue. Perhaps there is, but I haven't noticed.

And of course, the LNG threat is always with us. Susan Maloney has been great in sending along information. I am more hopeful that this horrible proposition on the part of Hess will die due to lack of need. It's always about money. Keep informed and join any grass-root efforts that you can to fight this plan that some are trying to force on us.

See you around,
Barbara Healy, Charter Review Commission member and Voices for Bristol Waterfront Task Force Chair.

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI staff

Rhode Island’s strict standards regarding drinking water quality have long been accepted, but the equally important issue of drinking water quantity often is ignored.

That fact is most evident in July and August when many Ocean State lawns are soaked with drinkable water. The over-watering of lawns, plus haphazardly placed sprinklers that irrigate sidewalks, driveways and streets, do so at the expense of drinking water supplies and healthy stream levels.

Lawn watering across the state is growing out of proportion, according to Alisa Richardson, an engineer with the state Department of Environmental Management. She has said an additional 40 million gallons of water a day is used in the summer just to water lawns.<<Read full story

By SHEILA DORMODY and JOHN FLAHERTY

The Coalition for Transportation Choices, a partnership of 37 diverse public advocacy groups, achieved two legislative victories at the 2010 legislative session: winning the creation of a Senate Study Commission on Sustainable Transportation Funding; and legislative support for federal funding for basic and innovative Rhode Island transportation projects.

But the ritual of proposed transit fare increases and reduced service is once again emerging because of outdated and unsustainable funding mechanisms. Continued inaction is simply not an option.<<Opinion

ecoRInews: Latest ecoRI news! Rhode Island Harnessing Ocean Breezes for Energy http://ow.ly/17PFm0

By DAVID FISHER/ecoRI staff

The proposed Deepwater Wind project has captured a lot of Rhode Island’s attention, but it’s hardly the only one in development or already spinning.The proposed Deepwater Wind project off Block Island has certainly been a topic of much discussion in Rhode Island during the past few years, and with good reason. Although the economic — cheap, renewable energy — and environmental — reduced carbon emissions — benefits to the state are evident, there are still many hurdles for this project to overcome.

Concerned environmentalists point to the disruption of the seafloor, namely squid and flounder habitats, which the dredging and trenching associated with such a project would require, as a deal breaker. Economic watchdogs say the money involved in the massive infrastructure upgrades necessary at the Port of Quonset and the, some would say exorbitant, price agreed upon for the power generated by such a project make it financially impractical. Fans of ocean vistas believe such a wind farm would ruin the view, thus, negatively impacting tourism on Block Island.

Upon completion, the project would be expected to provide 1.3 million megawatt-hours of electricity a year — about 15 percent of all electricity used in the state. The project is expected to cost about $1 billion to build and would be financed entirely from private investment sources.<<Read full story

RIRRC: SAT. 6/26: S. Kingstown hosts FREE Eco-Depot for Household Hazardous Waste (180 High St., RI residents). Call for an apptmt: 942-1430 x 241

The Planning Board will hold a Public Informational Meeting on
Tuesday June 22, 2010 at 7 pm at Town Hall to review the
Master Plan for the Major Land Development for the Robin Rug
Complex as a mixed use building with approximately 24,670 SF of
commercial space and 98 residential units.

Plans and supporting materials are available for review at the
Office of Community Development at 253 7000 x 147 by appointment.

ecoRInews: RT @nprnews: Dress Blues Go Green : Camp Lejeune Buys Into Solar. should they change their motto to "Semper Solaris?" http://n.pr/cvZOCI

The winning entries of the 18th Environmental Poster Contest, along with the work of all the participants, met with a variety of admiring audiences during April and May. The winners in each category were Savannah Arago, Alexia Martinez, Samantha Jurovich, Will Jurovich, Alison Harvey, Jake Knight, and Rebecca Jurovich, all representing St. David’s-on-the-Hill, St. Elizabeth’s, and St Thomas’ in Alton.

Cindy Rollins staffing our table at RWPZoo's Party for the Planet in April

Posters were first displayed at the Roger Williams Park Zoo during their Earth Week “Party for the Planet” in April. Within the Autralasia building (next door to some shy marsupials and just around the corner from a snake the color of lemon and lime) visitors could view the messages and artwork created by young people from our diocese.

Following the trip to the Zoo, the posters were again exhibited, this time during the month of May at our Diocesan Office and Resource Center. Visitors entering through the North Main Street door to the Diocesan Office were greeted by the winning posters . And a visit to the Resource Annex brought the other entries into view.

And at the Office for the Diocese....

Congratulations to all our paritcipants. Their concern for God’s Creation brings hope, mindfulness, and encouragement to us all.