lframerica.com Blog

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/woodard_85614___article.html/county_fsa.html

April 3, 2008

April 3, 2008

Environmental advocates said Wednesday that they weren’t surprised by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision this week to waive several environmental laws to expedite construction of border fencing in four states. Still, they haven’t given up on efforts to stop the project.

“I thought eventually, they would do this,” said Martin Hagne, manager of Valley Nature Center in Weslaco. “But I don’t feel we are defeated, and we’re certainly looking at every avenue possible.”

For months, environmental groups have spoken out against the proposed border fence, saying it would affect wildlife’s ability to migrate and reach fresh water from the Rio Grande.

Hidalgo County’s proposal to construct 22 miles of concrete levees that would double as a border fence rankled environmentalists even more.

Officials from the Rio Grande Valley’s wildlife refuges and environmental advocates said the combined fence-levee structure would make it impossible for endangered species like the ocelot to migrate.

Environmental groups likely will have a tough time finding an avenue to stop the proposal now, however. Under the 2005 Real ID Act, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has the authority to waive any laws that prevent quick construction of border fencing, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

That waiver leaves environmental groups with little legal recourse against the fence’s construction, said Oliver Bernstein, spokesman for the Sierra Club.

Last year, Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife filed a federal lawsuit challenging the construction of fencing on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona. A federal judge issued an injunction against construction in October that later became moot after Chertoff invoked his waiver authority, Bernstein said.

“Once that waiver was granted, construction started right up and we weren’t able to do anything else,” he said.

The two organizations have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to evaluate whether the Real ID Act is constitutional.

“We expect a response sometime this summer,” Bernstein said.

Chertoff’s announcement came after a March 3 letter from Kenneth Stansell, deputy director of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to Greg Gibbens, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Secure Border Initiative. In the letter, Stansell says that any border fence or levee that cuts across the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge would ultimately violate the refuge’s purpose, and therefore Chertoff would have to waive the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act to move forward on fence construction.

Stansell further warned that a proposed fence-levee combination in Hidalgo County would present more environmental problems than the original fence proposal.

“This combined project would eliminate wildlife passage by replacing CBP’s original ‘wildlife-friendly’ fence design with an impermeable 16- to 18-foot high wall built into a flood-control levee,” Stansell said in the letter.

Even with the waiver in place, the U.S. Department of the Interior is still working with the Department of Homeland Security on ways to minimize the fence’s environmental impact, said Department of the Interior spokesman Shane Wolfe.

The agencies are working on an agreement that would grant $50 million to the Department of the Interior to fund mitigation projects that would help endangered species, Wolfe said in a statement.

Environmental advocates said they are appealing to members of Congress to change the Real ID Act, and also are waiting to see what happens with the Supreme Court appeal and the November presidential elections.

“I think the public is starting to see that we have some valid points,” Hagne said. “I think this issue will gain national momentum.”

Refuge officials said, meanwhile, that they’re doing what they can to protect wildlife as fence plans move ahead - even if they feel their hands are tied.

“We’ve tried to figure out a way to make this a wildlife-friendly fence, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be a stretch,” said Nancy Brown, spokeswoman for the South Texas Refuge Complex.

http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/articles/2008/03/28/news/doc47ed3d5d9648c289521012.txt

By Samantha Young
Associated Press Writer

The other manufacturers that must comply with the rules are General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co.

The decision is expected to affect 12 other states that had adopted California’s target for zero-emission vehicles.

In essence, the air board took two steps: It cut the number of zero-emission vehicles it wants on state’s roads, while at the same time offering an alternative: the gas-electric hybrids.

The air board said the six largest automakers must sell nearly 60,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles in California while they develop the more advanced technology that will allow mass production of pure zero-emission vehicles.

Board chairwoman Mary Nichols described the move as a major step toward putting cleaner cars on the road. The plug-in hybrids envisioned by the air board have yet to be produced but are in development by several automakers.

“We’re introducing a whole new category of vehicles to the public,” Nichols said. “I don’t think it’s a step backwards in the real world.”

General Motors is developing a rechargeable vehicle it hopes to have on the market in 2010. The Chevy Volt would run on a battery for 40 miles, and then fuel would power the on-board generator, GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss said.

California adopted its zero-emission vehicle mandate in 1990 as part of an attempt to reduce smog-forming emissions such as nitrogen oxide.

The rule required that 10 percent of new cars sold in the state by the country’s six leading auto manufacturers be completely nonpolluting by 2003.

The rules have been modified four times since they were introduced. The biggest change came in 2003, when the Air Resources Board significantly scaled back the mandate and ruled that hydrogen cars, hybrids and cleaner-burning gasoline vehicles could meet the state’s goals.

The regulators were concerned that battery-powered cars could not be mass-produced and favored hydrogen cars. They also faced a lawsuit from the auto industry.

Although some lower-emission vehicles — especially hybrids — have begun making an impression in the marketplace, the main automakers still do not have a commercial zero-emission vehicle.

The revised 2003 rules set a goal of putting at least 25,000 zero-emission cars on the road in California by 2014, far below the original 10 percent mandate. The rules adopted Thursday put the number of zero-emission vehicles required by 2014 even lower.

The changes adopted by the air board will affect just a fraction of the overall fleet in California. About 1.5 million new vehicles are sold in the state each year.

The 12 other states that adopted the California standard are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Automakers are required to sell 120,000 of the new plug-in-hybrids in those states by 2014, said Tom Cackette, the air board’s chief deputy executive officer.

Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah are considering California’s standard, according to the Air Resources Board.

SOURCE:http://caller.com/news/2008/mar/20/teen-driver-undocumented-immigrants-causes-blaze/

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Nueces County sheriff’s chase about midnight early Thursday morning ended with about a dozen undocumented immigrants scrambling through a fiery field while the driver and two occupants were caught, police said.

A deputy on patrol trailed a white 2004 Dodge 4-door pickup for about five miles from the western part of the county after the driver ran a red light at State Highway 286 and Farm-to-Market Road 43.

“He was alerted earlier in the evening by radio that a vehicle of that same description could be carrying undocumented aliens,” said Capt. Stan Repka, public affairs officer for the sheriff’s department.

The deputy tried to use emergency lights to stop the driver at the intersection of 286 and Saratoga Boulevard, but the driver fled west on Saratoga for about a mile before turning into a brushy field in the 500 block.

“The exhaust or catalytic converter on the car caught the brush on fire, and then the brush fire caught the car on fire,” said Battalion Chief Wayne Prall, with Corpus Christi Fire Department. It took four engine companies with about 18 firefighters about an hour to simmer the blaze that damaged about one acre, he said.

The driver, Jose Antonio Pineda-Torres, 18, of Mexico, and two undocumented male immigrants were arrested. A precinct one constable helped catch the two occupants after responding to the deputy’s request for backup.

Pineda-Torres was arrested for evading and resisting arrest and was taken to Nueces County Jail, Repka said. The two occupants, both citizens of Mexico, were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.

Border patrol would not release the men’s names, ages or state of residence, said Oscar Saldaña, spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley sector.

“If they have no criminal history they will be granted an option of voluntary return to Mexico,” Saldaña said. “As for the driver, he could be detained for the district attorney to charge and prosecute or if found criminal for transporting illegals could be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That’s right, sewer sludge from New York is being sprayed for free on fields Nationwide.  Human feces which has been found to carry such diseases as E-Coli and Salmonella is being shipped and sprayed for free on the very fields that ultimately put food on American’s tables.

The reprocussions are there as well, contaminated fields no longer capable of being farmed, dead herds, contaminated milk and sick animals all have been reported.   For the company responsible, they claim they will just keep on spraying and you, the average citizen, will probably never know which fields and foods are at risk.

SOURCE: http://www.enewscourier.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_071093112.html

 Sewage Sludge Banned From Crops (by Karen Middleton)

Processed human waste will no longer be brought into Limestone County, Ala., for distribution as fertilizer on fields.

Monday, County Commission Chairman David Seibert said the county had “reached a settlement” with a company, Synagro Technologies, which early last fall drew complaints from northwest county residents who complained of a strong odor after the company spread the free bio-solids on fields there.

Synagro Technologies has a contract to dispose of human wastes from New York. The company, which operates with approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, treats sludge from wastewater plants in New York and ships it to Alabama by rail car. The sludge is treated at a plant in Leighton, and then offered at no charge to farmers in Limestone County to fertilize their fields. About 40 farmers signed up to receive the sludge.

In Georgia, a farmer’s cattle died and the milk from another farmer’s cattle was contaminated from contact with sludge-treated fields. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to compensate a farmer whose land was poisoned by sludge from the waste treatment plant near Augusta. His cows had died by the hundreds.

In October, the county had reached an agreement with the company after seeking an injunction against Synagro. Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said Synagro officials had assured him they would no longer distribute the fertilizer on pastureland. Where it is spread, it would have to be worked into the dirt instead of being placed on top of the soil.

The company said it would continue to take sludge to the most remote locations for applications and would make deliveries just before application to reduce odor concerns. Company officials also said they would alter transportation routes to avoid populated areas and schools and explore additional odor reduction measurers to include additional processing and the use of more lime to neutralize the odor.

However, Seibert said that “about three weeks ago” the county reached a further agreement with Synagro to stop hauling sludge into Limestone County entirely.

“It’s just been taken care of,” said Seibert. “A settlement has been reached and I cannot talk about it further.”

Hanford, CA, City Council, has approved a permit by Great Valley Ethanol for a $115 million corn-to-ethanol production plant to be built in Hanford’s industrial area.  The ground breaking is expected to take place in June or July and construction to last 18 months before the company is fully functional.
This might sound like a dream come true to those who wish to get the United States moving away from oil dependency, yet this plant will fall far short of many expectations and even further from reducing greenhouse effects on this planet.

This single plant, that is expected to produce 63 gallons of grain ethanol each year, is also expected to produce 313,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and above-threshould nitrogen oxide emissions.

There are ways in which the company can reduce these dangers through mitigation measures, such as CO2 capture and marketing, as well as, cellulosic ethanol production.  Only time will tell if this company willingly puts those elements into effect.

March 13, 2008

KVOA - Lorraine Rivera Reports

On King’s Anvil Ranch along Highway 286 there’s a spot of desert littered with trash left behind by illegal immigrants.  The mess is repeated in multiple areas of the 50,000 acre ranch.  It’s a problem for the owners and lately an issue for Arizona Game and Fish.

March 10, 2008

A wide spread array of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, acetaminophens and ibuprofen, have been found in drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
Yes you heard that correctly, while the concentrations are tiny and far below medical dose, the long term affect of these on human health is concerning.

During the five-month inquiry, AP discovered that drugs have been detected in drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas from East to West and North to South across the United States.

Alarming affects on human cells and wildlife have resulted in persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, these toxic cocktails found in our drinking water supplies are just as alarming.

Philadelphia = 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts including medications for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems.

Southern California = Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications

Northern New Jersey = metabolized angia medication and mood-stabilizing carbamazepine

San Francisco = Sex hormones

Washington D.C. = Six Pharmaceuticals

Tucson, Arizona = Three medications, including antibiotics

New York = Heart medication, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, mood stablizers and tranquilizers.

New Orleans = Sex hormone estrone, pain reliever naproxen, anti-cholesterol drug byproduct clofibric acid.

Arlington, Texas = pharmaceuticals

As the federal government does not require testing and has no safety limits for drugs in water supplies, out of 62 major water providers only 28 tested their drinking water supplies. Among those that haven’t include Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City.

While some screen for one or two pharmaceuticals, they often ignore others which might be present.  And in many cases watersheds, the natural sources for most of the nations water supply, are also contaminated.

If this is not bad enough, there is evidence that adding chlorine, found in all conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.

In the 28 tested major metropolitan areas only Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia; tested negative.

Did you know that the Gulf of Maine, the Pacific Northwest,  are listed among the “World’s Most Endangered Coastlines?”

FORBES 

March 4, 2006

GALVESTON, Tx — 20 dead bottlenose dolphins have asked ashore along Southeast Texas beaches and officials want to know why.

12 dolphins were found on Monday morning, six were newborns, three were year olds and three were adults.  8 more washed up later that afternoon but their ages were not released.

Last year 70 dead dolphins washed up along the Texas coast but their death was unable to be determined due to decomposition.