Planetsave

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The four dams on the Klamath River in far Northern California are under relicensing, something that only occurs every 50 years. The dams are owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, who purchased Pacificorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, three years ago. Many Californians were hopeful this purchase would mean the end to the dams, but their concerns for the salmon fell on deaf ears. Once again, Warren Buffett rebuffed salmon advocates.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman failed to gain a private audience with Buffett and were ignored at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Protesters shouted, “Un-dam the Klamath! Bring the salmon home!“, while shareholders enjoyed complimentary cocktails Friday night. For two years, an unprecedented alliance of tribes, businesses, conservation groups and commercial/recreational fishermen has tried to reach an agreement with Buffett for dam removal. Buffett said that his company would not decide the fate of the Klamath dams, but Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon. Ironically, dam removal is cheaper than building the fish ladders regulators are recommending. Read the rest of this entry »

Water is essential for life, but humans are placing a growing burden on this natural resource … risking our own future well-being. More and more news comes out every day about the dangerous game we’re playing with our water supplies, and a growing number of people are warning water could become just as volatile an issue as oil in years to come.

Consider some of these water facts, and the implications they have for humanity:

Just this week, Sandia National Laboratories warned more than half the countries in the world could face “freshwater stress or shortages” by 2025. By 2050, that percentage could rise to 75 percent.

Read the rest of this entry »

The recent revelation by The Associated Press that our tap water contains traces of pharmaceutical drugs, hormones and disinfectants elicited a bit of “I told you so!” from The Environmental Working Group when I spoke to them this morning.

Way back in 2005 they published a report, The National Assessment of Tap Water that found that:

Tap water in 42 states is contaminated with more than 140 unregulated chemicals that lack safety standards. In an analysis of more than 22 million tap water quality tests, EWG found that water suppliers across the U.S. detected 260 contaminants in water served to the public. One hundred forty-one (141) of these detected chemicals — more than half — are unregulated.

They posted an update on their report today with this comment from Jane Houlihan, EWG Vice President for Research

“Once again, the press is doing EPA‘s work when it comes to informing the public about contaminated tap water.“

Uh yay.

Read the rest of this entry »

What might start out as one lick here and another lick there can turn into a full fledged salt addiction for woodland animals. Dear, porcupines, hares, birds, and other animals may all indulge in this habit. There is no shortage of salt to feed this addiction, with 13 million tons applied to winter roads each year in the US. Sadly, this addiction can prove to be a deadly attraction.

Animals can be struck by vehicles while indulging their salt fix. Like many drugs, it can slow the reaction time of birds, causing them to be less alert around approaching cars .

“Birds get apathetic, they can’t fly off and that’s when they get schmucked by an 18-wheeler. So, while they’re getting hit by the cars, we believe the root cause is road salt,” said scientist Pierre Mineau.

Aquatic life is also at risk when melting snow gathers salt, finding its way to lakes and streams. Chloride concentrations can reach more than 1,000 milligrams per liter (mg/l), preventing the distribution of oxygen and nutrients. Environment Canada estimates that 10% of aquatic species are harmed by prolonged exposure to concentrations greater than 220 mg/l.

Vegetation is also effected by road salt, causing it to turn brown with dehydration. Salt intolerant species, such as Maple trees are disappearing from roadways. Vegetation as far as 162 feet from roads can be damaged. Because of the intricacy of the web of life, harm to vegetation can have a residual effect on wildlife.

Salt can also have an effect on health in humans although there is little evidence of salt addiction. The U.S. E.P.A. stated, “Especially since the construction of the interstate highway system, water contamination due to wintertime road salting has become an increasing problem.” Salt not only increases chloride levels in water, but can also increase the corrosion of pipes. This releases lead and other metals into the drinking water.

Many times this winter, I have seen salt trucks covering the roads with salt. Although this certainly offers a numerous benefits to the public, it does come with a price. Many states have been using alternatives to salt with success.

It’s been going on since 1922, seven western states staking their claims on Colorado River Water. For years, a sometimes divisive battle has raged as Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico all said they weren’t getting their share of the precious liquid.

It came to an end in Las Vegas, when representatives of the seven states inked their signatures to a 20 year water-use agreement that now supersedes the 1922 pact.

The plan resolves several legal issues among water agencies and formalized rules fostering cooperation during drought conditions now ongoing in the region. The states are promising consultation and negotiation before litigation on Colorado River water issues. What a concept.

Three lower-basin states, Arizona, California and Nevada will use the Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam to store water they won’t use or need right now. Thirty million people depend on water in that region, especially in Southern California, where 26 cities and water districts serve about 18 million customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Environmentalists already have good reason to despise bottled-water companies, but local economic development folks might now have reason to question the industry too. That’s the message from opponents of a proposed Nestle water-bottling facility in McCloud, California, a small community with natural springs fed by the glaciers of Mount Shasta.

McCloud’s defenders today released an economic study that casts a skeptical light on Nestle’s predictions that the plant would bring more local jobs and an improved local economy. Most of the promised jobs would probably be filled by people from outside the area, while others would be entry-level, low-paying positions. Furthermore, the report added, building a large water-bottling plant in a place known for its natural beauty could drive away some residents and businesses over time.

“The proposed facility threatens to consume one of the area’s most valuable assets: its water,” said Kristin Lee, an economist with the consulting firm ECONorthwest and one of the authors of the report.

ECONorthwest prepared the study on behalf of the McCloud Watershed Council, a volunteer-based residents’ organization working to preserve the quality of the region’s watershed. The group is fighting Nestle’s plan to build a one-million-square foot water-bottling plant in the former logging community, which has a population of about 1,200. If constructed, the McCloud facility’s size would make it the largest water-bottling plant in the U.S.

“It would be the largest building in Northern California,” said Brian Stranko, CEO of California Trout, a group that works to protect and restore wild trout populations in California waters. “You could fit every building in McCloud into it.”

The area’s environmentalists and local residents oppose the plant on many levels. They object to the McCloud Community Services District’s agreement to sell local water to Nestle at “far below” market value. They warn that Nestle’s contract would give the company control of local water supplies for 50, possibly even 100 years. They fear the facility’s impact on the environment, on downstream users of local water, on the region’s attractiveness for tourism and outdoor recreation. And, now, armed with the ECONorthwest report, they worry the plant won’t be as good a deal for the local economy as Nestle says.

That’s now the message they’re hoping to deliver to the McCloud Community Services District, which inked the original deal with Nestle and — they say — still retains the power to renegotiate the terms of its contract with the company.

“It’s not too late for the (district) to reconsider this contract,” said Sid Johnson, a member of the McCloud Watershed Council. “We’re not sure they’re aware of that.”

Nestle Waters is the world’s top seller of bottled water. As of 2006, it sold 72 different brands of bottled water — including San Pelligrino, Perrier, Aquarel, Ozarka, Zephyrhills and Deer Park — around the globe.

BP’s been feeling the heat over their plans to increase their dumping of ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan and have backed away from the plans, for now. Nice work greenies!

Here’s BP’s press release over at Earthtimes, via Earth2Tech Read the rest of this entry »

This makes me sad, dolphins are disappearing in large numbers.

Sightings by marine scientists of dolphins in the north Atlantic’s Bay of Biscay have dropped off by 80 percent compared to the same period in 2006, a wildlife conservation group said Wednesday.

The alarming drop in numbers of the Bay’s three most common species of dolphin — the striped, bottlenose and common — can be attributed to one or both of two causes, Clive Martin, senior wildlife officer for the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme, told AFP.

“We know for a fact that by-catch is killing thousands of dolphins every year,” he said, referring to commercial fishing operations in the bay, which is formed by the northern coast of Spain and the eastern French seaboard up to the tip of Brittany.

Martin singled out French “pair trawlers” that sweep the ocean with huge nets twice the size of a football pitch strung out between them as being especially lethal to the marine mammals.

“Dolphins are sometimes trapped hundreds at a time, and are asphyxiated” when they cannot come up for air, he said. Most dolphins typically replenish their lungs with fresh air every five minutes or so, he explained.

Read the rest of this entry »

I have yet to find my way out to Burning Man, but I have a bunch of friends how are hardcore burners. A few of my friends from Renewable Choice have even built an art car for the playa- look for a giant bus sized piece of burning sage driving around and say hi to the guys for me.

This year is the dawning of the Green Man- Burning Man’s attempt to take things in a more eco direction. They are encouraging burners to offset their carbon emissions, use biofuels and renewable energy, compost their foodscrapes, and all the other greenie things you should do like recycle.

My favorite snarky blog Valleywag has a more cynical look at things (they wouldn’t be Valleywag if they didn’t)… Read the rest of this entry »

Mmmmmm… there’s nothing more refeshing on a hot day than a nice big bottle of cold Bisphenol A.

Via Ecofriend, via Environmental Graffiti

Whenever we drink from a plastic bottle, no matter what it’s carrying, a harmful chemical named bisphenol A (BPA) enters our body along with the liquid. Six months ago, the European Food Safety Authority (ESPA) stated that human exposure to the element in under safety limits and posed no health risks, however, a new research conducted by the University Of Missouri has found about 0.5mg BPA per kilo of body weight; this is about ten times the prescribed safety limits.

University researchers have stated that extensive and continuous exposure to BPA could not be dismissed as harmless. They have also stated that EFSA should not pretend that BPA is safe - rather they should try to educate people to make as little use of plastic bottles as possible.

See also: PepsiCo cops to the news: Aquafina bottled water is from the tap