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The BEAT News
April 26
, 2007

   

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In the News:

Advocacy News (Includes how to reach your legislators)

DEP Enforcement Actions In The Berkshires

NPDES News

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Next Citizens Coodinating Council meeting June 13, 2007

The next quarterly full CCC meeting is scheduled for June 13 at Cranwell in Lenox, MA.   The primary topic for that meeting will be a discussion and presentation, case studies, and discussion of floodplain and river restoration techniques.  This is a Citizens Coordinating Council (CCC) meeting with the General Electric Company (GE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and it is open to the public (although you might not get a chance to ask questions, you usually do get an opportunity toward the end of the meeting).  

BEAT report on 4/24/2007 CCC meeting.

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TAKE A STAND FOR LESS-TOXIC LAWNS
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Dear Pesticide-Free Lawns Activists:

It’s spring time and lawn care companies are knocking at our doors and calling our homes pushing toxic lawn treatments. These companies, like TruGreen ChemLawn, are continuing to market pesticides that threaten the health of our families, children and pets. Call them today and let them know we want less-toxic alternatives.

Around Earth Day, take a stand for our lawns and our communities and ask the nation’s largest lawn care provider to go truly organic. TruGreen ChemLawn has a special obligation to protect our communities as the nation's largest applicator.

Recently, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) purchased TruGreen ChemLawn in order to make the business more profitable. Really, the company should make them less toxic....and they need to hear from us.

Call Joseph Rice, Chairman of CD&R today at (212) 407-5200 and ask him to work with TruGreen ChemLawn to go truly organic. See the sample script below for help. Visit www.RefuseToUseChemLawn.org for more information and please forward this message widely.

Sincerely,

Alyssa Schuren
Executive Director
Toxics Action Center

Paul Schramski
State Director
Pesticide Watch

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SAMPLE SCRIPT
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[Dial 212-407-5200 and ask to speak to Mr. Joseph Rice. Leave a message with his secretary if you can't get through to him.]

Dear Mr. Rice,

My name is _________ from _________(state). Congratulations on your recent purchase of TruGreen ChemLawn. Unfortunately, the company has a legacy of poisoning our communities. Please work with TruGreen ChemLawn to phase out toxic lawn care chemicals and offer customers a truly organic solution.

Thank You.

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August 3 Housatonic River Poetry Contest Deadline Announced

For immediate release:                                      
April 19, 2007                                                  
Contact:   Patricia Elsbach, Sheffield Land Trust


Poets – Come One, Come All

Poets – young, musical lyricists, modern, traditional, humorous, hidden poets – join in the Sheffield Land Trust and the Housatonic Valley Art League in celebrating the Housatonic River.  

To commemorate the Housatonic Summer 2004, the Sheffield Land Trust and the Housatonic Valley Art League are placing two stone benches along the river in Sheffield, one at the Covered Bridge off of Rte 7 and another one along the river off Kellogg Road.   

To celebrate, the organizations are planning an art show and a poetry contest with the theme ”View of the Housatonic from Sheffield”.   

Through the years poems have been written with views of the Housatonic from other towns but not from Sheffield.  It’s time to change that exception!   Awards donated by local businesses, including the Bookloft and Old Mill, will be presented and selected poems will be read at the official dedication the weekend of September 8, in conjunction with the annual Sheffield in Celebration activities.

Poem guidelines:   
Length:   24 lines
Deadline:   August 3, 2004

Mail to:   
P.O. Box 934,
Sheffield, MA. 01257
or
e-mail: elsbap001@aol.com

For further information call P. Elsbach: 413-229-7758 or M.Misch: 413-637-1900

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This is the One Meeting You Will Want to Attend if You Are Concerned About Climate Change

Sponsoring Agency: Climate Crisis Coalition
Date: Sunday April 29, 2007
Time: 2:30-5:00pm
Location: Great Barrington Congregational Church, 251 Main St , Great Barrington , MA
Contact: Raya Ariella, 413.243.5665

  The Climate Crisis Coalition (CCC), of South Lee will host an open meeting on Sunday April 29, 2007 at the Great Barrington Congregational Church to discuss the importance of Great Barrington signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Agreement and also joining the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign.  The town of Great Barrington will vote at its next Annual Town Meeting (May 14th) on a resolution to participate in both the Mayors Agreement and the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign in an attempt to bring the town up to Kyoto Protocol standards.  The purpose of the April 29 th meeting is to educate the public prior to the annual town meeting about the urgency of addressing climate change and getting out to vote.

  The Mayors Agreement is a resolution that states that participating cities will take local action to reduce global warming pollution.  ICLEI helps participating municipalities promote public awareness about the causes of climate change as well as ways to reduce that pollution.  Neither of these campaigns calls for specific actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but instead ask that participating municipalities act in good faith to find ways to reduce emissions.

The April 29 meeting will include background on the Mayors Agreement and ICLEI as well as case studies from similar sized towns that have signed onto both these campaigns.  Possible projects to help Great Barrington reduce its greenhouse gas emissions will be discussed and participants will break out into small groups to further discuss these projects (including electricity usage, automotive emissions, local foods, waste reduction and LEED green building certification).  Information packets and tools to spread the word will be distributed.  A slide show on climate science will be offered at the end for those who are interested.

The meeting will take place from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm at the Great Barrington Congregational Church at 251 Main Street in Great Barrington; refreshments will be served and child care will be provided.  For more information, contact Raya Ariella at the Climate Crisis Coalition, (413)243-5665 or raya@kyotoandbeyond.org.

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Massachusetts dairy farm crisis

Massachusetts dairy farmers lost $18M last year, and are seeking $12M in short term relief, plus a fee on milk over the long term that would increase when farm milk prices are low, but be eliminated when farm milk prices are high enough to cover the cost of production.

The Boston Globe editorial board thought this plan was a good idea, given the cost of virtually all alternatives, including doing nothing. Below are some facts, in bullet point form below.   


1. Retailers have doubled their milk price margin in the past 10 years in Mass.  They do not lower prices if farm milk prices are lower.  

2. Farm milk prices last year, $1.14/gal, were less than in 1981. Consumers did not see the savings.   Speaking of concerns about a 25 cent increase, without stating that prior farm prices were at 25 year lows, is an omission which perhaps should be clarified.  Processors and retailers made money. And were the exclusive source of the entire price increase differential between 1981 retail milk prices and 2006 retail milk prices.

3. If farm milk prices rise this year, it is still unlikely farmers will meet cost of production (or pay off past collossal debt).  The actual farmer testimonial evidence, from actual farmer tax returns and financial records, at the Dairy Petition hearings had the lowest cost of production at $19/cwt with the highest over $21.  No testimony came in with lower numbers.  Feed, fuel, insurance has skyrocketed.  These cost numbers do not include the farmer or his family actually getting paid - in other words, with $20/cwt milk, the farmer works pro bono.

4. New York state has a milk price gouging law that results in consumers paying 50 cents less per gallon than Southern New England consumers, while retailers still making substantial margins.  That consumer protection law, in effect since the early 1990's, requires a retailer to charge, on only one of many lines of milk, a consumer price no more than 200% of the processor cost.  A similar bill has been introduced in the Mass legislature.  If processors and retailers are concerned about consumer milk prices, they can support that bill.

5.  In a competitive market system, the price gouging would not occur in Massachusetts because retailers would not have sufficient strength to escape the gravitational pull of supply and demand.  But those benefitting from excess market power work very hard to keep and maintain the resulting profits.  Thus, HP Hood's call to you.

6. We have gone from 850 Mass famers in 1982 to less than 180 farmers today.  The state spends tens of millions to preserve the open space due to risk of loss and lack of maintenance.

7. New England lost 30,000 cows last year.  New York and PA were collectively about stable in volume.  The Eastern seaboard is demanding more milk.  Milk costs 3 cents per gallon to transport 100 miles.  If we ship milk 1200 miles from Eau Claire, WI, the cost is 36 cents additional per retail gallon.  Boise, Idaho, in a state where 28,000 cows were added last year, is 2700 miles away, and would cost 81 cents per gallon. Fresno, CA, another expansion state, is 3100 miles from Boston, and would increase milk costs by 93 cents/gal.  These freight costs will increase, because oil will not go down.  The pollution cost of milk transport will increase.

8. The U.S. population hit 300M last October.  Per capita dairy consumption (all dairy products, not just milk) has increased.  The U.S. has been a net dairy importer for 10 years.  Thus, we are now importing dairy products not only from across the country, but thousands of miles across the ocean.

Mass Assn  of Dairy Farmers  www.massdairyfarmers.com

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MACC's 2007 spring/summer training program is now underway! There’s a training session or workshop scheduled with everyone in mind, whether you’re newly appointed to your Commission or you want to hone your skills analyzing soil profiles.

Visit: http://www.maccweb.org/edu_workshops.html for complete course descriptions and registration information.

If you want to master the key knowledge and skills you need to be an effective Conservation Commissioner or agent, consider taking one or more units of the Fundamentals for Conservation Commissioners. The entire 8-unit course is being offered as a series from April 28th through June 9th in Palmer, MA. Here's your chance to complete your fundamentals training!

Looking for some field work? Those new to confirming wetland boundaries should consider Greg Hochmuth’s workshop, “Delineation for Beginners” on June 23rd. Anyone wanting to delve into delineating details will be glad to learn that John Rockwell has split his one-day “Basic Wetland Delineation” workshop into two full-day workshops, focusing on soils on May 19th and vegetation on June 2nd. Peter Fletcher and Gillian Davies return this summer to share their experience with soils, offering “Soil Science—Field Skills Workshop” on July 13th and “Hydric Soils Workshop—Field Identification, Documentation and Delineation” on July 26th.

Visit: http://www.maccweb.org/edu_workshops.html for complete course descriptions and registration information.

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City to Restructure Departments to focus on the Present and Future of the Parks
 
PITTSFIELD – Mayor James M. Ruberto today announced that the City of Pittsfield will move forward with department restructuring that will establish a new focus on long-term planning for the city’s parks, open space and natural resources.
 
The move will streamline the Department of Community Services into the Departments of Maintenance and Community Development. Recommended by several groups and organizations, including the Parks Commission, the City’s Master Plan Advisory Committee, and the Master Plan’s Open Space and Recreation subcommittee, this restructuring will also make city services more efficient and improve the quality of Parks maintenance.
 
The reorganization will be accomplished without additional personnel.
 
The Department of Community Services and its management and clerk position will be eliminated, while two new positions will be created under the Department of Community Development: Parks, Open Space & Natural Resources Program Manager and Recreation Activities Coordinator. The addition of the Recreation Coordinator position will
address the need of creating and developing recreational programs in the parks system, enhancing the Parks and open space as a resource for the entire community.
 
Director of Community Services, James McGrath, will serve in the new role as Open Space & Natural Resources Program Manager. In this position, McGrath will focus solely on shaping the long-term goals of the City’s open space and natural resources and identify and pursue grant and other funding opportunities to help meet those goals.
 
Day-to-day maintenance of the parks will be overseen by the Grounds Maintenance Superintendent Anthony Stracuzzi. Stracuzzi will now report to Ernie Fortini, Director of Building Maintenance. This change will result in the combining of resources under the Department of Building Maintenance to make services more efficient and more flexible to address maintenance needs in the parks and beyond.
 
“We continue to identify and move forward with ways to make taxpayer dollars go farther,” said Mayor Ruberto. “Open space and recreation are important economic drivers for us in the heart of the Berkshires, and we need to do everything possible to increase recreational opportunities now and into the future. Our Parks Commission, our
residents, and our children are asking us to increase our focus on the quality and number of recreational activities. This organization change will improve our ability to meet the current and future needs of the Pittsfield community.”
 
The plan was approved by the Personnel Review Board on March 13th and will be considered by the City Council at its next meeting on April 24th.
 
Chairman of the Parks Commission Charles Garivaltis voiced his support for the restructuring plan.
 
This is definitely a step in the right direction and the young people of Pittsfield will be the direct beneficiaries of this,” said Garivaltis. “There will be a greater focus on Park maintenance, which clearly needs to be a high priority.”
 
The plan will be fully implemented in the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007.

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