The BEAT News
April 4, 2007

BEAT's comments on General Electirc's Corrective Measures Study - 3/30

BEAT submitted comments (pdf) of General Electiric (GE)'s Corrective Measures Study for the Housatonic River.

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News from Bartholomew’s Cobble 
A Property of The Trustees of Reservations

Temporarily unavailable      

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State House News- 'State Approves Cape Wind Environmental  Certificate'
'State environmental officials this morning announced they have  approved the final environmental impact report 
submitted by proponents of the Cape Wind project, a mass of wind turbines planned for Nantucket Sound.  
Environmental Affairs Secretary  Ian Bowles this morning issued the certificate on the project's final report, 
determining that the project  adequately complies with the Massachusetts Environmental  Policy Act. 

Still under a federal environmental review, the  project now moves at the state level to several other  permitting 
agencies, including MassHighway, the Energy  Facilities Siting Board, and local conservation commissions.    

Bowles said the project would reap "overwhelming  environmental benefits," including the annual equivalent of
removing 175,000 cars from the road. The state expects $10  million in mitigation, including $780,000 for restoration
efforts on Bird Island, in Buzzards Bay and $4.22 million  for natural resource, marine habitat, and recreational
purposes in the area. Estimates for bird deaths resulting  from the 130 wind turbines are as high as 260 per year,
Bowles said.'    

A link to Secretary Bowles' Certificate can be found on the  MEPA website:  
http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/secondlevelpages/recentdecisions.htm  

ELM and eleven other organizations supported the approval of  Cape Wind Environmental Impact Report in a letter 
submitted to Secretary Bowles on March 23rd, 2007.  

To download the full comment document on the comments visit  Conservation Law Foundation's website:  
http://clf.org/general/internal.asp?id=939  


From State House News:    MOST LEGISLATORS SIGN ON TO FIGHT PATRICK’S PARKS FUNDING PLAN:  
Gov. Deval Patrick’s parks budget is $10 million short, according  to more than two-thirds of the Legislature, which 
signed a letter  this week to the House and Senate budget committees requesting more  funding. Patrick said he
wants to provide more funding to parks,  but not until the state reforms its system. Sen. Edward Augustus  and 
Rep. Michael Rush circulated the letter. Top legislators have  also criticized Patrick's budget's reliance on new 
revenue.  Eighty-six House members and 23 senators signed the letter. Dated  March 23, the letter painstakingly 
avoids mentioning Patrick's  budget directly, but takes on past underfunding of state forests  and parks. "If allowed 
to deteriorate further we will eventually  feel the ripple effects in lost visitors, lost jobs and lost  dollars. In our 
efforts to solve the 'brain drain' and attract  new businesses to the Commonwealth, we cannot continue to ignore  
the natural and recreational resources in our backyards as part  of the solution," the letter reads. The 109-member 
coalition  wants the Department of Conservation and Recreation to see  $99,490,868 in Fiscal Year 2008 funding.


Upcoming Legislative Hearings    

Monday, April 2nd-- The Green Communities Act of 2007 (H. 3965)—  this is the Speaker’s energy bill that was 
recently filed.  ELM  and other members of the Mass. Climate Coalition will be  testifying urging some changes to the
bill and an increased  emphasis on energy efficiency opportunities.  The bill is  being heard at 10 am in Room A-1 by
the Joint Committee on  Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.  

Wednesday, April 4th—S. 134 (Senator Chandler), An Act Relative  to Brownfields, is being heard at 10 am by the 
Joint Committee  on Community Development and Small Business, Room A-2. This  bill would loosen liability 
protections that were negotiated  when the Brownfields Redevelopment Act was passed in 1998.  ELM is opposed to 
the bill.    

Thursday, April 5th—H. 3757, filed by the Governor, An Act  Regarding the Licensing Requirements for Landlocked 
Filled  Tidelands.  This legislation results from a court decision  related to the Northpoint Development in Cambridge.  
The court  stated that only the legislature, not DEP, has the authority  to exempt landlocked tidelands from the 
chapter 91 licensing  process.  In the Chapter 91 regs promulgated in the early 1990s,  DEP exempted landlocked 
tidelands from Ch. 91; this bill attempts  to retain the status quo.  The bill will be heard by the Natural  Resources 
Committee at 1 pm in Room A-1.

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Pittsfield Makes Country Home Magazine's Top 25 Best Green Cities in America List

To read more visit Country Home's website.

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Volunteer Fundraiser and Office Manager!

Rushing Rivers Institute ( www.RushingRivers.org ) seeks volunteer interested in administrative management of new organization promoting science for protection of rivers and streams. He/she should also serve as a fundraising agent to help secure a resource base for sustainable operations through events and grant writing. Experience, scientific editing and good communication skills preferable. Future employment highly possible. If you want to make a difference, please contact: Piotr@RushingRivers.org or call 413 687 4740.

Thank you,
Piotr

Piotr Parasiewicz
Rushing Rivers Institute
www.RushingRivers.org
tel . 413 687 4740
fax: 208 693 9330

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Representative Smitty Pignatelli Pledges Support for NHESP Funding

The following letter was sent by a coalition of Berkshire County Environmental groups to our legislators on Thursday, March 15, 2007. - Representative Pignatelli responded on Wednesday, March 21, 2007, saying, in part:   "You can count on my support."

The undersigned organizations ask that you restore state funding for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (line 2310-0301) in the amount of $1 million, much of which can be used as match for federal wildlife conservation money.

In the FY2004 budget the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (Heritage) lost all of its state operating funding, which had amounted to around $800,000 a year. It now functions only on a combination of bond money, voluntary donations via state income tax forms, federal funds, and fees for environmental review. The Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) fees only support environmental review staff and not the core program functions of inventory, research, restoration, and conservation planning. These core functions provide the scientific basis for listing and delisting species protected by MESA.

Heritage is one of the key programs within MassWildlife that implements the newly approved state Wildlife Action Plan. The plan, created under a mandate from Congress, proactively identifies the habitats and conservation measures that both rare and common species require to thrive in an attempt to prevent more species from becoming threatened. In order to receive federal funding to implement our Action Plan, the state must match what the federal government is willing to provide. In FY2008 there may be as much as $1.3 million available. State funding for Heritage would provide a dedicated match for this federal money.

Heritage’s mission is to protect the rare species of Massachusetts, their habitats, and the full range of natural community types to conserve the biodiversity of the Commonwealth. Heritage fulfills this mission across the Commonwealth by producing widely used conservation planning tools (e.g. BioMap and Living Waters), providing biological and land conservation expertise to a wide range of state agencies, non-profits, and municipalities, and by identifying and tracking rare species within the Commonwealth. Our organizations rely on the planning tools and biological data produced by Heritage to guide our conservation efforts. Developers use this information to avoid critical wildlife habitat and to make the permitting process easier and more predictable.

We feel that it would be a shame to leave federal money on the table that could help us protect Massachusetts’ wildlife and the habitat in which it lives. The Berkshire Visitor's Bureau recently commissioned a study of visitor impressions of the Berkshires. The study concluded that scenic beauty is a hallmark of the Berkshires which resulted in a change of the Visitor's Bureau marketing campaign to reflect nature. As with elsewhere across the state, the Berkshires is under significant pressure for development. We have a closing window of opportunity to protect the state's most important habitats so that we can retain Massachusetts' natural beauty, natural resources, and the wildlife that depend on those resources. Heritage provides the tools to allow us to make the best conservation decisions possible.

So we ask that you restore funding to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program to a level of $1 million. Thank you.

For more information on the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, go to http://www.nhesp.org/.

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Gore's Legislative Recommendations to the House. By David Roberts, Gristmill, Grist Magazine, March 21, 2007. A summary of his ten legislative recommendations, and a 38-minute video of Gore's opening statement before the House Energy Subcommittee:

1. An immediate "carbon freeze" that would cap U.S. CO2 emissions at current levels, followed by a... 90% reductions by 2050.
2. Start a long-term tax shift to reduce payroll taxes and increase taxes on CO2 emissions.
3. Put aside a portion of carbon tax revenues to help low-income people make the transition.
4. Create a strong international treaty by working toward "de facto compliance with Kyoto" and moving up the start date for Kyoto's successor from 2012 to 2010.
5. Implement a moratorium on construction of new coal-fired power plants that are not compatible with carbon capture and sequestration.
6. Create an "ELECTRANET" -- a smart electricity grid that allows individuals and businesses to feed power back in at prevailing market rates.
7. Raise CAFE standards.
8. Set a date for a ban on incandescent light bulbs.
9. Create "Connie Mae," a carbon-neutral mortgage association, to help defray the upfront costs of energy-efficient building.
10. Have the SEC require disclosure of carbon emissions in corporate reporting, as a relevant "material risk."

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Mercury in Energy-Saving Bulbs Worries Scientists. By Lisa Von Ahn, Reuters, March 28, 2007. "Because [energy-saving bulbs] contain tiny amounts of mercury, [a growing challenge] is getting rid of them when they burn out. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most compact fluorescent bulbs, the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a way to cut energy use. With an estimated 150 million CFLs sold in the United States in 2006 and with Wal-Mart alone hoping to sell 100 million this year, some scientists and environmentalists are worried that most are ending up in garbage dumps... Mercury is probably best-known for its effects on the nervous system... Mercury can also damage the kidneys and liver, and in sufficient quantities can cause death. U.S. regulators, manufacturers and environmentalists note that, because CFLs require less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs, they reduce overall mercury in the atmosphere by cutting emissions from coal-fired power plants. But some of the mercury emitted from landfills is in the form of vaporous methyl-mercury, which can get into the food chain more readily than inorganic elemental mercury released directly from a broken bulb or even coal-fired power plants, according to [U.S. Department of Energy] scientist Steve Lindberg. 'Disposal of any mercury-contaminated material in landfills is absolutely alarming to me,' said Lindberg... To prevent mercury from getting into landfills, the EPA, CFL makers and various organizations advocate recycling. Besides commercial recyclers and some municipal waste collection services, some retailers accept used CFLs."

Climate Crisis Coalition Newsfeed> www.climatecrisiscoalition.org
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

One can sign on for free at our website: www.climatecrisiscoalition.org, (upper right, under News About Climate Change). For back issues visit News Digest Archive.

"When ere wee froggie wakes,
en struggles outa tha muck,
gaspin fer breth,
clingin ta sticks en reeds,
suckin up warm sun,
en at lass calls out ta ‘nother wee froggie,
”Peeeeeep! “,
tiz spring, me thinks,
en time fer fun en frollik.
-Anon."

Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of all ages, the time has come –after a strange and cold winter - for another fun filled cliffhanger of a competition that will limber up your biological clock and test your auditory acuity like none other. It is, of course …THE NINTH ANNUAL HOUSATONIC WATERSHED SPRING PEEPER STAMPEDE.

Again, in this year of 2007, I will treat two important people to luncheon at the famous RED LION INN in Stockbridge:

A. The person who most accurately predicts the date and exact time that spring peepers will first be heard anywhere in the Housatonic watershed in Massachusetts this spring, and.....

B. The first person to actually hear and report spring peepers anywhere in the Housatonic watershed in Massachusetts this spring.

Winners of prior years’ competitions, Rachel Fletcher of Great Barrington; Chris Windram of Housatonic; Sally Underwood-Miller of Stockbridge; Kate Ryan of Monterey; Susan Svirsky of EPA Region One in Boston; Monica Celli de Movellan of East Chatham; Tim Hickey of Stockbridge; Dale Young of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs in Boston; James Miller of Prospect Hill in Stockbridge; Elizabeth “Bambi” Neale of Conti Community School in Pittsfield; MaryBeth Merritt of Great Barrington; Peter Berle of Sky Farm in Stockbridge and numerous runners-up and well-wishers can attest to the veracity of this offer and the festive and sumptuous nature of the mid-day feast at the Red Lion Inn.  So, get with it folks! Put on your thinking caps. Get your entries in. Spring is around the corner. The peepers are nearby, just waiting for warmer weather and rain.

HERE ARE THE RULES (Read carefully, please):

A. Predictors must e-mail their prediction of the DATE and TIME of the first peeping together with their NAME and MAILING ADDRESS to me, Shep Evans, at least 24 hours before the first peepers are heard peeping. My e-mail address is <shepevans@yahoo.com>.

B. Only one prediction entry per person, please, consisting of the predicted DATE and TIME and your NAME and ADDRESS.

C. Hearers must notify me, Shep Evans, by e-mail within 24 hours of first hearing Spring Peepers with the DATE, TIME, PLACE OF HEARING PEEPERS and the NAME OF A WITNESS, plus the HEARER's NAME & ADDRESS. Again, my e-mail address is <shepevans@yahoo.com>.

D. The hearer need not be a resident of our Housatonic Watershed in Massachusetts, but the peepers heard must be peeping here.

E. People reporting hearing peepers, must have an identified witness of the hearing. No exceptions!

F. If the same person wins both the predicting and the hearing (this actually happened once), that winner gets to bring a friend to luncheon.

G. In case of a tie, the judges will invent a run-off to determine the winner.

H. The results will be publicized to all participants, and all entries will be available for inspection, after our luncheon.

J.  Winners of any of the previous three years’ Spring Peeper Stampedes, either predicting or hearing, are not eligible for this years contest. Winners of three prior Spring Peeper Stampedes (any year), either predicting or hearing, are retired from competition. All prior winners will be encouraged to join us for lunch when the time comes.

Good luck, and pray for warm rainy nights!

Shepley W. Evans
P.O. Box 155
Stockbridge, MA 01262
413-528-2909
E-mail: shepevans@yahoo.com

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Japan's Energy Wisdom. Commentary by Renée Loth, The Boston Globe, March 22, 2007.

"An island nation with no domestic oil supply, Japan offers a glimpse into the world's energy future, when oil reserves decline to unsustainable levels and alternatives are the only alternative. Nearly 10 years after the Kyoto global- warming summit meeting, the country still claims a leadership role in reducing carbon emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, Japan's energy consumption as a percentage of gross domestic product is the lowest in the world. The national expression of concern for the earth dovetails nicely with the traditional Japanese reverence for nature (Shintoism sees gods in every mountain, rock, and tree), but in fact Japan has no choice: The country imports almost all its oil and 60 percent of its food. It is self-sufficient only in rice. However, Japan has managed to drive down energy use dramatically without sacrificing the comforts of an affluent society. The per capita consumption of energy in Japan is nearly half that in the United States, but the per capita incomes are roughly the same. So prosperity alone doesn't explain why the United States burns so much more oil... How do they do it? Partly, the Japanese have invented their way out of energy abuse. Hybrid cars from Toyota and Honda are just the most obvious examples. Four of the world's five largest producers of solar panels are Japanese, with Sanyo commanding 24 percent of the market. The government's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) is busy testing thin, flexible solar panels... Businessmen diligently separate their lunch box trash for recycling. Residential recycling is even more intense, with at least 10 sorting categories, including small metal items, bulky refuse, used cloth, and chopsticks. Neighbors frown if the wrong items are in the bins... Gasoline is taxed so that a gallon costs roughly $4.50, and the fast, clean, and relatively inexpensive subways (the basic fare is about $1.50) arrive with military precision. Long-distance travel by the Shinkansen bullet train, though expensive, is almost space age in its efficiency, and easily competes with air travel, especially for business. Can the common consciousness of energy conservation in Japan -- a country where commuters form a silent queue on subway platforms and no one jaywalks -- ever be translated to the United States? Let's hope so. With peak oil production already behind us and global warming an urgent reality, oil consumption is getting costlier all the time. Sooner or later, we are all Japan."

From:
Climate Crisis Coalition Newsfeed
www.climatecrisiscoalition.org
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

One can sign up for the daily newsfeed for free at the website: www.climatecrisiscoalition.org, (upper right, under News About Climate Change). For back issues visit News Digest Archive.

It is unclear whether this is the only opportunity to comment prior to final promulgation or not.  Contacting DCR with questions about the process or timeframe has been suggested.

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Small-scale wind energy workshop for businesses planned                                                                                        

A small-scale wind energy for your home or business workshop will be offered by the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) on Thursday, April 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jiminy Peak Resort in Hancock. Chris Vreeland, a registered professional engineer, will be the featured speaker. Pre-registration is required and a donation of $10 is suggested. 
 
Skyrocketing energy costs and concern about the effects of fossils fuels on our health and environment are leading many businesses and homeowners to conserve and seek local, clean sources of energy.  Interest in small-scale wind systems for homes, farms, schools and businesses in the Berkshires continues to grow.  Grants and tax incentives are available to help offset the cost of investing in wind energy and other renewable technologies.
 
This workshop is designed to help business owners determine if a small-scale wind turbine would be a good fit for their situation.  Attendees will learn the basics about how wind turbines work, the components of a wind energy system, how to determine what size system is needed, whether they have a good site and how to gain additional benefits through energy efficient improvements.
  
Mr. Vreeland will provide an overview of financial incentives available from Massachusetts and the federal government and will summarize a rebate program offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to help homeowners and small businesses pay for renewable energy systems. A representative from Jiminy Peak will also give an overview of plans to construct an on-site wind turbine that will  provide a portion of the resort’s electricity.

Also offered by CET this month:

• Solar Energy for your Home or Business
  Monday, April 30, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
  Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, MA
  Registration at 6:00 pm
  Suggested donation: $10

 
If you are interested in attending, or have questions about the workshop, you are encouraged to pre-register through CET by calling 413-445-4556 ext. 25, or sending email to either cynthiag@cetonline.org or nancyn@cetonline.org.
 
CET is a non-profit energy and resource conservation organization that has served western Massachusetts since 1976.  CET receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.  CET is an equal opportunity service provider.  This workshop is made possible through grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. 

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