Five easy steps to a chemical-free lawn
By Jamie Cahillane, Director of Recycling Services at CET

If lawns were classified as a crop, they would constitute the fifth largest crop in this country, following corn, soybeans, wheat and hay.  Per year, Americans apply more than 80 million pounds of chemical products to lawns and gardens. Pesticides are poisonous and are not necessary for a beautiful lawn.

Pesticides and weed killers have been associated with birth defects, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, male infertility and immune disorders.  Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxicity of pesticides.  Even when these chemicals are applied outdoors, they come inside via shoes, paws and air currents.  Once indoors, they linger for months.  Pesticides contaminate water supplies and harm birds, butterflies and other creatures. They interfere with natural pest control. 

Here are five easy tips to a beautiful, chemical-free lawn:

Tip One:  Allow your grass to grow taller. The longer the blade, the deeper the roots, the stronger the grass! Strong grass is more resilient against weeds, disease and drought. Let your lawn do the work of choking out those weeds. 

Tip Two: Lawns only need one inch of rain a week.  During dry spells, let your lawn enter a period of natural dormancy and cut back on mowing. Your beautiful chemical-free green lawn will return when the rain does. 

Tip Three:  Leave grass clippings where they fall.  Grass clippings can supply up to 50% of the nitrogen needed by a lawn.  They naturally fertilize and add valuable nutrients to the soil.  Also people should get a soil test to determine if pH is proper and to identify any nutrient deficiencies.  Fall fertilizing to correct for missing nutrients is best.

Tip Four:  Remove weeds by hand with a paring knife.  You can also try corn gluten to stop the spread of broadleaf weeds – it won’t kill them, but will stop new ones from germinating.

Tip Five:  Reduce the size of your lawn by letting some of it turn to meadow.  Meadows are more diverse and so better support natural predators of pests.   Also, expand your gardens or xeriscape – a water wise garden – more paths, patios, flower beds, ground covers (including meadow) can all replace lawn.

Make the move to a non-toxic, less costly yet still beautiful lawn that you can feel good about. Don’t stress about having the perfect lawn - learn to tolerate a few weeds.  For more information, visit www.cetonline.org.
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Draft WaterSense New Homes Specification Released
(from Water Headlines for May 27, 2008, a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water)

On Thursday, May 22 the WaterSense program announced a draft specification for water-efficient single-family new homes that provides the criteria new homes will need to meet to be certified and labeled under the WaterSense program. The specification is designed to ensure not only sustainable, efficient water use but also a high level of user performance satisfaction.

"The WaterSense New Homes specification is family friendly and climate-ready," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "Homeowners will save water, money, and energy and communities will have an important new tool for sustainable growth and water efficiency. It's a great example of WaterSense and Energy Star joining forces to help homebuyers save and communities respond to climate change."

WaterSense labeled new homes will combine WaterSense labeled products with other water-efficient fixtures and practices to reduce the amount of water used by approximately 20 percent. The draft specification establishes criteria for water-efficient new homes. Homes must meet criteria in three areas: indoor water use, outdoor water use and homeowner education. Third-party inspectors will certify that homes meet all of the required criteria. Homes meeting all the criteria will be given a WaterSense label.

EPA is inviting all interested parties to provide comments during the 60 day comment period which ends on July 21, 2008. Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this draft specification to watersense-newhomes@erg.com. (Please note, all comments become part of the public record.) EPA will also be conducting an online meeting on June 18, 2008 to discuss the draft specification. To register for the meeting, please fill out and submit the Water-Efficient Single-Family New Home Public Meeting Registration Form by June 10, 2008. For more detailed information and to obtain a copy of the draft specification for water-efficient single-family new homes, please visit EPA's website . If you have questions about the draft specification for water-efficient single-family new homes or joining WaterSense, please contact the WaterSense Helpline at (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) or e-mail watersense@erg.com.
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Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems Established
(from Water Headlines for May 27, 2008, a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water)

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles, established a national Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems on May 20th. "By sharing experiences and tools, EPA managers of these vast, but fragile ecosystems can accelerate environmental progress and strengthen needed partnerships," said Grumbles. The new council, made up of the director of each of ten existing large aquatic ecosystem programs and other senior managers, will work to support implementation of these ecosystem programs, facilitate communication among them, and improve links to core programs, budget and strategic planning processes, and research planning. The aquatic ecosystem programs included on the council are: the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, South Florida, Lake Champlain, Puget Sound, Columbia River, San Francisco Bay, and Pacific Islands. More information about the council is available here (pdf).
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U.S. Botanic Garden's Summer Exhibit, One Planet - Ours!, Focuses on Sustainability for the 22nd Century
(from Water Headlines for May 27, 2008, a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water)

Opening Memorial Day week-end and running through Columbus Day on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States Botanic Garden's summer exhibition focuses on "sustainability" and demonstrates ways that each of us and our communities can live for tomorrow, as well as for today. Organizations from around the country are participating in this exhibit. EPA helped develop display panels on Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Development that are inside the Conservatory building as well as a number of displays in the outside adjacent gardens. EPA's Greenscaping Program has a display near the entrance to the Conservatory building which includes a rain barrel, composting bin, pervious pavement and other green practices. EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds collaborated with Penn State University's Department to build a demonstration green roof at eye-level. More than 40 exhibits on different aspects of sustainability are on display. The U.S. Botanic Garden's exhibi t, One Planet - Ours!, opened May 24 and will remain on display through October 13, 2008. The U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory is located at 100 Maryland Ave., SW on the west side of the U.S. Capitol. The closest Metrorail stop is Capitol South. For more information on this exhibit, click here.
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Help Make Sure Your Senators Vote For Real Global Warming Solutions
(from Clean Water Action)

We need to make sure that next week's vote in Congress is about solving global warming and America's energy future-but there's only one way that can happen.

Your Senators need to hear from you.

There will be just one chance this year to get it right on global warming and clean energy and that will come Monday and Tuesday next week when the proposed Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act comes up for a vote. Please send a message to your Senators today urging them to support strong reductions in line with the science of global warming.

The United States needs policies that solve the problem, not taxpayer handouts to costly nuclear power plant owners and coal companies. Ask your Senators to instead support climate solutions that get the job done fast, safely and efficiently.

The science is clear: deep reductions of global warming pollution are needed to avoid severe impacts of global warming including floods, drought, and threats to water resources.

The solution is clear: we can stop global warming and boost our economy by taking bold action now to build a clean, efficient and renewable energy future for our nation.

A recently released peer-reviewed study by more than 50 independent scientific experts shows that if global warming goes unchecked, by late this century, summers in places like Massachusetts could resemble sweltering summers today in Georgia.

Take action now: Send a message to your Senators and tell them we need real change to solve global warming.

The Solutions Are Here!

We need to make the reductions that science tells us are needed while rejecting handouts to polluters and subsidies for dirty and expensive technologies like coal and nuclear power.

Clean Water Action supports:

• Science-based pollution reductions of at least 80% by 2050 which is needed to avoid the worst effects of global warming
• Reductions in global warming pollution from all sectors
• Making polluters pay for each ton of their pollution
• Protecting consumers by reinvesting proceeds from the sale of pollution allowances to benefit consumers. Money should go to hasten the adoption of global warming solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.
• Helping disadvantaged communities through investments in new "green-collar" jobs and protection from any impacts of global warming that are no longer avoidable.

Urge your Senators to vote to support strong legislation on global warming!
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MassWildlife Advisory

WHO: MassWildlife and Headstart Turtle Partners

WHAT: Headstarted Endangered Turtles Gathered, Marked and Released

WHEN: Friday, May 30, 2008—Over 150 Turtles Gathered at  MassWildlife, Westboro for weighing and marking

Monday, June 2, 2008—Turtle Release in Middleboro 10:30 AM. Media and interested citizens invited to assist biologists release turtles.

BACKGROUND: Hatchling Northern Red-bellied Cooters (turtles) were removed from the wild last fall and placed with partnering educational and scientific facilities from across the state to accelerate growth and reduce mortality during a turtle’s first year of life. Raised in warm aquarium environments with unlimited food, these turtles grow quickly and are no longer as vulnerable to predation when released the following year.  The process is called “Headstarting”.  Cooperating partners will be bringing approximately 150 headstarted turtles to MassWildlife’s Field Headquarters in Westboro for final weighing, measuring and shell marking. Release will take place at Great Quittacas and Pocksha Ponds in Middleboro on Monday, June 2 at 10:30 AM.  

Originally, known as the Plymouth Red-belly turtle, Northern Red-bellied Cooters are classified as endangered species at both the state and federal level.  These turtles are Massachusett’s second largest freshwater turtle, behind the snapper, measuring up to 12 inches in shell length and reaching weights of up to 10 pounds.  They are only found in the Plymouth County region of southeastern Massachusetts, completely isolated from other populations found in the mid-Atlantic states.  They are named for their coral-red plastron (underbelly of shell).

Only a few hundred adult red-bellied cooters were believed to exist in the Commonwealth in 1984.  Low survival rates of eggs and hatchlings are a factor limiting the species’ population.  Turtle nests are plundered by scavenging raccoons and skunks, while quarter-sized hatchlings emerging in late summer face a gauntlet of predators such as fish, frogs and wading birds, not to mention ever-encroaching residential development complete with kids, pets and cars, all of which spell death for the tiny reptiles.

Habitat management efforts have been initiated with area landowners on lakes and ponds where turtle nests have been located and protected.  Over 2,000 turtles have been released through the Headstart program since it’s inception since the mid-1980’s.  At least three headstarted turtles are known to have nested in this time period.

DIRECTIONS TO RELEASE SITE IN MIDDLEBOROUGH

Long Point Road, Middleborough: From Rte 495 take Exit 4 for Rte 105 south. Follow 105 through Lakeville center and past Assawompsett Pond on left and stay straight when Rte 18 turns to the right.  Take left on Long Point Road and follow across causeway between Pocksha and Great Quittacas ponds to meeting/release site.

CONTACT: Friday, May 30-Tom French, Marion Larson 508-389-6300;

Monday June 2 Peter Mirick, Marion Larson 978-807-3517

LINK TO COOTER FACT SHEET-- http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/species_info/nhfacts/pseudemys_rubriventris.pdf

Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield Ma - Scott Jervas, sjervas@berkshiremuseum.org is one of the 2008 TURTLE COOPERATORS: www.mass.gov/masswildlife
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Ipswich River Restoration Program Coordinator

The Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA, http://www.ipswichriver.org) seeks a Coordinator for the Ipswich River Restoration Program. The restoration program includes a variety of activities designed to restore healthy instream flow and aquatic habitat, and improve water quality. Projects focus on water conservation and reuse, Greenscapes (environmentally-friendly landscaping), water-wise communities, low-impact development and physical restoration.

Kerry Mackin, Executive Director
kmackin@ipswichriver.org
Ipswich River Watershed Association
PO Box 576 , Ipswich , MA 01938
978-412-8200
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Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America: A New Report from the Brookings Institution
(from the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance's Citizen Action Network Special Bulletin)

Report answers question: What is our local carbon footprint?

Residents of Massachusetts ’ four metro areas contribute less per person to global warming than the average American, but  there is still much room for improvement. Key strategies include more effective public transportation, walkable cities and towns, and improving energy efficiency of older homes.

Residents of Massachusetts ’ four metropolitan areas emit less greenhouse gases per person than the average American yet perform poorly in certain areas such as residential fuel use and transportation trends, according to a first-of-its kind report from the Brookings Institution that ranked 100 of the nation’s metro areas on carbon emissions.

According to the study, entitled Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America, the average resident in metropolitan Boston emitted 2.02 tons of carbon from highway transportation and residential energy in 2005 (rank 20th out of 100). This compares with 2.24 tons of carbon emitted by the average 100-metro resident and 2.60 tons of carbon emitted by the average American from transportation and residential energy—10% and 22% less carbon respectively.

Providence, Springfield and Worcester, while still beating the national average, didn’t fare as well when compared to other metro areas nationally, emitting 2.37, 2.45 and 2.52 tons of carbon per resident respectively, figures which are over the per capita average for the 100 metropolitan areas. Also, while Boston and Worcester showed modest per capita reductions in emissions from energy use from 2000 to 2005, all four metro areas are trending the wrong way on transportation emissions.

“In general, our cities are fortunate to have a legacy of being compact, livable cities that allow residents to produce a smaller carbon footprint than those in some of the nation’s other cities,” said André Leroux, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance.  “However, the trend in our personal automobile use could well offset that if we don’t work harder to provide better public transportation and more walkable neighborhoods closer to jobs.”

According to the Boston Indicators Project coordinated by the Boston Foundation in partnership with the City of Boston and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (www.tbf.org/indicators2004), the number of registered cars rose by 29.7% in Metro Boston, and by 37.4% in Massachusetts  between 1990 and 2004. Furthermore, growth in vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) in Metro Boston and statewide has continued to increase faster than the growth in population.

Leroux noted that in addition to helping the environment, an improved public transportation network coupled with more convenient housing options are critical ways to help more local residents avoid high gas prices and long commutes. “Walkable communities are good for your wallet as well as the environment.”

Making our homes more energy efficient, André added, can also have a huge positive impact.  Our older housing stock and long winters put Massachusetts cities near the bottom in terms of carbon emissions from residential fuel use.

Leroux says that the report has a number of implications for Massachusetts :

• Sprawling development patterns contribute to global warming.
• The Commonwealth should reform state zoning laws to encourage the development of walkable neighborhoods in our cities and towns.
• The Legislature should complete its work on comprehensive energy legislation before the end of the session and include strong provisions to help homeowners make the state’s older housing stock more energy efficient.
• It underscores the need for a new urban agenda in the state to make our cities—especially our smaller cities that have suffered through difficult times—more attractive and competitive regionally.  Actions could include: improving our schools, rehabbing historic structures, eliminating pockets of blight, access to quality housing at reasonable cost, and investment in urban parks.
• We need to maintain existing transportation infrastructure and increase investment in expanding transportation choices.  The goal is to improve mobility, not restrict it, and increase our options for getting around, such as walking to a park or a school, making it possible to take a bike to work, and offering bus and rail service that is pleasant, clean and reliable.

The report found that residents of the largest metros have a smaller per-person carbon footprint than citizens in the nation as a whole. Although carbon emissions from urban centers continue to climb, the carbon footprint of someone living in a large metro area is 14 percent smaller than the average American’s and, in recent years, has expanded by only half as much.

The academic researchers also found that regions with a more-compact geographic footprint and rail transit offer a more energy and carbon efficient lifestyle than more sprawling, automobile-dependent areas. 

The 100 largest metros emit only 56 percent of the U.S. transportation and residential carbon emissions while housing 65 percent of the nation’s population and producing 76 percent of the nation’s economic output.

“These findings dramatically illustrate that the way in which we build our cities, and supply transportation and power to them, has an enormous role to play not just in reducing our carbon footprint, but also in the health and sustainability of our economy,” said Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

The Brookings report quantifies the most significant sources of carbon emitted by the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in 2000 and 2005.  Those sources are fuels burned by vehicles (personal and freight) and the energy used in residential buildings.  The per capita figures for metro residents do not include emissions from commercial buildings and industry.

In recent years, state and local governments have taken steps to improve energy efficiency and curb carbon emissions.  The federal government, however, has been slower-moving, the Brookings report contends. Federal funding formulas favor highway construction over rapid transit and federal policy fails to promote energy efficiency in its housing policies.

 “While many metro areas are taking the lead on climate action, they will be hard pressed to shrink their carbon footprints in the absence of supportive federal policies,” added Mark Muro, policy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program and the co-author of a forthcoming Brookings policy agenda to be issued as part of the institution’s Blueprint for American Prosperity, a multi-year initiative to promote metro-friendly federal policy stances.

“Metros can’t go it alone in solving as vast a problem as global climate change,” Muro said.

In June, the U.S. Senate may vote on federal climate change legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman and John Warner, which caps carbon emissions. The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance is part of a national coalition to support incentives in this bill to help make communities more walkable and provide greater transportation choices.

The Full Brookings Institution report can be accessed at: http://www.brookings.edu/metro/CarbonFootprint.aspx
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