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The BEAT
News
November 5, 2008 |
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Follow all the environmental news and events in Berkshire County delivered to your computer weekly.
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Keep perchlorate out of our drinking water
 Nobody wants rocket fuel in their drinking water. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had decided not to regulate perchlorate - an ingredient in rocket fuel. Clean Water Action members can help turn this decision around.
On October 10, the EPA announced its preliminary decision not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. EPA has requested comments from the public before making a final decision. We need to pressure the Administration and the EPA to reverse this finding and regulate perchlorate in drinking water.
The EPA is accepting formal comments on whether it should regulate perchlorate in drinking water. Please take action today. Visit the EPA's web site and tell the Administration to reverse this decision.
Suggested Text
You'll find below some suggested text for your comment form and some facts you can use to customize your letter.
I urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reverse its preliminary determination on setting a regulation for perchlorate in drinking water.
- perchlorate contamination is a nationwide problem and has health impacts at lower levels than previously thought;
- a national primary drinking water regulation would provide a meaningful opportunity to protect public health.
Additional Facts
- Perchlorate is a harmful chemical used in rocket fuel, flares, and explosives.
- Perchlorate, even in small amounts, can impair the thyroid gland, which controls growth, development and metabolism.
- Developing fetuses, infants and children with thyroid impairment may suffer mental retardation, loss of hearing and speech or deficits in motor skills.
- EPA agrees that perchlorate has been found in 395 sites in 37 states, including 153 public water systems serving over 20 million people. Some estimates are even higher.
Take action today: Visit the EPA's web site and tell the Administration to reverse this decision.
Thank you for taking action and helping to protect all of America's waters!
Lynn Thorp
National Campaigns Coordinator
Clean Water Action
BEAT note: Massachusetts DOES regulate perchlorate in drinking water.
From the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection website:
Addressing Perchlorate and Other Emerging Contaminants in Massachusetts
Overview
In July 2006, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to promulgate drinking water and waste site cleanup standards for perchlorate, an emerging contaminant that was previously unregulated by any state or the federal government. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) fully engaged stakeholders in this groundbreaking effort and collaborated with them to develop the new standard of 2 parts per billion (ppb). MassDEP's successful process for addressing perchlorate provided a model for how the agency will address other emerging contaminants that may not be adequately regulated.
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BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag
In case you haven't seen the posters or heard it on the radio, this Saturday, November 8 is Berkshire Bring Your Own Bag Day. On that day there will be a sew-in at the Sheffield Library from 10-2. There will be a limited supply of Peter Fasano's fabric available, but I would recommend that you bring your favorite fabric in case the supply runs out. We'll
supply the patterns (from knapsacks to wooden handle bags) and refreshments. A few spaces are still available, if interested call 528-5377.
It will also be a great day to shop since 77 stores from Sheffield to Lenox (including the prime outlet in Lee) are offering an in-store raffle to customers who have brought in their own reusable bag (or buy one) for their purchase. I¹ve only heard about a few of the prizes and they seemed quite generous (two stellar examples: a wine tote filled with 6 bottles of wine and a free lunch at one of the market)s.
Berkshire Bring Your Own Bag Day continues with free movies at the Triplex on November 9 from 11 to 12:30. Two short eco-spots will be featured along with a powerful documentary from Canada called Battle of the Bags and the 20 minute animated short, The Story of Stuff. The director of Greenpeace USA declared that The Story of Stuff sets a new bar for activism bypassing even Gore¹s An Inconvenient Truth.
I think it'll be a fun and informative week-end. Hope you can join us and please pass this email on to all your friends.
Stephanie Blumenthal
Green For A Change
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Invitation to Exhibit at Clean Energy OPPORTUNITY FAIR - Nov. 22 :: Springfield, MA
Don't miss this chance to exhibit at our region's first GREEN JOBS EVENT!
The Opportunity Fair is part of a full-day Clean Energy Connections conference program that begins at 9:00 am. See list of conference highlights below.
With this special offer, you may receive TWO complimentary admissions with your exhibitor table.
Why Exhibit at Clean Energy Connections?
Employers: Reach the talent you need to build your clean energy business or organization.
Service Providers: Don't miss this opportunity to connect with clients in the clean energy sector.
CEC is advertising heavily to students and professionals seeking career opportunities in clean energy. An eager audience of clients, collaborators, and prospective employees awaits you.
Exhibitor benefits:
- Tabletop space in the Opportunity Fair.
- Receive TWO (2) complimentary full-day registrations for the conference.
- Have your business, organization, or agency listed in the conference notebook.
- Have your attendee identified with an Exhibitor Ribbon on their name badge.
Complete info and registration online www.umass.edu/green or call 413-545-2706
Clean Energy Connections produced by UMass Amherst, but involves many of the individuals and organizations who are working overtime to make the Pioneer Valley an epicenter for green business development. See the full list of sponsors and affiliates online: http://umass.edu/green/sponsorship.html
We hope to see you all there!
Loren Walker
Associate Director, Research Liaison & Development
University of Massachusetts Amherst
tel: 413-577-3725 web: www.umass.edu/research/rld
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From the Boston Globe:
Tees, turtles, and favoritism
A CLOSE FRIEND of President Bush is trying to build a golf course in northwestern Connecticut. Many residents in the towns of Norfolk and North Canaan oppose the 780-acre project, lamenting its effect on the forests, meadows, and trout streams in their corner of the Litchfield Hills. And while a federal agency has concluded that the project would not harm the habitat of a turtle on the government's list of threatened species, opponents suspect - not without reason - that the decision was rushed through while Bush is still in office.
The developer, Roland Betts, knows Bush from his college days and was a co-owner with Bush of the Texas Rangers baseball team. His plan would draw 150,000 gallons a day of groundwater from the highland site. Wildlife biologists are worried that this loss of water, the use of pesticides on the golf course, and the movement of 480,000 cubic yards of soil to create the 18 holes could make Betts's land and surrounding acreage less hospitable to bog turtles. In 1998, a Connecticut state biologist found a female bog turtle on land near, but not on, Betts's property. <more>
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Geothermal energy seminar for small businesses, homes and farms
On Tuesday, November 18, the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) will offer a Geothermal Energy Seminar from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cummington Community House, 33 Main Street, in Cummington. The seminar is for small businesses and institutions, home owners and owners of farms.
Chris Vreeland, a registered professional engineer, will be the featured speaker. 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 alternative energy sources such as geothermal for homes, farms, schools and businesses continues to grow.
Geothermal energy uses buried tubing or wells to harness the earth’s near-constant underground temperature and heat pump technology to warm or cool air for residential, agricultural or industrial uses. This seminar is designed to help participants determine if a geothermal system would be a good fit for their situation.
Attendees will learn the basics of how geothermal, or ground-coupled heating and cooling, works. There will be an overview of technology, system types, siting considerations, distribution methods, space requirements, costs, benefits and payback scenarios, local installers, and energy efficiency measures. Vreeland will also discuss available financial incentives.
Those interested in attending can register with CET by calling Tomasin Whitaker at 413-586-7350 ext. 25, or by sending email to tomasin@cetonline.org.
CET is a non-profit energy and resource conservation organization that has served western Massachusetts for over 30 years. CET receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. CET is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. This workshop is co-sponsored by Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) and Energy Federation, Inc.
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from Massachusetts Congress of Lake and Pond Associations is MACOLAP
MA COLAP 22nd Winter Workshop Call for Papers:
This message is a call for papers.
The 22nd Annual MACOLAP Winter Workshop on Lake and Pond Management and Restoration is scheduled this year for
.January 24,.2009 at Worcester State College, 9-3.
The overall theme for the plenary session and at least one workshop session will focus on Dam Issues, including Beaver Dams, if we can find a speaker.
We would also be interested in speakers for the usual Introduction to Lake and Pond Management Session. We are also planning to repeat the 2-hour mock Con Com session on using the GEIR for lake mangement projects, in which folks from the audience bring their own specific projects to address.
Other topics that our members have expressed interest in this year are Algae, Stormwater Management, Camp Road Erosion, Watershed Protection through various means including Zoning and Watershed Districts, Canada Geese.
Other topics not mentioned above may be possible, especially if they are on timely issues.
Also, we welcome specific suggestions for the Plenary Session topic(s) and speakers.
Please let me know by November 25 if you would like to give a talk. Send title and brief abstract.
Generally, talks are 20-30 minutes, each and concurrent sessions are about an hour.
If you have already agreed to give a talk, please reply with your title (and brief abstract, if possible).
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO FOLKS YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED.
Thanks,
Carol Hildreth,
MACOLAP Winter Workshop Coordinator
135 Washington St
Holliston, MA 01746
PH/Fx 508-429-5085
The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners.
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"Troubling Toll in Thoreau's Backyard"
From the Boston Globe
 An important article in the Tuesday's Globe indicates that due to climate change many of the species around Walden Pond during Thoreau's time are now gone.
"In the 1850s, a few years after he had gone to "live deliberately" in a cabin in the woods at Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau began to compile detailed records on hundreds of species of plants in his beloved Concord. Those same data now are being used to measure the effect of climate change, and the news is not good, researchers said yesterday..."
To read the full article click here or paste the following into your browser:
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 New Land and Water License Plate!
There's an opportunity for you to help fund land conservation in Massachusetts through the purchase of a new license plate for $40 from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (M.E.T.). The proceeds from this plate will create a new segregated fund dedicated to the protection of land and water resources throughout the Commonwealth.
However, the Registry of Motor Vehicles requires that 3,000 plates be pre-ordered with checks sent in advance before they will put this plate into production. Once the 3,000 checks are received, they will ship the plates to the vehicle owner. If the 3,000 plates are not sold in a year, the checks are returned.
Be proactive - click www.masslandandwater.info, print the application, mail it in with your check, and get your friends to do it too. These great-looking license plates (like the Whale and the Brook Trout plates) are M.E.T.'s primary source of revenue. Contact Bill Hinkley at the Massachusetts Environmental Trust at 617.626.1177 or william.hinkley@state.ma.us if you have questions about this exciting program. Write a check today, preserve a wetland tomorrow. And, please feel free to forward this email to anyone in Massachusetts. Thank you!
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| Newly Identified Fungus Implicated in White-Nose Syndrome in Bats: Mysterious Bat Disease Decimates Colonies in the Northeast
A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over 100,000 hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. The findings are published in this week's issue of Science.
(This release, photos, a map, and a podcast can be found in the USGS Newsroom at: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2058.)
The probable cause of these bat deaths has puzzled researchers and resource managers urgently trying to understand why the bats were dying in such unprecedented numbers. Since the winter of 2006-07, bat declines at many surveyed hibernation caves exceeded 75 percent.
The fungus—a white, powdery-looking organism—is commonly found on the muzzles, ears and wings of afflicted dead and dying bats, though researchers have not yet determined that it is the only factor causing bats to die. Most of the bats are also emaciated, and some of them leave their hibernacula—winter caves where they hibernate—to seek food that they will not find in winter.
USGS microbiologist and lead author David Blehert isolated the fungus in April 2008, and identified it as a member of the group Geomyces. The research was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientists in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, and others.
Geomyces are a group of fungi that live in soil, water and air and are capable of growing and reproducing at refrigerator-level temperatures. Although the new fungus is a close genetic relative of known Geomyces, it does not look like a typical member of this group under the microscope. "We found that this fungus had colonized the skin of 90 percent of the bats we analyzed from all the states affected by white-nose syndrome," Blehert said.
Researchers don't know yet if white-nose syndrome emerged because this newly identified fungus was introduced into caves or whether the fungus already existed in caves and began infecting bats after they were already weakened from some other cause. "This fungus may have been recently introduced to bat hibernation caves and, if so, human and animal movements among these caves are causes that need to be considered,"says Blehert. "Data show the occurrence of white-nose syndrome radiating outward from the site of its first appearance, and genetic identity among fungal isolates from distant caves argues for a recent introduction of this microbe. Before the identification of white-nose syndrome, mass mortality events in bats as a result of disease were very rare."
WNS was first seen in New York during the winter of 2006. Since then, populations of cave-hibernating bats have been drastically declining in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Affected species include little brown bats, northern bats, tricolored bats, Indiana bats, small-footed myotis and big brown bats.
Worldwide, bats play critical ecological roles in insect control, plant pollination and seed dissemination, and the decline of North American bat populations would likely have far-reaching ecological consequences, the researchers wrote. They noted that parallels can be drawn between the threat posed by WNS and chytridiomycosis, a lethal fungal skin infection that has recently caused precipitous global amphibian population declines.
"Right now," said Blehert, "we are uncertain about the long-term effects of white-nose syndrome on North American bats, but we are quite concerned about future effects on bat populations wherever environmental conditions are conducive to growth of the fungus. To manage and perhaps halt this disease, we have to first better understand it."
Websites for additional information:
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.
Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.
**** www.usgs.gov ****
Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine Puckett
USGS Office of Communications
2201 NW 40th Terrace
Gainesville, FL 32605-3574
OFFICE PHONE: 352-264-3532
CELL PHONE: 352-275-2639
FAX: 352-374-8080
EMAIL: cpuckett@usgs.gov
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