Our World and Everything in It

 

 

I caught CNN report a national poll about the top 3 things people wanted president-elect Obama to tackle in the New Year.

 

1.  77% of all people polled want something done about national health care.

 

2.  75% of all people polled want something done about the environment.

 

3.  70% of all people want to end the war in Iraq.

 

I’m a little amazed. I’m not running into many of these people who want something done about the environment. Truth is not much can be done if we allow the Bush administration to continue against the environment the way they have been. If Bush is successful at lifting the obstacles to more drilling, mining, and lumbering and those industries move quickly to begin their projects, how will a new president be able to come in and simply put a halt to it?

 

And Bush is moving toward that goal. According to the Wilderness Society, in the past few weeks the Bush administration has:

• Announced plans to lease iconic areas in Utah – including Desolation Canyon and greater Nine Mile Canyon – to the oil and gas industry;
• Released new oilshale plans that could affect up to 2 million acres in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming with this as yet unsafe and unproven technology;
• Made changes to the Endangered Species Act that would all but eliminate protections for fish, wildlife and forests; and
• Proposed to allow clearcut logging in ancient forests in Oregon.

Bush plans to remove critical scientific review of the impact of federal permits on endangered and threatened species. This will weaken the Endangered Species Act even further according to Care2.com’s petition site, which also stated that Bush is:

• Allowing the EPA to ignore unsafe levels of rocket fuel in drinking water that pose a risk to nearly 40 million Americans; and,
• Permitting more uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.

And Earthjustice reports that the fate of U.S. rivers, lakes and streams — and years of Earthjustice legal efforts — hang in the balance next month when the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether mining wastes can be dumped in an Alaska lake. This is bad because it sets a precedent for the mining industry in general to be able to dump what they don’t want/need into bodies of water like streams and rivers.

Clearly this is like a last minute corporate takeover of America. The heck with national forests, critters, birds, and fish in lieu of big dirty business like oil, mining, lumber. When we look at the anti-environmental moves of this exiting administration vs. numbers like 75% for the environment, it’s pretty evident we as citizens haven’t had much of an impact on Bush/Cheney, and waiting for a new president is too late.

 

Contact your legislators, and/or email the White House that we want change for a clean future, that we love our land, national parks, animals, streams, rivers, and lakes. This should be a given for everyone in America, especially our leadership. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year was one of the worst years on record for climate related natural disasters according to (ENS) Environmental News Service. Costs associated with damage were 200 billion dollars and thousands of lives as well.

We’re into a new year with a new president. The ENS article stated: “At the annual UN climate conference set for Copenhagen in December 2009, governments are expected to agree on a treaty to limit climate warming greenhouse gas emissions to follow the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.”

Hopefully, the U.S. will see its way to joining the rest of the world in a combined effort toward climate neutrality, which is “living in a way which produces no net greenhouse gas emissions, achievable by reducing emissions, and using carbon offsets to neutralize the remaining emissions.”

 

We CAN do this.

 

Read the whole article: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-31-03.asp

 

 

First the snow, then a freeze, then rain caused a huuuuuge amount of water overflow in parts of mid Michigan causing sewage treatment plants to discharge into nearby rivers.

 

An unknown volume of untreated sewage went into the Shiawassee River in Chesaning. The overflow lasted 14 hours. Not good.

 

Power problems downed sewage pumps in Millington. Close to 350,000 gallons of raw sewage overflowed from treatment lagoons into Millington Creek.

 

In Saginaw the wastewater was treated but it was in excess of 40 million gallons. That’s a lot of water, and a good thing because all in all over 1 million gallons of sewage spilled in Genesee County over the weekend melt. Anything to dilute the sewage helps. And even though the waste water was treated, unless it is fully treated, bacteria still remains.

 

Makes me wonder how the basically self-regulating, Michigan CAFO (Confined Animal Farm) industry faired? Big open-air lagoons of animal waste, pesticide, blood, etc., ended up where?

 

And what about the rest of the year? According to Mlive.com’s Minority Report:

 

July 21, 2008: Bay City Times: More than 20 million gallons of sewage was discharged to the Saginaw River last week, according to a report from the Saginaw Wastewater Treatment Plant.

 

August 07, 2008: Jackson Citizen Patriot: A mechanical error at a lift station on Riverside Road in Columbia Township caused about 3,891 gallons of sewage to overflow this morning onto the land around the station.

 

August 05, 2008: Muskegon Chronicle: An estimated 140,000 gallons of untreated sewage flowed into Lake Bella Vista late Sunday after a nearby sewage pipe broke, Kent County officials said today.

 

Because Michigan is surrounded by water, we should really be concerned about any and all spillages into our streams, rivers, creeks, and groundwater. There is nothing minor about it.

 

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2008/12/sewage_overflows_run_into_midm.html

 

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/12/more_than_1_million_gallons_of.html

 

 

 

Sorry I didn’t post anything during the holidays, not that there wasn’t a bunch of environmental news, but a glitch kept me from logging onto my website. All is well now, as I hope all is well with everyone. I’m really looking forward to a new year, and a new administration that will further advance the U.S. into green territory with more jobs, and more opportunities to unleash the ingenuity that is America.

 

Anyone from Michigan knows that the UP or Upper Peninsula was once a location for all types of mining. I have a small collection of different types of stones laced with copper and ore from the UP myself. As of late there are only two mining operations left in the UP, but quite possibly not for long.

 

Ever since an owner of a backwoods camp found a sparkling rock while digging for a well in Stephenson, MI six years ago, speculators for companies are exploring more than a dozen areas in the UP for mining precious metals again. The sparkling rock turned out to be zinc discovered from a nearly 2-billion-year-old-rock formation with other precious metals. So much for the faith based idea that the world is simply not that old.

 

On the subject of faith relative to Michigan’s prehistoric history and mining, I’ve read Stephen Collins book, THE “LOST” TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL…FOUND!  Collins is an epigrapher or reader of ancient writings prior to Greco-Roman history, which is as far back in history that the average U.S. student is taught. But ancient writings tell of many powerful and well traveled civilizations like the Phoenicians who were maritime experts and neighbors to Parthia, ruled by the Hebrews, and one of the greatest civilizations to have existed before Greece or Rome.

 

Collins chronicles history as he knows it from ancient writings and parallel to what is revealed in the bible. All of it coincides beautifully. What really caught my attention was the mention of Michigan in relation to the construction of King Solomon’s temple. King Solomon had smelting plants for metal used in his temple. According to Collins, at the same time the temple was under construction, there is evidence that copper mines in Michigan’s UP were completed depleted of copper, but no evidence of any structures in North America using that amount. It was more than likely mined and shipped to Mount Moriah near Jerusalem for the temple’s construction.

 

Solomon’s temple was believed to have been under construction prior to 1000 BC and after the bronze/iron ages with the help of Phoenician labor. Hmmmm. There was no bronze or copper left in the Mediterranean area after the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. It had to come from somewhere else and who not to ship it from somewhere else  but the Phoenicians?

 

Interesting, isn’t it, but I digress? Michigan may have been involved with mining since ancient times but mining is not what it used to be. It is much more invasive than times of yore. Between equipment, extraction, and dumping what is not needed anywhere and everywhere, there are fears that mining in the UP will destroy tourism with tourists looking for peaceful places to ski, hunt and fish. 

 

We also know that all that comes out of a mine like sulfuric acid, and benzene gases are not good for the air, earth, or water. And the process itself is horribly messy, tearing up habitat, and disturbing wildlife. With cuts being made within the DEQ and the EPA, there will be few regulators to oversee the process of more than a dozen new mining ventures.

 

And so the question: “Is there enough precious metals and iron still left to make these new ventures worth the bad consequences of tearing up the UP in all of its wild splendor?” After all, we’re not in the practice of constructing gilded temples any longer.

 

Read more about current plans to mine: http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/U-P-May-See-New-Mining-Boom/4Xd7R-vxaE-emaCe-s8e1w.cspx

 

For info on Stephen Collin’s book that I think everyone of faith should read simply because it’s fascinating facts that actually support biblical history, a very good read: http://www.giveshare.org/israel/lost10tribes.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to WXYZ News today, Governor Granholm signed a bill for $335 million in tax incentives beginning in 2011 thru 2016 that is “designed to make Michigan the center of U.S. efforts to develop high-tech batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.”

 

It was approved 31-3 in the Senate and 94-0 in the House. Finally a green business move that our senate didn’t nix, although I don’t think it was the idea of going green that motivated Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop. It was more about helping the Detroit auto industry. The bill is designed with GM in mind relative to its plug-in hybrid “Volt.” It will ensure that all Volt related activities remain in Michigan.

 

At present there is no large-scale lithium-ion battery manufacturing in the U.S. This just shows how far behind we are on many green fronts. Japan, South Korea, INDIA and CHINA do all the manufacturing. The fact that India and China are ahead of us should be a warning to “catch up” fast.

 

And that’s what Governor Granholm hopes to do now that she has a little cooperation from what looked to be for a long time ”anti-environmental” senate. She hopes Michigan will “become a battery epicenter and draw a piece of an estimated $1 billion investment from the federal government.”

 

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/news/story/Big-Battery-Tax-Credits-Approved/a5JpqyAFz0CjPXBjZnYh1A.cspx.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it’s no surprise that half of the pollution cases that were neglected were oil spills. It also said that certain areas were inundated with unresolved violations like EPA Region 6, to include the states of NM, TX, OK, AK, LA, and Region 8, to include Montana, ND, SD, WY, UT, and CO. Interesting that most of the states are red states isn’t it? Republican support of big oil is coming back to bite them. Dallas reported dozens of oil spill cases that were either on hold or had no follow up for penalties. Denver’s office said they had hundreds of OPA’s (Oil Pollution Act) cases with no further action and a long list of violations no one intends to address. And the Kansas City office said that their “morale plummeted, employees lost hope, and the stress level is overwhelming, at critical levels.”

It was also revealed that the Asst. Secy. for the Army for Civil Works favored corporate lobbyists over scientific determinations of career officials in making Clean Water Act decisions for the Santa Cruz River in Arizona. Another non-surprise. It smacks of the rest of the Bush administration’s anti-environmental�appointments. It’s too bad besides being red states many of these SW states�may not have enough water in the future to sustain the populations of people. To pollute what is there is criminal.

This mess stems from the Supreme Court decision in June of 2006 that ruled for the Rapanos case which states that “federal agencies could assert jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act for many waters only after going through a time-consuming and resource-intensive process of demonstrating a ’significant nexus’ to ‘traditional navigable waters.’�It means�groundwater, small creeks, and streams have a habit of slipping through the cracks for any kind of protection. Michigan’s House and Senate go round and round about Michigan’s groundwater protection. The Great Lakes are protected, but inland it’s another story. A good portion of our groundwater doesn’t fall under jurisdiction for use. So the state’s aren’t protecting it, the feds aren’t protecting it, and this is where the problem lies.

This is a�pretty revealing story about the EPA in the Bush Administration leaving waters unprotected and hiding the mess from the public, while protecting corporate polluters.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-16-02.asp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a draft of new FDA consumer guidelines regarding mercury in fish floating around Capitol Hill that the EPA says it simply will not endorse. The EPA is heads up on this one for a change. They accuse the FDA of being closer to the fishing industry than concern for consumers. The new draft as seen on CNN, states specifically that eating over 12 oz. of fish per week has more advantages than disadvantages for the consumer regardless of mercury content. The EPA questions the science behind this draft.

Pregnant women should play it safe and follow former guidelines for them that limit the consumption of larger fish like albacore tuna to less than 12 oz’s. per week. Mercury poisoning can have adverse affects on the human fetus.

This is an offering by the exiting Bush Administration to the fishing industry. It’s another instance of science being tossed and replaced with ideology hell-bent on helping business regardless of the harm it does to the air, water, earth, animals, plants/trees, and humans.  So consumer beware until we have a real FDA again and agencies that we can hopefully trust.  

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. (HSC) is about to invest $1 billion dollars for expansion of its Thomas Township, Saginaw County manufacturing facility when “lawmakers offered the largest energy tax credit in the state’s history — $300 million to $350 million over 12 years.” The article on mlive.com also said this job will bring “300 full-time positions and the potential of drawing job-producing solar companies to mid-Michigan.” It couldn’t happen at a better time.

This was a hard won battle between Michigan and Tennessee where HSC plans to open a brand new $1.2 billion facility. Over the next few years HSC will funnel an additional $800 million either to Saginaw, MI or Clarksville, TN. So it looks like the competition is still on.

Now there are more jobs in the works. Dow Corning is a major owner of HSC. So HSC has decided to build a facility to manufacture monosilane gas also next to its Thomas Twp. facility. Monosilane is a specialty gas used in manufacturing thin solar cells and liquid crystal displays. 

Construction on all of these projects is to begin immediately because HSC says they are tapped out for production. Their product is bought as quickly as it’s produced. The Thomas Twp. job will bring total employment to more than 1,500 workers by finish in 2011 and at least 800 to 1,200 construction workers will stay on the site until the work is finished. Yesssss!

Maybe now all will have a little more faith in what we environmentalists have been saying all along and that is to let the green companies move forward. Nurture them if we have to. They are bursting to create product, which will boost the economy. GE has been having a hard time keeping up with wind turbine production and now this leading solar corporation says that they can hardly keep up—a good sign that there is possibly a rainbow on the horizon, a green rainbow.

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/business/index.ssf/2008/12/hemlock_semiconductor_splits_i.html

President-elect Obama will have the first eco-friendly inaugural celebration in American history. According to an ENS article, a DC event planning company called Event Emissary will host the Green Ball on January 17, 2009 at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

The co-founder said that so many thousands of people migrating to the area and all the celebrations would have a huge impact on our environment and their “goal is to create an unforgettable evening while treading lightly on the Earth.” Nice.

Every facet of The Green Ball is designed to reduce the impact on the environment. I guess so. From the food/beverages, to the waste like floral arrangements, lighting, to audio-visual productions, all will be used in a way that “minimizes environmental impact, and “[t]hat which cannot be reduced will be offset.” Interesting. It was explained, “”Energy usage will be measured closely and offset through the purchase of wind power credits. Transportation for deliveries to the event, as well as vendor and staff transportation will be offset through the purchase of carbon credits.”

The plan is to bring attention to the environment early on. Event Emissary hopes to lead by example. BRAVO!

www.greeninauguralball.com

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-10-01.asp