BEN - Bama Environmental News

After School Teacher needed immediately for program with conservation, life/environmental science focus. Program takes place at Montevallo Middle School 2:30 to 6:00 M-F with some evening and Sat. hours possible. Pay is $20 per hour. Teaching experience (camps OK) in life/environmental science required, school experience preferred. Please send resume to martha_bains@yahoo.co.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

BEN - August 15, 2010 #333

Some of this edition's "eye-openers":

* Both Gubernatorial candidates to speak at Auntie Litter's Take Pride Statewide Conference

* 88,000 Birmingham Residents Out of Reach of Grocery Stores

* ADEM Gives Out $1.7 Million in Recycling Grants

* Heat Wave Damaging North Alabama Cotton and Corn Crops

Links & Videos

Alabama's Organic Milk

http://www.workingcowsdairy.com

Sequatchie Cove Farm (they will be selling their organic meats in Bham. August 21st Pepper Place

http://sequatchiecovefarm.com

Higher Ground Roasters - The Wilderness Society

http://www.highergroundroasters.com/store1/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=85

News

Long Term Impacts From the Oil Spill Predicted

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/some_say_effects_of_deepwater.html

Transit Needed: 88,000 Birmingham Citizens Out of Reach of Grocery Stores

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/08/many_in_birmingham_live_too_fa.html

ADEM Announces 15 Recycling Grants Totaling $1.7 Million

http://www.adem.state.al.us/newsEvents/pressreleases/2010/RecyclingGrants2010-2.pdf

Chief Ladiga Trail Draws Record Numbers

http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/9057314/article-Chief-Ladiga-Trail-draws-visitors-in-record-numbers?instance=home_news

Heat Wave: Cotton and Corn Withering Away in North Alabama

http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2010/08/local_corn_cotton_crop_witheri.html

Mobile Register Examines Smart Growth

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/smart_growth_is_it_mobiles_fut.html

BEN Calendar

3rd Annual Conference for Litter Prevention – August 18-19 @ Samford /Birmingham Botanical Gardens – Featuring Gubernatorial Candidates Dr. Robert Bentley and Ron Sparks

http://takepridestatewide.org

ARA & AEC Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Series – August 19, 5:30, Birmingham

http://www.alabamarivers.org/events/rivers-alliance-events/wild-and-scenic-film-festival

Green Building Focus – 200 Exhibitors - in Birmingham

http://greenbuildingfocus.com/default.aspx?id=1345

Events at Landmark Park - Dothan in August and September

http://www.landmarkpark.com/pressroom.html

Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama’s Moon Over Three Caves Dance – September 18 in Huntsville.

http://landtrust-hsv.org/moon-over-three-caves-dance-sept-18/

23rd Annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup - September 18th

http://www.alabamacoastalcleanup.com/clean-up.html

Cahaba River Society “Fry- Down” – September 25, 10:00am to 4:00pm

http://www.cahabariversociety.org

Southern Environmental Center's EcoFest 12 - October 7th, 6:00-9:00 at WorkPlay

7th Annual John L. Borom Alabama Coastal Birdfest - October 14-17

http://www.alabamacoastalbirdfest.com/

Sweetwater Brewing Company Raising Monies for Mobile Baykeeper from August to Labor Day

http://www.mobilebaykeeper.org/events/raise-toast-save-coast

Jobs Available

NWF Southeast Regional Representative

https://careers.nwf.org/ext/detail.asp?jobid=nwf2061-525295293

Gulf Coast Regional Coordinator - Waterkeeper Alliance

http://www.saveourgulf.org/updates/career-opportunity-gulf-coast-regional-coordinator-waterkeeper

Monday, August 09, 2010

Bama Environmental News - #332

Bama Environmental News

http://www.BamaNews2.blogspot.com

August 9, 2010 #332

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Note: New Website for Bama Environmental News - http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/

Barefoot Green Ecoscaping

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2010/08/barefoot-green-ecoscaping.html

Opinions

Birmingham News Gulf Oil Spill Commentary by Pat Byington

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2010/08/birmingham-news-gulf-oil-spill.html

Montgomery Advertiser Gulf Oil Spill Commentary by Pat Byington

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2010/07/montgomery-advertiser-commentary-100th.html

Birmingham News Climate/Polar Commentary by UAB’s Dr. James McClintock

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2010/08/viewpoints_why_everybody_shoul.html

News

Coalition of State Environmental Groups Develop ADEM Scorecard

http://www.conservationalabama.org/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={7192725C-48BD-4F1A-90AF-D6C7F7517012}&DE={F7662A03-79A4-4851-B248-99BA49B0BCF5}

Where is the oil? A breakdown with graph from the Mobile Register

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/despite_oil_disappearance_scie.html

Republicans for Environmental Protection has released their latest Environmental Scorecard

http://www.rep.org/scorecard.html

Alabama Forestry Commission Announces New Champion Trees for 2010

http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/pr.aspx?ID=3479&sm=c_1

Forestry Commission Report: Alabama lost 225,000 Forest Acres from 2000-2008

http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/pr.aspx?ID=3409

Legacy Creates the Alabama Gulf Coast Environmental Recovery Fund

http://www.legacyenved.org/index.php/agcerf

Discovery Alabama Wins Emmy

http://lifethegreenway.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-green-way-featured-on-fox-6s-power.html

Videos

WBRC’s Power to Save: Life the Green Way

http://lifethegreenway.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-green-way-featured-on-fox-6s-power.html

Events/Fundraising

Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Hurricane Creekeeper Unite – August 12 @ Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama

http://blackwarriorriver.org/news/tuscaloosa-s-waterkeepers-unite-at-alabama-museum-of-natural-history.html

3^rd Annual Conference for Litter Prevention – August 18-19 @ Samford /Birmingham Botanical Gardens – Featuring Gubernatorial Candidates Dr, Robert Bentley and Ron Sparks

http://takepridestatewide.org

ARA & AEC Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Series – August 19, 5:30, Birmingham

http://www.alabamarivers.org/events/rivers-alliance-events/wild-and-scenic-film-festival

Green Building Focus – 200 Exhibitors - in Birmingham

http://greenbuildingfocus.com/default.aspx?id=1345

Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama’s Moon Over Three Caves Dance – September 18 in Huntsville.

http://landtrust-hsv.org/moon-over-three-caves-dance-sept-18/

Cahaba River Society “Fry- Down” – September 25, 10:00am to 4:00pm

http://www.cahabariversociety.org

AWF and Walmart – Help Raise $100,000 for Nature Education

http://www.alabamawildlife.org/news/?newsID=44

Barefoot Green Ecoscaping

A fellow classmate of mine from Sheffield, Alabama, Glenn DiNella has launched a new eco-friendly lawn and garden service, Barefoot Green Ecoscaping, that addresses several of the environmental problems he’s seen over the last 18 years he’s spent as a landscape supervisor, garden designer, and garden editor for publications such as Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, and most recently a landscape trade magazine entitled Total Landscape Care.

Following is an article by Glenn about his innovative company that has set up shop in Hoover, Alabama. Please check out this informative article, and more importantly, if you are searching for a lawn and garden service that is environmentally sensitive - contact Barefoot Green Ecoscaping at 205/616-2924 or gdinella@charter.net

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You might think that small, gas-power push mower cutting swaths across your yard doesn’t emit a lot of pollution, but when you multiply it by 44 million—the number of gas mowers the EPA estimates are in use in the U.S. —and you have a serious air quality issue, especially in urban areas such as Birmingham that are already struggling. Older mowers are particularly bad for the environment. Bill Becker, the executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies estimates running a typical 3.5 hp gas mower not equipped with a catalytic converter creates as much pollution as driving a newer sedan from Washington D.C. to Boston.

I have a battery-powered push mower that will run for about 2 hours per charge. I admit I have to plug it in and charge it and pay Alabama Power for that, but it’s still producing a lot less air pollution and also less noise pollution than a gas mower. For smaller yards, I even use an old-fashion push reel mower that works great, gives a cleaner cut, and of course emits no pollution and is whisper quiet. Plus it’s great exercise. I have my sights set on purchasing a self-propelled propane-powered push mower that should be available in Alabama this summer. I already own a propane-power string trimmer and think I just purchased the first propane blower in Alabama.

According to the California-based LEHR Company that manufactures a line of propane-power mowers, string trimmers, and blowers, gasoline-fueled lawn equipment produces up to 30 times more hydrocarbons than a typical automobile emits in an hour. Propane equipment is also quieter, which is appealing to many hospitals, doctors’ offices, churches, and retirement homes, as well as average homeowners looking for a little peace and quiet.

Running on propane means equipment lasts longer. The gas/oil mixtures in many string trimmers and blowers turn to sludge and shellac inside your engine when they sit for long periods. Propane does not. Gallon for gallon propane might cost more than gas, but propane burns more efficiently, so it’s more economical. According to Bernardo Herzer, president of LEHR, 30 percent of the fuel from a 2-stroke motor goes out the tailpipe unburned. So people are breathing those particulates and that leads to various health problems, especially for lawn care operators who are using this equipment all day long every day. The 2-stroke models with gas and oil mixed in the tank are loud and have a lot more particulates. Propane equipment uses a 4-stroke engine like a car, where the oil and gas are separate and these models are inherently quieter and burn less oil. Also it doesn’t deplete the ozone. The American Lung Association is teaming up with LEHR because they see the benefits of propane. Herzer reports propane equipment produces 97 percent less particulates and 96 percent less carcinogens than gas. The only negatives I’ve found are propane is not available on every street corner, propane equipment costs a little more because you’re paying for new technology, and you lose a small percentage of horsepower, but for 99 percent of the jobs people are doing that’s insignificant.

The EPA estimates 17 million gallons of gas are spilled every year by people filling up their lawn equipment. Propane is in sealed containers, so there is no evaporation, no spills, and it doesn’t seep into underground aquifers like spilled gas and oil. About 80 percent of propane is produced in the U.S. and another 10-15 percent comes from Canada, so running on propane can reduce our dependency on foreign fuel.

I also offer integrated pest management, organic soil amendments, and organic weed control. There is a preemergent weed control product made from corn gluten I started using that is completely safe for people and pets. We need to think about our kids running around barefoot and rolling on the lawn and what chemicals they’re absorbing and breathing. A lot of veterinarians think lawn chemicals are linked to cancers and other health problems in pets because dogs and cats spend so much time so close to the grass.

I think too many lawn care companies are focused on how fast they can mow, blow, and go, so they don’t want to give up 1 or 2 miles per hour with a propane mower or spend time figuring out the least toxic way to get rid of pests. But I’m focused on doing the work better, not faster. I’m also focused on making the world a better place for our kids—one yard at a time.

To sign up for DiNella’s lawn and garden service, Barefoot Green Ecoscaping, contact him at 205/616-2924 or gdinella@charter.net

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Birmingham News Gulf Oil Spill Commentary

Here is an excerpt from my latest commentary about the Gulf Oil Spill in the Birmingham News.

"One of the questions within Rotary's four-way test, the guiding principles members ask of each other, is: "Will it be beneficial to all concerned?" We need to start developing strategies and solutions that will benefit all the residents of the Gulf and our delicate environment."

Read the entire commentary - here

BEN Publisher Pat Byington

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Montgomery Advertiser Commentary - The 100th Day

Check out my latest op-ed on the Gulf Oil Spill. It was published in the Montgomery Advertiser on the 100th Day of the disaster. Here is an excerpt:

"In some places the effects may not be obvious for a year or two. Because of the toxicity and the oxygen deprivation caused by the spill in the waters right now, whole generations of fish, crabs and shrimp will be impacted this year, next year and beyond. Life in the Gulf as we know it, our estuaries, the beaches and wildlife will change, in some cases disappear altogether. Whole links in the food chain are broken."

Read the entire commentary here

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

BEN - July 27, 2010 #331

Bama Environmental News – BEN

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/

July 27, 2010 #331

Note: New Website for Bama Environmental News - http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/

Opinions

Mobile Register’s Editorial – A Call to Rally Behind Our Coast

http://blog.al.com/times-views/2010/07/editorial_a_call_for_all_of_al.html

Transit in Alabama by Southern Environmental Law Center’s Gil Rogers and Keith Johnston

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2010/07/viewpoints_efficient_transit_i.html

Energy Efficiency and Prisons by Richard Allen, Department of Corrections

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2010/07/viewpoints_energy_deals_may_he.html

LWCF & Fairy Houses by BEN Publisher Pat Byington

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100630/OPINION0101/6290332/Alabama-Voices-Fund-helps-us-all

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2010/07/lwcf-fairy-houses-published-in-shanghai.html

News

Glynn Wilson’s Locust Fork News Journal Archive of BP Oil Spill Articles/Videos

http://blog.locustfork.net/category/bp-oil-spill/page/2/

Daily al.com Oil Spill Articles

http://www.al.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/index.html

AWF Awarded Grant for Migratory Bird Habitat Incentives

http://www.alabamawildlife.org/news/?newsID=43

Forever Wild – Forever Wild has added 535 acres to the Walls of Jericho

http://www.outdooralabama.com/news/release.cfm?ID=824

Huntsville’s Green 13 – Huntsville’s 101 page Sustainability Blueprint

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/move_over_portland_green_13_ta.html

http://www.hsvcity.com/green/final_report.php

Lt. Governor Jim Folsom’s Campaign has pledged to donate a portion of his campaign contributions to plant trees around the state

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114127645302718&ref=mf

Lee County’s TK Davis Justice Center Solar Project

http://sri.auburn.edu/solardata.htm

Little River State Forest in Atmore Threatened Closure

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/future_uncertain_for_little_ri.html

Videos

John Wathen’s Citizen Journalism – The Power of YouTube

http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/p/bp-slick-videos.html

Bioblitz! Conservation Photographers and Big Canoe Creek

http://www.alabamarivers.org/press-room/headlines/big-canoe-creek-bioblitz

Bill Gates Speech on Climate

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010976.html

Country Music Artist Marlee Scott’s Gulf Coast Visit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGf6m7XOr1Y&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=457WBeeVYdw

Events/Fundraising

State of the Bay – July 29^th 5:30pm at the Delta Fish House on the Causeway

http://www.alabamawildlife.org/news/?newsID=44

Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Hurricane Creekeeper Unite – August 12 @ Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama

http://blackwarriorriver.org/news/tuscaloosa-s-waterkeepers-unite-at-alabama-museum-of-natural-history.html

ARA & AEC Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Series – August 19, 5:30, Birmingham

http://www.alabamarivers.org/events/rivers-alliance-events/wild-and-scenic-film-festival

Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama’s Moon Over Three Caves Dance – September 18 in Huntsville.

http://landtrust-hsv.org/moon-over-three-caves-dance-sept-18/

Cahaba River Society “Fry- Down” – September 25, 10:00am to 4:00pm

http://www.cahabariversociety.org

AWF and Walmart – Help Raise $100,000 for Nature Education

http://www.alabamawildlife.org/news/?newsID=44

Sunday, July 25, 2010

LWCF & Fairy Houses - Published in Shanghai Daily

Check out my latest op-ed about LWCF. Here

Monday, April 19, 2010

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Latest Birmingham News Commentary - Earth Day Edition

From the Sunday Birmingham News - April 18, 2010

Written by: Pat Byington

On the grounds of one of the world's largest cathedrals, St. John the Divine Episcopal Cathedral in New York City, is a simple piece of art: seven human-shaped arches, each representing a generation, lined up in a row.

Next to this graceful sculpture is a gray footstone topped by a plaque with this inscription: "In all our deliberations we must be mindful of the impact of our decisions on the SEVEN GENERATIONS to follow ours." -- from the Great Law of the Six Nations of the Iroquois

Most folks count a generation as 20 years, so the total would be 140 years, or two lifetimes.

What a mission statement. When we confront difficult environmental issues, the Great Law of the Six Nations of the Iroquois offers us the best path. And if there were ever a state that should adopt such a law, it would be Alabama, because we have the most to lose.

In 2002, The Nature Conservancy released a report called "States of the Union: Ranking America's Biodiversity." In that report, Alabama was ranked fifth nationally for the most species. Digging deeper into the numbers, Alabama came up first nationally in the number of different kinds of freshwater fish, mussels, snails and turtles. Also, to the dismay of many Louisiana citizens, Alabama ranked first in the number of different kinds of crayfish.

According to the longtime environmental writer and Nature Conservancy staffer Bill Finch, Alabama has played a critical role in maintaining the biological richness of the entire Eastern forest, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico.

For example, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, often described as the most diverse national park, has just more than 100 different tree species and 12 different kinds of oak trees over a 500,000-acre area. In southwestern Alabama's Red Hills near Monroeville, Finch said he has identified more than 130 varieties of trees and 20 kinds of oak trees in an area one-tenth the size of the Smokies.

Finch said it's not hard to find similar diversity in dozens of native forests throughout the state, from the Paint Rock Valley in northeast Alabama near Huntsville, to the forests along the Cahaba River, to the coastal forests along the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.

These Alabama forests have likely played a critical role in nourishing North American forest diversity through hundreds of thousands of years, and they'll likely be called on to share their wealth in the future. Alabama is home to one of nature's largest libraries. We must think in terms of protecting our special places and the environment for "generations."

This year marks my 20th year, a generation, working for groups such as the Alabama Environmental Council, the Wilderness Society, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission and the Forever Wild Board of Trustees. There was one special moment in my memory the Great Law of the Six Nations of the Iroquois -- Seven Generations -- was followed. That was when a very diverse group of people convened in 1992 to write the Forever Wild constitutional amendment.

For nearly 20 years since its passage, Forever Wild has protected more than 200,000 acres across the state and is one of the most successful conservation laws in Alabama's history. More important, even today, that diverse group of people on opposite sides of the political spectrum continues to work together to make Forever Wild succeed for generations to come. On reflection, we were all working together for future generations. Forever.

Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, which is 40 years old Thursday, may have summed it up best when he said on the original Earth Day on April 22, 1970, two generations ago:

"Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures."

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Solar Power in Alabama? Yes!

My sister in-law's house in Seattle

Latest op-ed in the Birmingham News - Solar Power

Friday, March 05, 2010

Mary Burk's Inducted Into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame

"One gave life to many and one found life in the wilderness," the Rev. Henry Parsley, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, said during his invocation at Judson College - talking about the two inductees Midwife Margaret Charles Smith and Mary Burks.

Check out the article about Mary Burk's induction into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in today's Montgomery Advertiser

Here are articles I wrote about Mary shortly after her passing.

http://www.bamanews.com/2007/03/mary-burks.html

http://www.bamanews.com/2008/11/birmingham-news-commentary-11-30-2008.html