BEN - Bama Environmental News

Today, the 5th Annual Green Resource Center (GRCA) for Alabama Green Progress Report is released to the public. The Bama Environmental News (BEN) partnered with GRCA again this year, compiling, authoring and editing this year's report which contains nearly 100 "green" items documenting environmental progress made in 2012.

Please check out this year's report which highlights several major accomplishments, including the passage of the Forever Wild Land Trust Constitutional Amendment, and the RESTORE Act in Congress.

Here is the link to the press release:

GRCA 2012 Green Progress Report Press Release

and the full report:

GRCA 2012 Green Progress Report

Sunday, November 25, 2012

BEN - November 26, 2012 #410

Support BEN and the Green Resources Center for Alabama Green Report - Please Donate Today!
http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2012/11/ben-green-report-2012-appeal.html

*******************************************************************

Check out Green Stories from Alabama and throughout the country @ http://www.thegreenregister.com

(Stories under Blue Hyperlinks) "Follow us on Twitter - @BamaEnviroNews".

*************************************************
BEN Picks

Freshwater Land Trust Seeking Director of Philanthrophy (December 1 deadline)
http://www.aansocial.com/careers/job/development-fundraising/2012-11-05/757?offset=20&cat=23

Weeks Bay Foundation 2012 Christmas Ornament
http://www.weeksbay.org/ornament_2012.html

Hulsey Little River Trust Ornament (Order by November 28th)
http://www.hlrt.org

Birmingham Audubon Society's Christmas Banquet - December 3rd
http://www.birminghamaudubon.org/component/content/article/105

Alabama Clean Water Partnership Conference - December 5th
http://www.cleanwaterpartnership.org/events/?eventID=211&date=12/05/2012

POWER-UP Energy Forum - December 5th at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens
http://www.aeconline.org/power-up

Alabama Master Naturalist Program Series - December 6th at North Shelby County Library
http://www.aces.edu/natural-resources/amn/index.php

News From The Green Register

Samford University Environmental Management Pioneer - Bill Peters
http://thegreenregister.com/samford-university-environmental-management-pioneer/

University of West Alabama First in State to Build Sustainable Apartments
http://thegreenregister.com/university-of-west-alabama-first-to-build-sustainable-on-campus-student-apartments-in-state/

The Power of Parks - Trust for Public Land
http://thegreenregister.com/trust-for-public-land-the-power-of-parks-video/

News Across Alabama

Fort Rucker facility Goes Net Zero
http://www.army.mil/article/91234/Fort_Rucker_facility_goes_Net_Zero_energy/

Birmingham Water Works Headed to Court Over Shepherd Bend Mine
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/post_828.html

City of Montgomery Launches "Grecycle" (Grease Recycling) Campaign
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20121122/NEWS01/311220023

Mobile Area Water and Sewer Launch Used Oil Campaign
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/11/dont_toss_your_used_oil_mawss.html
http://www.itseasytobeungreasy.com/

New Trail Opens in Center Point, Alabama
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/new_trail_park_in_center_point.html

Op-eds, Links, Audio and Videos

Whit Gibbons - Congress and President Need to Consider Biodiversity
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20121112/NEWS/121119954/1218/opinion01?Title=ECOVIEWS-President-Congress-need-to-consider-biodiversity

al.com: Mobile's Fall Colors (slideshow)
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2012/11/mobiles_fantastic_fall_colors.html#incart_river

Locust Fork-Journal: Article and Video from the Alabama Sierra Club Annual Retreat (video)
http://blog.locustfork.net/2012/11/environmentalists-take-heart-at-election-victories-in-2012/

Montgomery Advertiser: State Senator Cam Ward "Solving Alabama's Energy issues Boosts Jobs
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20121116/OPINION0101/311160014/GUEST-COLUMNIST-Cam-Ward-Solving-Alabama-s-energy-issues-boosts-jobs?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|s

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

BEN: November 20, 2012 #409

Support BEN and the Green Resources Center for Alabama Green Report - Please Donate Today!

http://bamanews2.blogspot.com/2012/11/ben-green-report-2012-appeal.html

*******************************************************************

Check out Green Stories from Alabama and throughout the country @ http://www.thegreenregister.com

(Stories under Blue Hyperlinks) "Follow us on Twitter - @BamaEnviroNews".

*************************************************

BEN Picks

Weeks Bay Foundation 2012 Christmas Ornament

http://www.weeksbay.org/ornament_2012.html

Land Trust of North Alabama's 19th Annual Thanksgiving Day Hike - Nov.22nd, 9:00am

http://landtrustnal.org/get-outdoors-with-our-guided-fall-hikes/

Birmingham Audubon Society's Christmas Banquet - December 3rd

http://www.birminghamaudubon.org/component/content/article/105

Alabama Clean Water Partnership Conference - December 5th

http://www.cleanwaterpartnership.org/events/?eventID=211&date=12/05/2012

POWER-UP Energy Forum - December 5th at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens

http://www.aeconline.org/power-up

Alabama Master Naturalist Program Series - December 6th at North Shelby County Library

http://www.aces.edu/natural-resources/amn/index.php

News From The Green Register

The Green Minute: Eco-Friendly War on Cockroaches

http://thegreenregister.com/the-green-minute-waging-eco-friendly-war-on-cockroaches/

Atlanta Commits $200 million in Energy Retrofits

http://thegreenregister.com/atlanta-commits-200-million-in-energy-retrofit-financing/

West Alabama On-Campus Green Buildings

http://thegreenregister.com/university-of-west-alabama-first-in-state-to-build-sustainable-on-campus-student-apartments/

Trust for Public Land - The Power of Parks

http://thegreenregister.com/trust-for-public-land-the-power-of-parks-video/

News Across Alabama

Huntsville Times: Forever Wild Passes with 75% Popular Vote

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/forever_wild_vote.html

Birmingham News: Rep. Sewell Wants More Federal Cleanup in North Birmingham

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/11/congresswoman_wants_to_know_se.html

Recycling Growing in Colbert County

http://timesdaily.com/stories/Colbert-goes-green,198895

Montgomery Advertiser: BP Crimminal Fines Windfall for Gulf States

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20121117/NEWS02/311160036

Mobile Register: Corpse Flowers, Ethereal and Otherworldly, Bloom in Alabama Woods

http://blog.al.com/live/2012/11/corpse_flowers_ethereal_and_ot.html

Op-eds, Links, Audio and Videos

Conservation Alabama - The People Say Yes to Forever Wild

http://www.conservationalabama.org/

Elegant Program: Whooping Cranes on the Move

http://thegreenregister.com/an-elegant-program-whooping-cranes-on-the-move/

Birmingham News: Shepherd's Bend & Drinking Water by Nelson Brooke

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2012/11/big_decision_looms_for_birming.html

Birmingham News: Northern Beltline op-ed by Eva Dillard

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2012/11/the_northern_beltline_and_the.html

Thursday, November 15, 2012

BEN - Green Report 2012 Appeal

Dear BEN Reader:

Once again, this year, the Bama Environmental News is partnering with the Green Resource Center for Alabama (GRCA) to release the Alabama Green Progress Report for 2012. I will be the lead author and in late December 2012, along with the GRCA, we will be holding media events highlighting successful environmental projects throughout the state.

Last year's successful report was 17 pages long and documented over 100 environmental success stories across the state.

Birmingham News

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/12/green_progress_report_highligh.html

Huntsville Times Editorial

http://blog.al.com/times-views/2012/01/a_green_card_for_environmental.html

Tuscaloosa News - Associated Press Story

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20111229/news/111229818

Birmingham News Commentary

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2012/01/viewpoints_we_can_be_environme.html

To enable us to produce this report and hold the media events this December - we need your financial support and help.

Your donation to the Green Resource Center for Alabama, which is tax deductible, will go directly toward producing and promoting the Alabama Green Progress Report 2012.

Here is the link to the Green Resource Center of Alabama's Donation/PayPal page.

http://www.greenalabama.org/?page_id=322

If you feel uncomfortable sending a donation via the internet, you can also mail a donation to the Green Resource Center for Alabama at: 2564 18th Street South, Homewood, Alabama 35209.

I deeply appreciate your support and readership. Please feel free to contact me at pkbyington@aol.com if you have any questions about this important project.

Best wishes,

Pat Byington

Publisher

Bama Environmental News

Friday, October 26, 2012

Forever Wild Commentary in the Birmingham News

Bama Environmental News Publisher & The Green Register Editor Pat Byington

BEN Readers:

Below is my latest commentary that appeared in the Birmingham News yesterday about the Spirit of Forever Wild and why we should vote YES on Forever Wild Amendment One.

Pat Byington
Publisher
Bama Environmental News

Forever Wild brought together people who didn't trust each other at first

"It started with two pieces of paper."

That is how Kathy Stiles Freeland, the first director of The Nature Conservancy of Alabama, described how the Forever Wild program, one of Alabama's most successful conservation programs, achieved its first breakthrough.

In 1991, Republican Governor Guy Hunt and Commissioner of Conservation Jim Martin convened a group of 33 Alabamians to consider creating a new land conservation program for the state.

This was a bold move. Rarely, had a group of such diverse interests assembled in Alabama to talk about conservation and natural resources, let alone consider creating a new program.

Most of the people on the committee didn't trust each other, primarily because they didn't know each other. Every interest group imaginable was present: the hunters and anglers, business interests, various state agencies, the timber industry, ALFA, the environmentalists and even the AEA.

The group's facilitator, chosen by the department of conservation, was Doug Phillips, the host of Discovering Alabama. Phillips set the tone for the first meeting and everything that followed by giving everyone two pieces of paper. On one sheet, Phillips asked the participants to write down their greatest hope for the group and the process. On the second piece of paper, they were to write their biggest fear. Then everyone read their papers to the group, sharing their hopes and fears.

They learned from those scribbling that everyone had the same hopes and fears. Everyone hoped and wanted to do "something special, something great" for Alabama. Everyone feared politics and corruption: the same old, same old in Alabama.

Freeland describes what happened next: "We sat and looked at each other. We had a common bond: the same hopes and fears. And that made us begin to see each other as people, other than an organizational representative and thus, the enemy."

The group continued to gather, meeting at state parks around the state. Martin led the effort, called the meetings in the morning, so many participants had to stay an evening at the state park lodges. This one action helped develop more trust and common ground, among committee members, enabling them to "break bread" together and get outdoors and solely focus on doing something great for Alabama.

The spirit of Forever Wild was emerging.

People stepped up, rolled up their sleeves and started working together.

As director of the Alabama Conservancy at the time, I had a front row seat at the birth of Forever Wild. For example, I witnessed the hard work of Bill Satterfield, former deputy general counsel for the Department of the Interior in the Reagan administration, and an attorney at Balch and Bingham, representing the business community. He drafted and negotiated the Forever Wild legislation with an equally dedicated attorney, Bob Reid, a partner at the Bradley, Arant law firm and avid birder representing the Birmingham Audubon Society. It wasn't an easy process. This kind of effort was unheard of in 1992, but it was the spirit of Forever Wild.

Months later, in the Legislature, Mobile's Republican state Sen. Ann Bedsole worked closely with freshman Anniston Democratic Sen. Doug Ghee, the sponsor of the Forever Wild constitutional amendment in the Senate. There was no inkling of partisan politics. Not one interest group got everything they wanted in the legislation.

Once the legislation passed, it appeared on the November 1992 ballot. Led by Bill Ireland, the Birmingham industrialist, outdoorsman, conservationist and philanthropist, all the groups came together to promote and support the amendment to the general public. Alabama voters approved the Forever Wild constitutional amendment with 83 percent of the popular vote.

For the past 20 years, our hopes have been fulfilled; "something special, something great" happened in Alabama. The Forever Wild program has expanded Alabama's state parks, and created places for the public to hunt, fish, hike and ride horses and bikes.

It has protected forests, rivers and streams providing countless Alabamians with clean water. It has become an economic driver, increasing tourism and jobs in our rural communities, supporting the more than $2.2 billion in money spent on outdoor recreation annually in Alabama. And it has accomplished all of this using no state tax dollars.

The spirit of Forever Wild still lives today. More than 195 organizations from every walk of life, including the same unlikely allies, have once again joined together to support the renewal of Forever Wild. They unanimously recognize we need to continue Forever Wild.

On Nov. 6, unlike the people on that committee convened some two decades ago, you will be given only a single piece of paper -- a ballot. Much like them, you will be asked to write down your greatest hope and fears. And once again, by voting yes for Forever Wild Amendment One, the people of Alabama will do "something special, something great " for Alabama.

Pat Byington of Birmingham is former director of the Alabama Conservancy (now the Alabama Environmental Council) and member of the Forever Wild Board of Trustees (1996-2002). Byington is also editor of The Green Register and publisher of the Bama Environmental News. Email:pkbyington@aol.com

Monday, March 18, 2013

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012