California Green Solutions

This blog has been forwarded to my main website, CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com in order to keep all info in one spot. I'll be transferring these articles to the website... eventually :-) Carolyn

Petitions to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Under Clean Water Act in California

For Immediate Release, February 28, 2007
CONTACT: Miyoko Sakashita, (415) 436-9682 x 308
Conservation Group Petitions to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Under Clean Water Act

Ocean Acidification From Carbon Dioxide Emissions Threatens Marine Life

SAN FRANCISCO— Today the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the state of California to regulate carbon dioxide pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. The petition marks the first step towards regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, cement kilns, oil refineries, and other industrial sources due to the adverse effects of carbon dioxide pollution on the ocean.

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas, and not only contributes to global warming but also causes ocean acidification. The ocean absorbs CO2, which reacts with seawater to make it more acidic—thus altering the chemical composition of the ocean. Approximately half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning and cement production over the past 200 years has been absorbed by the oceans.

Carbon dioxide pollution has already lowered average ocean pH by 0.11 units, with a pH change of 0.5 units projected by the end of the century under current emission trajectories. These changes are likely to have devastating impacts on the entire ocean ecosystem.

The primary known impact of acidification is impairment of calcification, the process whereby animals such as corals, crabs, abalone, oysters, and sea urchins make shells and skeletons. Many species of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which form the basis of the marine food web, are also particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. Laboratory studies have shown that at carbon dioxide concentrations likely to occur in the ocean in the next few decades, the shells of many marine species dissolve, killing the organisms. Absent significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification will accelerate, likely ultimately leading to the collapse of oceanic food webs and catastrophic impacts on the global environment.

“Ocean acidification is as grave a threat to the health of our planet as global warming,” said Miyoko Sakashita, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity who specializes in ocean issues. “Fortunately, the Clean Water Act provides the tools to regulate carbon dioxide pollution, which will help address not only ocean acidification but also global warming.”

While the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration has taken the position that carbon dioxide cannot be regulated as a “pollutant” under the Clear Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency already lists pH as a “pollutant” in its Clean Water Act regulations. Because CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, lowering the pH of seawater, carbon dioxide emissions therefore can and must be regulated under the Act.

Today’s petitions, submitted to California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards, seek the listing of all ocean waters under the jurisdiction of the state as “impaired” due to the lowering of pH from the absorption of carbon dioxide pollution. Under the Clean Water Act, states must create a list of water bodies that are being degraded or not attaining water-quality standards and set limits on the input of pollutants into these bodies of water to prevent further degradation. In this case, the Clean Water Act would require limits on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to ocean acidification.

“Until Congress passes legislation explicitly aimed at substantially reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the Clean Water Act is very likely the best legal mechanism for curtailing these emissions that are destroying our oceans as well as our atmosphere,” said Sakashita.

The Center for Biological Diversity will shortly be submitting similar petitions to all other states that have jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act over ocean waters. Legal action under the Clean Water Act is also being prepared against some of the nation’s largest carbon dioxide emitters for polluting activities that are contributing to ocean acidification.

A copy of the petition and other information on ocean acidification can be found at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/marine/acidification.html.

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The Center for Biological Diversity is a national conservation organization with more than 32,000 members nationwide dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild places.

New Water Supply Coalition pushes for water supply infrastructure

Advocates for new water supplies nationwide have come together to form the New Water Supply Coalition to push for expanded federal support for water supply infrastructure. The Washington DC-based coalition of public water agencies and water industry companies will seek congressional support for the development of new water supply projects nationwide including water recycling, seawater and brackish groundwater desalination and groundwater reclamation projects.

The New Water Supply Coalition is an expanded organization that grew from the U.S. Desalination Coalition (www.usdesal.org), formed in 2002, to seek federal funding for the construction of seawater and brackish groundwater desalination projects. The U.S. Desalination Coalition has several major public water agency members from Florida, Texas and California. The U.S. Desalination Coalition raised congressional awareness of the nation’s looming water supply crisis and successfully sought the introduction of legislation in the 109th Congress that would have provided $200 million in funding for desalination projects.

“Our growing national population and the challenges posed by climate change make the development of new water supplies a critical priority for our nation,” said Hal Furman, Executive Director of the New Water Supply Coalition. “We have the technology to develop new water supplies if it becomes a national priority, but time is of the essence.”

Current members of the Coalition include:
∑ American Water
∑ Eastern Municipal Water District (CA)
∑ El Dorado Irrigation District (CA)
∑ Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
∑ Honolulu Board of Water Supply
∑ JEA – Jacksonville, FL
∑ Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
∑ San Diego County Water Authority
∑ San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (CA)
∑ ST. John’s River Water Management District (FL)
∑ South Florida Water Management District
∑ Southwest Florida Water Management District
∑ Texas Water Conservation Association
∑ West Basin Municipal Water District (CA)

The New Water Supply Coalition is currently drafting new legislation that would authorize public water supply agencies to issue tax credit bonds to help finance construction of new water supply infrastructure. Eligible projects under the program envisioned by the Coalition would include: coastal seawater and inland brackish groundwater desalination plants, water recycling projects, and groundwater contamination clean-up projects that create new water supplies. The Coalition will be seeking congressional sponsors to introduce this legislation in the 110th Congress now in session.
For more information about the New Water Supply Coalition visit www.newwatersupply.org.

A study finds climate change will further reduce Colorado River flows.

Global warming will worsen drought and reduce flows on the Colorado River, a key water source for Southern California and six other Western states.

The study, prepared by a National Research Council committee, paints a sobering picture of the future as the water needs of a rapidly expanding population test the limits of a river system further strained by the effects of climate change.

The authors concluded that there was no easy solution. Such measures as conservation, desalination and water recycling will all help, they said, but won't offer a panacea.

The report, which examined climate modeling and tree-ring data, reaffirms a more pessimistic assessment of river hydrology that has emerged in recent years.

Scientists have concluded that historically the Colorado River system, which supplies water to 25 million people and several million acres of crop and ranch land, has been drier and more prone to severe drought than was the case in the early 20th century, when the river's flows were divvied up among the seven states in the basin.

That period, it turns out, was unusually wet, prompting an overly generous estimate of how much water would be available to farms and cities. Ancient tree rings, which provide graphic evidence of past precipitation patterns, indicate it had been three centuries since the basin was last awash in that much water.

Orange County begins desalting system

The Irvine Ranch Water System
is beginning a project to remove naturally occurring salts and any residue of agriculture fertilizers – nitrates – in an area mostly north and west of the old El Toro Marine Corps base.

The desalter project uses five wells to pass the water through a series of filters to remove any salts and nitrates. It will provide enough water to serve 50,000 people.

Every year, the desalter system will process enough water to cover a soccer field a mile deep. The well holes are 12 to 16 inches in diameter and will draw water from depths of 180 to 1,015 feet in a water-laden zone of sand and rock. Once the water is processed, it will be piped into the district’s drinking water purification system.

The project will continue until the salt and nitrate levels in the groundwater meet state and federal standards.

The desalter project parallels a Navy project on the old air base to remove solvent that was used to clean aircraft parts and has polluted a plume of groundwater.

Once that water is cleaned, it will be recycled and used for landscaping and toilets in office buildings. None of that water is to be used for drinking. The Navy project is expected to take 30 years. The desalter project may take longer,

AltBuild Building materials and design expo - May 18-19

Alt Build Alternative building materials & Design expo


Over 100 exhibits will feature manufacturers of green building materials, landscape and water conservation products, retailers, interior design products & furnishings, utility companies, non-profit organizations and city and state agencies.

Free admission
Free seminars throughout the day.
Friday, May 18th and Saturday, May 19
Santa Monica Air Center - Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Food Contamination Incidents Mushroom

Food supply...

One of California's major industries is food production, so is important to monitor the state of the business. Sustainable practices apply to food production, and are critical to our health and well being. Daily decisions must be made that honor quality, regional production, and green distribution.

IN THE SPACE OF EIGHT days, peanut butter, fresh cantaloupe, baby food, chicken strips and now mushrooms have all been recalled because of suspected or actual contamination. A call to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was unreturned.

BJ's Wholesale Club announced a voluntary recall of its prepackaged, private-label brand "Wellsley Farms" mushrooms yesterday after testing turned up possible trace amounts of E. coli bacteria. In a news release, the company said it had received no reports of illness, and recalled them as a precaution.

On Monday, Kraft Foods recalled its Oscar Mayer grilled chicken breast strips after it was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis, a rare but serious infection. There have been no reported cases of illness linked to the chicken. Kraft is advising consumers via a news release to return products with a "Best When Used By" date of April 19 for full refund.

Last Friday, Dole recalled cantaloupes that had been imported from Costa Rica, found to contain life-threatening salmonella. No illness was reported. Also on Friday, Hain recalled jars of Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast baby food because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, a life-threatening illness. No contamination or illness has been reported.

On Wednesday of last week, ConAgra recalled Peter Pan peanut butter as well as Wal-Mart's Great Value peanut butter after 300 people in 39 states were sickened by salmonella.

Relatedly, the USDA announced earlier this week that it was implementing the first changes to its meat and poultry plant inspections program in a decade.

Plants with a history of problems will receive greater scrutiny, and conversely, processing plants that have better records of meat and poultry handling will see fewer inspections for contamination from E. coli, salmonella and other germs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are an estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are mild and cause symptoms that last a day or two. Some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, and those with weakened immune systems.

Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit

The Dole Nutrition Institute

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA. – February 21, 2007 – The Dole Nutrition Institute today announced the launch of a Corporate Wellness Toolkit that businesses can use to promote nutritious diets and healthy lifestyles among their employees. The Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit packages components of Dole’s own successful employee wellness program that was implemented in October 2003 at the company’s Westlake Village, CA corporate headquarters. Since its launch, Dole’s employee wellness program has garnered official recognition, earning Dole the California Fit Business Award in the 1,000+-employee category.

“We created the Corporate Wellness Toolkit as a resource for our business partners who want to join the wellness bandwagon but don’t know where to start,” said Marty Ordman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “We offer a co-branded nutrition newsletter, healthy food service recipes, nutrition tip hold music, signage, kiosks, videos and much more.”

Other components of Dole’s employee wellness program include:

Recipes from its “Model Cafeteria,” including fish entrees, vegetarian/vegan selections and healthy desserts.

37 table tents providing health, fitness, and nutrition tips.

Free afternoon crudités plus a vending machine that dispenses a free healthy snack to each employee daily. Dole employees can use the their employee card key to access a variety of healthy choices including juice, raisins, baby carrots, grapes, dates, fruit bowls and other healthy items.

Onsite Yoga, Boot Camp and Strength and Tone fitness classes

Subsidized Personal Trainers.

A state-of-the art fitness room with cardio machines, strength-training equipment and free weights as well as men’s and women’s locker rooms.

Dole Nutrition News, a monthly electronic newsletter containing the latest nutrition research, public policy updates, recipes and diet & fitness advice. Sign up today at www.dolenutrition.com.

Healthy signage encouraging stair use.

Looping atrium videos, produced by the Dole Nutrition Institute, on various relevant health topics.

A “Lunch & Learn” program offers regular seminars on health-related topics ranging from meditation to diabetes to fitness training.

“Junk-Food Free” vending machines are stocked with healthy snack substitutions like nuts, dried fruit, protein bars and baked chips.

According to Ordman, the Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit is another example of the company’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles and the benefits of a nutritious diet. The company also is a founding member of the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program and is a leader in developing technology-based nutrition education programs for children.

For more information about the Dole Employee Wellness program, go to dolenutrition.com.

Dole Food Company, Inc, with 2005 revenues of $5.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

This release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations, are generally identifiable by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends" and similar expressions. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied herein include weather-related phenomena; market responses to industry volume pressures; product and raw materials supplies and pricing; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; economic crises and security risks in developing countries; international conflict; and quotas, tariffs and other governmental actions. Further information on the factors that could affect Dole's financial results is included in its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K.

For more information please contact:

Marty Ordman, VP Marketing & Communications
Dole Food Company
818-874-4834
www.dole.com

US Business Council for Sustainable Development

Mission: Promoting Sustainable Development by Creating Value through Action, Establishing Networks and Partnerships, and by Providing a Voice for Industry.

The US BCSD creates value through:
* Initiatives that foster sustainable development
* Networks and partnerships
* Forums that provide a voice for business

Members
BakerBotts
Baker Hughes
Battelle Pacific NW National Laboratory*
Blasland, Bouck & Lee
Cemex
ConocoPhillips*
Conservation Capital
Cook Composites and Polymers (CCP)
The Dow Chemical Company*
Holcim
Hydrodec
Lafarge
Marathon Oil Co.
RETEC Group
Shell
Temple-Inland*
Thompson & Knight
URS

The US BCSD is supported by member dues and through the Foundation for Sustainable Development; a non-profit corporation dedicated to charitable and educational promotion of sustainable development.

The primary work of the US BCSD is to deliver projects that demonstrate the business value of sustainable development. Projects are member-led and are designed to create value through economic returns and environmental and social benefits. The US BCSD leverages industry resources with matching funds from government, foundation, and partner organizations.

Membership in the US BCSD is by invitation, but any company dedicated to sustainable development is invited to contact us at (512) 892-6411.

...I'm cuious...and the more I read, the more curious I get.

United States Business Council for Sustainable Development
4425 South Mopac, Bldg. II, Suite 202
Austin, Texas 78735
Telephone: (512) 892-6411