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