Friday, April 30, 2004

ENN Environmental News Network
E-mail Edition 04/30/2004

Art leaves a positive stamp on the Earth
In the movie Fargo, the police officer's husband was an enthusiastic wildlife painter whose goal was to win recognition in an annual stamp contest.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23122.asp

Company could be penalized after California fuel leak
An energy company could face a fine or criminal penalty after failing to promptly report a diesel oil pipeline spill that polluted hundreds of acres of wetlands near the San Francisco Bay, an official said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23334.asp

Report predicts asthma epidemic from pollution
Poor and minority children are likely to develop asthma at worsening rates due to global warming and air pollution, environment experts predicted Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23340.asp

'Frankenfish' rears ugly head in Maryland, again
Maryland state workers plan to drain a suburban lake after the discovery of the same voracious, "walking" fish that two years ago prompted them to poison a smaller body of water, officials said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23336.asp

Iraq, terror divert focus from environment, says Annan
The Iraq war and terrorism have shoved critical environmental problems like global warming and dwindling natural resources out of the world spotlight, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this week.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23342.asp

Peru to ration water in Lima from May to December
Peru's state water company Sedapal will halt overnight water flow in Lima and the Callao port area starting Saturday until the end of the year because of a drought in the Andes, the company said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23337.asp

South Africa monitors stricken ship off coast
South Africa's marine authorities are closely monitoring a stricken bulk carrier off the Cape coast as fears grow of major environmental damage if the ship sinks.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23338.asp

French firm fined for hazardous waste at Montana plant
The French owners of a defunct Montana phosphorous plant were fined more than $16 million by a federal judge who warned the cleanup must be completed properly.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23343.asp

Inconsistent quality of natural gas raises safety and reliability concerns
It used to be that natural gas producers would strip out traces of propane and butane before piping the desired fuel, pure methane, to power plants and utilities. The impurities were actually worth more than the natural gas itself, so collecting them gave producers a nice side business.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23344.asp

World Bank pledges to nearly double aid to reduce danger of radioactive waste sites in Kyrgyzstan
The World Bank is pledging to nearly double aid to Kyrgyzstan to reduce the danger from radioactive waste sites that could threaten Central Asia's densely populated Fergana Valley, officials said Thursday.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23350.asp

U.S. EPA delays mercury utility rule until March 2005
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday delayed finalizing rules to reduce harmful mercury emissions from aging power plants until March 2005 to consider whether stricter rules are needed.
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-30/s_23335.asp



Environmental Marketplace Updates (Become a Member)

We'd like to encourage you to visit our Environmental Marketplace where you'll learn about some amazing environmentally-focused businesses. A few examples:

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Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co., the only long distance service or Internet company to donate 100% of its profits to environmental organizations. Learn more about Earth Tones, The Environmental Internet & Phone Co.

Green Pet Products Inc., specializing in environmentally-safe pet products from renewable and readily available resources. Learn more about Green Pet Products Inc.

Pax World Funds, enabling investors to align their financial goals with their personal values through a selection of professionally-managed socially-responsible mutual funds. Learn more about Pax World Funds





Today's Press Releases (Become an Affiliate)
Direct from non-profit environmental and educational organizations.

IUCN - The World Conservation Union:
Healthy ecosystems vital for clean water supplies show examples from Switzerland and Japan

Earth Policy Institute:
Food Prices Rising - Decades of Environmental Neglect Shrinking Harvests in Key Countries

Natural Resources Defense Council:
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Prolongs Fight for Clean Air

Rainforest Action Network:
Big Banks Take Baby Steps: 8 out of 10 of "The Liquidators" Move To Meet RAN's Earth Day Deadline

Marine Stewardship Council:
First Mexican Fishery Earns Environmental Certification

Atlantic Salmon Federation:
New Brunswicker Recieved Top Atlantic Salmon Conservation Award

Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo:
Climate research follows in Nansen's footprints

Alliance to Save Energy:
Congress Should Pass Consensus Energy-Efficiency Measures,
Computer Ate My Vote Scores Coast to Coast Wins


Robert Howe, as the "Hungry Computer", with Laramie Crocker on guitar, in this national Associated Press photo of our Sacramento rally last week. The next day, a California panel recommended dumping Diebold's paperless TSx machines.

Friends:

We're making waves and the tide is turning. The last week has been a big one for the Computer Ate My Vote campaign, and I wanted to share with you some of the progress we've been making.

In California, 50 TrueMajority members filled a Sacramento sidewalk last week calling for accountability from paperless electronic voting terminals. It was a fun event -- our "hungry computer" prowled around for votes to eat and TrueMajority balladeer Laramie Crocker sang his ode to paperless voting, "Little Black Box," while the crowd urged state officials to dump California's unverified voting machines. The very next day California's Voting Systems and Procedures Panel said that's exactly what should be done. The panel recommended to California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley that he revoke the certification of the model TSx paperless electronic voting machine, made by Diebold Election Systems.

This is big news. California is the biggest market for election equipment in America. A rejection of paperless electronic voting terminals there will have ripple effects throughout the country, and we expect California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to issue that decertification any day. We continue to work in California to extend the decertification of the Diebold TSx machines to *all* paperless electronic voting machinies.

On the day of the California announcement, TrueMajority members in Canton, Ohio gathered outside the annual shareholders' meeting of Diebold Corporation. Ironically, Ohio is considering buying the very same Diebold TSx machines recommended for decertification in California.

A banner reading "Diebold Devours Democracy" floated from three helium-filled weather balloons outside the auditorium where Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell addressed shareholders and media. Activists gathered around a smoking, flashing mock-up of a malfunctioning Diebold voting terminal as TrueMajority organizers detailed the long list of failures by Diebold's machines in states across the nation. The event made news not only in Ohio newspapers and on Ohio television and radio but also throughout the country due to coverage by the national wire services.

Our work continues in Ohio, where the legislature is still debating a bill to require a paper trail (a TrueMajority organizer testified in favor of it). The bill doesn't go as far as we'd like -- some counties would still be able to purchase paperless machines this year, and retrofit them later -- but it's still a turnaround for a state which had been on the verge of locking *every* county into paperless voting for the foreseeable future. Diebold, meanwhile, seems to be changing it's tune. Instead of claiming that paper trails are difficult to produce, as they did at the beginning of our campaign, company spokespeople said last week they'd be happy to make paper-capable machines for states who want them.

We reported to you earlier that eight states have required paper trails for their electronic voting terminals. Here's more good news -- Maine just joined the club April 22, when Governor Baldacci signed LD1759 into law. State Rep. Hannah Pingree, the chief sponsor of the Maine bill, tells us that your messages to the secretary of state there softened the ground and were important in getting the law passed.

We're not stopping there, though. In addition to pushing on in Ohio and California, we'll soon be taking on the new federal Election Assistance Commission. That's the new board tasked with writing the standards for electronic voting machines. We'll be asking them to write "voter verified paper trail" into the federal standards, so all those states who are waiting until next year to buy voting machines will buy the right ones. Look for an alert soon on that topic.

More and more news outlets are waking up to this nationwide movement, and elected officials are listening. I'm glad to be able to work with all of you to protect our democracy.




Ben Cohen
President, TrueMajority.org
ASHLAND SPIRITUALITY IN POLITICS FORUM
KUCINICH TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS


Ohio Democratic Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis J.
Kucinich will deliver the keynote address at the Ashland Spirituality
in Politics Forum held at the Windmill Inn Conference Center, 2525
Ashland St., Ashland, this Sunday morning, May 2nd, from 10:30 am -
12:30 pm.

The very concept of spirituality in politics may seem to be an
oxymoron: incongruous, and contradictory. This forum will endeavor to
discover the relationship of these two paths, how their seeming
differences can be reconciled, and how politicians can become leaders
and visionaries, statesmen and stateswomen. As Congressman Kucinich
says of his campaign for the Presidency, "This is a struggle for the
soul of the Democratic Party."

Other speakers at the Forum will be James Twyman and Wes Nisker, and
the co-moderators are Dot Fisher-Smith and Selene Aitken.

Ashland luminary James Twyman is an internationally renowned author and
musician who travels the world performing The Peace Concert. Also known
as the Peace Troubadour, he has been invited to perform in countries
such as Iraq and Israel, and recently returned from a peace mission to
Baghdad. He is the author of several books including "Emissary of
Light," "Portrait of the Master," and "Emissary of Love." James Twyman
is also the founder of the Cloth of Many Colors peace project which
weaves the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people from around the
world into a single quilt nearly a mile long. This amazing quilt was
presented at the United Nations and at the Pentagon, and it was
literally wrapped around the U.S. Capitol. For more information go to:
http://www.emissaryoflight.com/

Wes Nisker is an author, radio commentator, Buddhist meditation
teacher, and performer. He is also the founder and co-editor of the
international Buddhist journal "Inquiring Mind." His books include "The
Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom," "Essential Crazy Wisdom," and
"Buddha's Nature." In the San Francisco Bay Area, "Scoop" Nisker has
entertained and enlightened radio listeners for years with his
insightful and hilarious political commentaries, concluding with his
signature sign-off: "If you don't like the news, go out and make some
of your own." For more information go to:
http://www.wnisker.com

"Scoop Nisker is the missing link between sit-down meditation and
stand-up
comedy." Paul Krassner, editor of "The Realist"

The co-moderators of the event will be Dot Fisher-Smith, artist,
counselor, community elder, facilitator, longtime zen student and peace
advocate/activist; and Selene Aitken, certified mediator, practitioner
of Nonviolent Communication, and former co-director of Peace House.
Aletha Nowitzky will sing her amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled
Spirit."

The format for this event will be a circle, with the presenters seated
in the center on a raised platform, facing each other, and the rest of
the participants seated in concentric circles around them. This form of
seating was chosen to be in harmony with nature, inspired by a
traditional council setting with participants facing one another,
rather than in a more linear, flat, less interactive, panel. A circle
is more friendly, more comfortable, more inviting, more fluid, and more
interactive.

"When any one of us is aligned with our purpose,
there is an inexhaustible source of energy.
Once you're aligned with your purpose,
the energy is always there to do whatever you need.
You never get tired,
and you do everything with a sense of joy.
It's actually effortless ... it's a flow."

-- Dennis J. Kucinich

Everyone who comes to this event is asked to prepare in advance by
considering "What is spirituality?" and "What is politics?" As Dennis
has stated,

"We are not victims of the world we see,
we are victims of the way we see the world!"

-- DJK

Congressman Kucinich will set the tone for the forum with his his
opening address. Following this, each of the other presenters will give
their personal definitions of spirituality and of politics, and will
then address the interplay between these two disciplines. This will
spark a conversation among the presenters that is dynamic, unscripted,
and unrehearsed, which will be opened up to the outer circles of
participants through questions and comments.

"Crown thy good, America.
Crown thy good with brotherhood, and sisterhood.
And crown thy good with compassion and restraint
and forbearance and a commitment to peace,
to democracy, to economic justice here at home
and throughout the world.
Crown thy good, America -- crown thy good."

-- Dennis J. Kucinich

All who feel called to come and join in this event are most cordially
invited. As Kucinich says, "One person can make a difference." That one
person just might be you.

The cost for this event is $15 - $25 sliding scale, at the door.
Everyone
is welcome, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Direction to the Windmill Inn Conference Center: From Interstate 5,
take exit 14, turning East on to Ashland St. (which is Highway 66). The
Windmill Inn is just past the gas station on the left.

To download a just-in-time flyer for the event, in either of two
printer friendly formats (pdf and MS Word), for easy on-demand, remote
printing, go to:
http://webspiritsystems.com/important/

Local contact for this event:
Larry Morningstar, mana7@opendoor.com

For information about the National campaign:
http://www.kucinich.us

For Congressman Kucinich's Schedule:
http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm

To schedule an interview with a Kucinich spokesperson:
jonathans@kucinich.us
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Great Lakes News: 21 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Montreal port access to be tightened to meet international standards
----------------------------------------
The Port of Montreal is upgrading its security card-access system to meet
tough new international standards. Source: The Montreal Gazette (4/21)


Funding targets Lake Ontario cleanup
----------------------------------------
The province of Ontario has earmarked $13 million for environmental projects
to clean up Lake Ontario. Source: The St. Catharines Standard (4/21)


Think smaller to solve Canada-U.S. problems
----------------------------------------
Recent events are examples of the growing interchange and collaboration
between provincial and state governments on a range of issues, from border
infrastructure and the environment to electricity-grid reliability and
economic development. Source: The Toronto Star (4/21)


Phosphorus fertilizer ban may cover Minnesota
----------------------------------------
Minnesota lawmakers are moving to remove phosphorus from lawn fertilizer to
reduce algae in streams and lakes. Source: Duluth News Tribune (4/21)


Friends of Fox celebrate victory
----------------------------------------
Monday's announcement that the federally owned Fox River locks would be
transferred to state ownership by September was a historic victory for the
Friends of the Fox. Source: The Appleton Post-Crescent (4/21)


300 conservationists ready for Earth Day
----------------------------------------
On the eve of the 34th Earth Day, Rochester-area conservationists used an
environmental forum to highlight local issues, including wetlands
preservation, light-rail transit and sprawl. Source: Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle (4/21)


EDITORIAL: Give Michigan flexibility to meet clean air rules
----------------------------------------
Michigan should appeal to the federal government to reconsider how it lets
areas like Metro Detroit cut emissions without hurting jobs. Source: The
Detroit News (4/21)


Drilling fees could help save lakes
----------------------------------------
Billions of dollars from offshore drilling fees should be spent on ocean
research and protection, including the waters of the "fourth seacoast,'' the
Great Lakes, a new report says. Source: Chicago Sun Times (4/21)


Michigan Republicans plan package to ban sale of several nonnative plants
----------------------------------------
Many nonnative plants that could hurt Michigan aquatic wildlife and
vegetation would be banned from delivery or sale under legislation scheduled
to be introduced this spring in the Michigan Senate. Source: Detroit Free
Press (4/20)

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Great Lakes News: 22 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

A mudflow rolls to a city that couldn't be happier
----------------------------------------
Sediment that once clogged the lakes of Peoria, Ill., is being used to add
parkland to the shores of Chicago. Source: The New York Times (4/22)


Doyle weighs wider use of lake water
----------------------------------------
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle says he will consider allowing Lake Michigan water
to be sent to suburbs outside the Great Lakes basin, but remains firmly
opposed to any diversion of Great Lakes water to western states. Source:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (4/22)


Visclosky seeks $5M for lakeshore group
----------------------------------------
In an effort to open public land along Lake Michigan to more people, U.S.
Rep. Pete Visclosky has requested $4 million in federal funds to expand the
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Source: The Northwest Indiana Times (4/22)


EPA approves permit for dredging project
----------------------------------------
Ohio state regulators have given their blessing to a plan to scoop thousands
of cubic yards of sand and silt from Conneaut Harbor, clearing passages used
by recreational boats. Source: The Star Beacon (4/22)


EDITORIAL: Water-blessed
----------------------------------------
As global warming scenarios increasingly emphasize the fragility of the
world's water supplies, it feels particularly important on Earth Day to
renew the responsibility entrusted to all of us here. Source: Detroit Free
Press (4/22)


Stone company at port may shift into general cargo
----------------------------------------
The operator of a Port of Toledo stone terminal may expand its operations to
become a general cargo facility handling metals, lumber, and possibly
automobiles and containerized freight. Source: The Toledo Blade (4/22)


Look out for hitchhiking, tree-killing beetles
----------------------------------------
Checking your car is one way to help stop the spread of the Asian
long-horned beetles. Source: Chicago Sun-Times (4/22)


Battle over Oglebay's fleet looms
----------------------------------------
Sailors of Oglebay Norton Co.'s Great Lakes fleet have lined up a Washington
bank to help them make an offer for the bankrupt company in the next few
weeks. Source: Yahoo! News (4/22)


UW student to open cormorant diet study
----------------------------------------
A three-year project to find out exactly what cormorants are eating should
determine whether the birds are responsible for a decline in yellow perch in
Green Bay. Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (4/22)

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
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Great Lakes News: 23 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Cleaner Black River safe for swimmers
----------------------------------------
The Ohio Department of Health has lifted its 21-year-old no-contact advisory
on the Black River, one of the most polluted waterways on the Great Lakes.
Source: The Plain Dealer (4/23)


Chicago says it will take better care of riverbank
----------------------------------------
Chicago's Mayor Daley vowed Thursday to speed the rebirth of the Chicago
River -- the city's "second waterfront" -- with a comprehensive agenda that
improves both water quality and the neglected riverbank. Source: Chicago
Sun-Times (4/23)


Zebra mussels advance in Wisconsin
----------------------------------------
Zebra mussels have advanced from the Great Lakes to 47 inland waterways in
Wisconsin. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (4/23)


New signs warn of unsafe swimming
----------------------------------------
The city of Duluth, Minn., has posted 70 signs along a Lake Superior beach
warning of the possibility of dangerous swimming conditions due to riptides.
Source: KDLH Channel 3 News - Duluth (4/23)


Wait for ferry almost over
----------------------------------------
The new "Spirit of Ontario" ferry should arrive in Rochester by Monday. The
ship, which has been traveling from Australia to Rochester for more than two
months, is expected to arrive at the port of Montreal today. Source:
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (4/23)


Michigan bills to charge for groundwater, pollution fees
----------------------------------------
Gov. Jennifer Granholm took advantage of Earth Day to sign legislation that
will allow her administration to enact new fees to help fund the National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System. Source: Booth Newspapers (4/22)


Company drops Lake Michigan ferry plan
----------------------------------------
A company that planned to start Lake Michigan passenger ferry service
between the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Mich., and Chicago has shelved the
proposal and reportedly gone out of business. Source: The St. Joseph
Herald-Palladium (4/22)


Land donations from province enlarge Rouge Park east of Toronto
----------------------------------------
Ontario is creating what it calls the largest natural park in urban North
America by donating land to expand the Rouge Park east of Toronto. Source:
The Globe and Mail (4/22)


Public to have say in polluted creek's restoration
----------------------------------------
After two decades and $45 million, the federal Superfund site Fields Brook,
a tributary of the Ashtabula River that empties into Lake Erie, has been
cleaned up. Source: The Plain Dealer (4/22)

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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Great Lakes News: 23 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Cleveland events to showcase sustainable use issues, opportunities
http://www.glc.org/announce/04/04cleveland.html
Source: Great Lakes Commission (2004-04-23)

Inventory provides updated look at Great Lakes toxic air emissions
http://www.glc.org/announce/04/04air.html
Source: Great Lakes Commission (2004-04-23)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html or send an e-mail message to
majordomo@great-lakes.net with the command 'subscribe dailynews' (minus
the quotes) in the body of the message.
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Great Lakes News: 29 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Chicago's air ranks worse than N.Y.'s
----------------------------------------
When it comes to particle pollution, Chicago's air is even dirtier than New
York's, according to the The American Lung Association's annual State of the
Air report. Source: Chicago Sun-Times (4/29)


State senate bill bans non-native plants
----------------------------------------
A variety of non-native plants that could hurt Michigan aquatic wildlife and
vegetation would be banned from delivery or sale under legislation scheduled
to be introduced this spring in the state Senate. Source: The Detroit News
(4/29)


Bay's west shore is 'hidden treasure'
----------------------------------------
About half of Wisconsin's coastal wetlands, said to be among the finest in
the Great Lakes, are located along the west shore of Green Bay. Source:
Green Bay Press-Gazette (4/29)


Regulating the rain
----------------------------------------
Rain gardens offer a creative solution to the problem of storm-water runoff,
said to be the worst pollution problem for Minnesota's lakes and rivers.
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (4/29)


Sturgeon spawning gives wildlife officials chance to check, tag fish
----------------------------------------
The bulk of sturgeon spawning on the Fox River is pretty much done in a day
or two, so biologists whose job it is to tag them have to work fast. Source:
Green Bay Press-Gazette (4/29)


Allen has an air of failure - again
----------------------------------------
Allen County and 23 other Indiana counties have received failing grades for
ozone pollution from the American Lung Association. Source: The Ft. Wayne
Journal Gazette (4/29)


Ohio exceeds milestone of 100 bald eagle nests
----------------------------------------
A record-breaking 105 bald eagle nests have been verified in Ohio this
spring, which state wildlife officials say is a good indicator of an
improved habitat. Source: Farm and Dairy (4/29)


Ontario Bird Festival takes wing
----------------------------------------
Event coordinators expect about 1,800 people for the annual Lake Ontario
Bird Festival this weekend, as songbirds and raptors pass through on their
spring migration. Source: The Syracuse Post-Standard (4/29)


HMS Detroit may be sailing back on course
----------------------------------------
The160-ton steel hull of the tall ship HMS Detroit is being liberated, 17
months after shipbuilder Hike Metal Products seized it for unpaid bills.
Source: The Windsor Star (4/29)


Lakefront advisory commission advocated
----------------------------------------
A task force is calling for the creation of a new commission to vet the
growing number of projects for the Milwaukee lakefront to protect public
access and preserve natural beauty. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(4/28)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

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Great Lakes News: 30 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

EPA announces beach grants
----------------------------------------
Thirty-five coastal states and territories, including all eight Great Lakes
states, are eligible to apply for U.S. EPA beach management grants. Source:
The Toledo Blade (4/30)


Southeast Michigan rates high for air pollutant
----------------------------------------
Southeast Michigan could take another hit this year when the Environmental
Protection Agency declares several counties in violation of limits for fine
particle pollution -- smog's equally wicked stepsister. Source: Detroit Free
Press (4/30)


New Coast Guard ship patrols the Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
Local officials, Coast Guard officers and hundreds of spectators are
expected to attend the commissioning ceremony of the cutter Hollyhock today
at the Seaway Terminal in Port Huron, Mich. Source: The Detroit News (4/30)


U.S. EPA delays mercury utility rule until March 2005
----------------------------------------
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday delayed finalizing rules to
reduce harmful mercury emissions from aging power plants until March 2005 to
consider whether stricter rules are needed. Source: Environmental News
Network (4/30)


Zoo working to restore rare piping plover population
----------------------------------------
If you're lucky, quiet and very, very still, you might spot or hear one of
the few breeding pairs of Great Lakes piping plovers as they pass over
Wisconsin in the next couple of weeks during their annual summer migration.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (4/30)


COMMENTARY: Volunteers can protect sturgeon on spawning run
----------------------------------------
A group called Sturgeon For Tomorrow is looking for volunteers in the next
six weeks to help Michigan DNR conservation officers maintain a 24-hour
watch over places where the biggest fish in Michigan return to lay their
eggs. Source: Detroit Free Press (4/30)


Farmers fuming at DEQ
----------------------------------------
Some Michigan farmers who own and manage large concentrated animal feeding
operations are angry and frustrated at new state rules that will regulate
what happens to the animal waste. Source: The Bay City Times (4/29)


Battle in our back yards
----------------------------------------
Wisconsin is under invasion - by armies of non-native plants, aquatic
species, insects and diseases. Source: Madison Capital Times (4/29)


Coast Guard icebreaker with long history in Charlevoix to be decommissioned
----------------------------------------
A bit of Michigan's maritime history will come to permanent rest next month,
when the Coast Guard buoy tender Sundew is decommissioned on May 27 and
converted into a maritime museum in Duluth, Minn. Source: Duluth News
Tribune (4/29)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

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Kucinich: SNEAK PREVIEW OF TV AD

Here is a sneak preview of a TV ad that will run in Oregon tonight and over the weekend. Your assistance is needed in buying airtime so we can run the ad at key times between now and the conclusion of Oregon's voting process, which is May 18.

You may be wondering how much TV ad time costs. These costs vary but they are something we can achieve. For instance, to run this spot on the morning news in Portland, Oregon it would cost $1,500. The noon news in Medford/Klamath Falls is $250, and the Eugene Evening news is $500.

See a sneak preview online...brand new Oregon ad to air tonight - Watch the Ad online now

We have already committed to running this ad tonight in several Oregon markets during Ted Koppel's special edition of Nightline which is dedicated to the memory of the U.S. service men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq.

The people of Oregon have a chance to send a message to the Democratic Party with their vote for Kucinich. A vote for Kucinich demonstrates to the Democratic Party that the people of Oregon want to end the war and bring our troops home. You have a chance to help them be heard. Contribute now to run this ad in Oregon.
[CONTRIBUTE NOW TO RUN THIS AD]

AD TRANSCRIPT:

Hi, I'm Dennis Kucinich and I've approved this ad because your vote for me will give the Democratic Party the courage to stand for bringing our troops home from Iraq. We must challenge the Bush administration, give up control of the oil, the contracts, bring in U.N. peacekeepers and bring our troops home.

Your vote for me will tell our Party to say "no" to sending more troops, "no" to a draft, and "no" to an endless war and "yes" to a new plan for peace in Iraq and the world.

If Oregonians' hearts say that there must be peace and an end to the violence, then yes, vote for me, Dennis Kucinich for President.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIE NELSON!
April 30, 2004

Super supporter and country music superstar Willie Nelson has a birthday today! Willie has contributed his amazing talents throughout our campaign. Dennis and the rest of the crew extend their best birthday wishes to Willie, and deepest thanks for all he's done. In honor of Willie's birthday, please take a moment and listen to the song Willie wrote on Christmas Day - "What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth." You can hear the mp3 or watch the video of the breathtaking debut of this song in Austin, Texas at a benefit Willie did for Dennis. And don't forget to share it with a friend.
[See/hear What Ever Happened to Peace On Earth]

DENNIS TALKS ABOUT IRAQ

The latest installment in our "Dennis Talks About" series is a montage of footage taken at various locations around Oregon in late April, 2004.

Dennis discusses our country's need to realize the brutalities of the war in Iraq, how the war effects our position in the world community, and why it is critical that we voice our opposition to this war now. If you support what Dennis is saying, please pass this messages to others. If you can contribute - every dollar counts to keep this campaign going. Most of our contributions are under $100, and this year alone have added up to nearly $2,000,000.

Contact us:
Kucinich for President
11808 Lorain Avenue - Cleveland, OH 44111
216-889-2004 / 866-413-3664 (toll-free)
http://www.kucinich.us
Companies finding some tech jobs best done in U.S.
Last modified: April 27, 2004, 9:20 PM PDT
By Eduardo Porter
The New York Times

Even as the prospect of high-skilled American jobs moving to low-wage countries like India ignites hot political debate, some entrepreneurs are finding that India's vaunted high-technology work force is not always as effective as advertised.

"For three years we tried all kinds of models, but nothing has worked so far," said the co-founder and chief technology officer of Storability Software in Southborough, Mass. After trying to reduce costs by contracting out software programming tasks to India, Storability brought back most of the work to the United States, where it costs four times as much, and hired more programmers here. The "depth of knowledge in the area we want to build software is not good enough" among Indian programmers, the executive said.

If it sounds like "Made in the U.S.A." jingoism, consider this: The entrepreneur, Hemant Kurande, is Indian. He was born and raised near Bombay and received his master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in that city, now known as Mumbai. Kurande is not alone in his views on "outsourcing" technology work to India. As more companies in the United States rush to take advantage of India's ample supply of cheap yet highly trained workers, even some of the most motivated American companies--ones set up or run by executives born and trained in India--are concluding that the cost advantage does not always justify the...(Full Story)
For Immediate Release, 4/20/2004
Sanders Calls on Congress to Rework Patriot Act, Not Give President Rubber-Stamp Approval

WASHINGTON, DC: Congressman Bernard Sanders (I-VT), a leading advocate for reforming the Patriot Act and lead sponsor of legislation that would restore pre-Patriot Act protections to libraries, bookstores and their patrons, today called on President Bush to end his pro-Patriot Act tour and instead rework those portions of the Patriot Act that most threaten Americans' civil liberties. The President spoke today in New York to promote the USA Patriot Act and ask for its "sunset" provisions to be removed.

Sanders said, If we have learned anything so far from the 9-11 commission, it is that we need better and more efficient communication between our law enforcement and intelligence agencies. If all the Patriot Act did was to enhance the sharing of information between federal law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community in a responsible way then there would be no controversy surrounding it. But the reality that President Bush doesn't talk about is that the Patriot Act unnecessarily invades the privacy of innocent Americans. The federal government does not need the power to look over the collective shoulders of the American people to see what they are reading. And this is just one of the Patriot Act provisions that is ripe for abuse. There is no doubt that we must be diligent to protect our citizens from another terrorist attack. But, the threat of terrorism should not be used as an excuse for the government to intrude on our basic constitutional rights.

Nationwide, 282 communities, representing over 49 million people, including the state legislatures of Vermont, Maine, Hawaii and Alaska, have passed resolutions calling for changes to the Patriot Act. Prominent conservative and progressive organizations as well as members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have also come out in opposition to various sections of the Patriot Act.

Sanders' legislation, H.R. 1157 would exempt library and bookstore files and records from Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which gives the government broad access to business records without the evidence traditionally required to acquire a search warrant. Sanders is also a lead supporter of legislation known as the SAFE Act. This legislation would narrow five of the most troubling provisions of the Patriot Act including one which allows the FBI to search someone's home or office without notifying them until weeks or even months later - in criminal cases, including cases having nothing to do with terrorism.

Sanders concluded, Not only is the President asking for a rubber-stamp approval of all expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, he actually wants to expand his powers. In times like these, we must be even more vigilant in protecting the cherished values which make our country great.
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/releases/20040420145152.asp



READ BERNIE'S NEW YORK TIMES
LETTER TO THE EDITOR ON THIS SUBJECT
Bid to Revive Energy Legislation Via Unrelated Bill Fails in Senate

By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 30, 2004; Page A04

The Senate yesterday derailed efforts to revive long-stalled energy legislation, further dimming the prospects for approval this year of a broad initiative to expand energy production, encourage conservation and streamline the nation's overburdened electricity grid.

In back-to-back votes, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass either ethanol-production incentives or a much broader, 900-page package of energy proposals as part of an unrelated bill to extend an expired ban on Internet access taxes.

It also voted to impose limits on other amendments to the Internet tax bill, effectively blocking Democrats, led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), from trying to add a proposal to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7 an hour over the...(Full Story)
Race over but Kucinich is still running
Friday, April 30, 2004
David Sarasohn

M onday night's crowd was sparse, but Dennis Kucinich was working it hard.

"I can't think of any state," the Ohio congressman cried urgently from the stage of Southeast Portland's retro-funky Aladdin Theater, "where the potential is stronger now to send a message to the Democratic Party that it's time to stand for something."

In Washington, New York and most of the rest of the country, the fall general election campaign has been on for months, and marginal shifts in twice-weekly John Kerry-George Bush poll matchups are analyzed like goat entrails. But in Oregon -- or at least the college campuses and public space meet-ups where Kucinich has been tirelessly talking to anyone who'll listen -- the Democratic presidential primary campaign is still going on.

In the two months before primary day here May 18, Kucinich is spending a month's time in Oregon. Friday, his campaign ads are scheduled to go on TV in Portland and Eugene.

Kucinich has figured out, of course, that he's not going to be president, that the balloon drop at the Democratic convention will be for someone else. He's running, he says, not to topple Kerry, but to help him.

"He already needs a lot of help, and he needs a lot of encouragement," Kucinich said before his speech. "Our campaign, with the help of the people of Oregon, can encourage him to take strong positions."

It does seem, as Kerry tries with limited success to distill a clear message to voters, that the expected nominee could use some help. Whether he needs the help Kucinich is offering is another question.

The Ohio congressman is focusing on four issues: single-payer health care, opposition to free-trade agreements, opposition to the Patriot Act -- and on that issue Kerry is now sounding considerably differently than he did in Iowa and New Hampshire -- and, above everything, the Iraq war...(Full Story)

Thursday, April 29, 2004

20/20 Campaign
Dennis Kucinich?the eyes that see through the lies


April 27, 2004

Dear Friends,

We dream of waking up one morning in a world where everyone has adequate health care, free quality education pre-kindergarten through college, decent paying job opportunities, and a clean safe environment, knowing that we live in a safe world where we can once again travel freely, without fear.

As you know, this historic campaign is both a presidential campaign and a movement, representing the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans. We have big, yet practical dreams. Our dreams are achievable.

Let us not become discouraged nor complacent. This is a defining moment and we are the definition. Our united voice counts as we continue to campaign in the remaining twelve states and head to the Boston Convention in July, speaking out on the issues we care about, influencing the platform of the Democratic Party, and ultimately helping to re-shape the party and re-direct this great country as we embrace a culture of peace with non-violence as the organizing principle.

Thus you are invited once again to invest in this campaign and continue to participate in down-to-earth practical ways to ensure our dream!

The 20/20 campaign: 20 dollars - 20 minutes

Your investment of twenty dollars makes a difference right now and helps the campaign by providing funds for:
-Media buys and literature for remaining caucus and primary states
-Travel expenses to enable others to personally meet Dennis and hear his message
-Support for delegates to the convention [http://www.kucinich.us/convention.php]
-Office needs and literature for the convention
-Workshops and issue forums to be sponsored by the campaign the week of the convention
TO HELP WITH THE CONVENTION, CONTRIBUTE NOW ONLINE: [https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php] or call us toll-free at 1-866-413-3664. Or, you can send a check to the address at the bottom of this email.

Your investment of twenty minutes makes a difference as you:
-Sign the issue petitions on-line [http://www.kucinich.us/petitions/]
-Call two friends to sign the petitions*
-Check out the Boston Convention webpage [http://www.kucinich.us/convention.php]
-Call someone you know in one of the remaining states and help get out
the vote for Dennis!
-Participate in Light up America [http://www.kucinich.us/lua/kucinichcontest.php]
*note: if you have more than 20 minutes to give you can download the petitions and gather signatures which we will take to the platform committee to make certain that your voice is heard!

If you are reading this letter it means that you have made the courageous decision to vote your faith not your fear. Your faith that the world is a better place than many would have us believe. Your faith that your individual efforts do make a difference. Your faith that working together it is possible to create a world that works for all.

Invest in hope now.

In the Spirit of Peace,
Dot

Dot Maver
National Campaign Manager
Campaign for President
Dennis John Kucinich
www.kucinich.us
866.413.3664

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

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Great Lakes News: 28 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Polluted lakes turning turtles into turtlettes
----------------------------------------
Canadian researchers studying wildlife on the Great Lakes have found
significant sexual abnormalities in male snapping turtles. Source: The Globe
and Mail (4/28)


Algae problem's solution delayed
----------------------------------------
For five years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working with
Monroe County, New York, to look at ways to control the algae at Ontario
Beach. About $1 million in federal funds has already been spent looking for
remedies, but now the project is on hold. Source: Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle (4/28)


Ohio oil, gas rules revamped
----------------------------------------
The Ohio Senate yesterday voted 26-5 to send Gov. Bob Taft a bill handing
the state Department of Natural Resources the authority to decide where to
place natural gas and oil wells in more populated areas. A spokesman
stressed that the bill does not undo Gov. Taft's executive order prohibiting
such drilling in Lake Erie. Source: The Toledo Blade (4/28)


EDITORIAL: Protecting Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle will take over in July as chairman of the Council
of Great Lakes Governors, but he is already sending the right signal
regarding proposals to divert water from the Great Lakes. Source: Madison
Capital Times (4/27)


Hollyhock gets ready for big day
----------------------------------------
Nearly one year after the Coast Guard decommissioned the Bramble, the new
Cutter Hollyhock will officially become part of the fleet at ceremonies
Friday, April 30. Source: The Port Huron Times-Herald (4/27)


Cadmium levels in Little Black Creek highest ever in Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
Concentrations of the suspected cancer-causing, heavy-metal cadmium are 200
times higher in Michigan's Little Black Creek than those the state considers
safe for direct contact. Source: Muskegon Chronicle (4/27)


A Great Lakes prophet: Boat designer has a ship-shape answer to
transportation woes
----------------------------------------
Ian Taylor is the designer of the revolutionary Reflex hull, which produces
a faster, more stable and more fuel efficient shallow-draft vessel -- ideal,
he says, for the Great Lakes. Source: The Toronto Star (4/26)


Great lake, great tour
----------------------------------------
Boat rides, dunes and fun doings abound along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Source: South Bend Tribune (4/25)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Great Lakes News: 27 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

The Breeze: It's here, it's big!
----------------------------------------
Hundreds of people this morning lined both sides of the Genesee River to
watch the new high-speed ferry, the Spirit of Ontario, pull into port for
the first time. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (4/27)


Rouge River cleaner, but still stinks
----------------------------------------
After half a billion dollars in spending, the Rouge River is a lot cleaner
than it used to be, but it still stinks. Source: Detroit Free Press (4/27)


Island bridge battle flares anew
----------------------------------------
In a letter to the mayor, the Toronto Port Authority has threatened -
again - to start building a bridge to the island airport on July 1. Source:
The Toronto Star (4/27)


Whales abound in St. Lawrence River in Quebec
----------------------------------------
The whales - minke, fin, humpback, the pearl-white beluga and the world's
largest mammal, the blue whale - gather in the St. Lawrence from May through
September to feast on a heaping buffet served up by nature. Source: Tri-City
Herald (4/27)


Developer may be imprisoned for destroying wetlands
----------------------------------------
A developer who has spent more than $1 million fighting accusations of
illegal wetland destruction over the past 15 years may go to prison. Source:
Detroit Free Press (4/27)


Duluth, sanitary district forge sewage fix
----------------------------------------
Duluth has a plan to stop sewage overflows into Lake Superior, but
completing it will take 12 years and cost millions of dollars. Source:
Duluth News Tribune (4/26)


Preserving world-class walleye fishery
----------------------------------------
Lake Erie is a world-class destination for walleye fishing. But officials
say without new limits on fishing, it won't be in the future. Source: Great
Lakes Radio Consortium (4/26)


Bridge selection process enters the final stages
----------------------------------------
Starting Saturday, everybody can add their two cents on which of 13 proposed
bridge designs looks like the best choice for the new Peace Bridge linking
the U.S. and Canada. Source: The Buffalo News (4/25)


Erie vacation packs more than a day at the beach
----------------------------------------
While Presque Isle State Park may be the most popular destination, there's
quite a bit more to do in Northwestern Pennsylvania than get sunburned and
collect sand in your shorts. Source: The Tribune-Review (4/25)


Gulls overrun port communities
----------------------------------------
Port communities throughout the Great Lakes overrun with multiplying
seagulls are turning to measures such as destroying eggs and shooting to try
to control the population. Source: Manitowac Herald Times Reporter (4/25)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Al Sharpton left the race for the Democratic president nomination with only 27 delegates, more than Dennis Kucinich, but somewhat fewer than presumptive nominee John Kerry. However for CNBC, long accustomed to programming for only slight more than 27 viewers, Sharpton seems to be a perfect fit.

Sharpton, who earned mostly positive buzz for a December stint hosting NBC's "Saturday Night Live," is reportedly in talks to do a series of specials for CNBC...(Full Story)
From GRACE:

!!! A C T I O N A L E R T !!!

Tell Your Senators to Stop Latest Attempt to Pass the Energy Bill!

April 28, 2004

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) has once again resurrected his forlorn
energy bill (S. 2095, the "Energy Policy Act of 2003") in the form of a
"second-degree" amendment -- that is, an amendment to another amendment.
Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) offered the "Renewable Fuels Standard"
portion of the energy bill as an amendment to a bill restricting
taxation on internet usage (S. 150, the "Internet Tax Freedom Act").
Sen. Domenici then seized the opportunity and added the comprehensive
energy bill as an amendment to Sen. Daschle's amendment. The cloture
votes on these amendments are scheduled for Thursday morning.

WE MUST STOP THIS UNDERHANDED MANEUVER! Tell your senators to oppose
Sen. Domenici's energy bill amendment! CONNECT to your senators via the
U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Tell your senators to oppose "cloture" -- a truncation of debate -- on
Sen. Domenici's energy bill amendment! We must stave off this
despicable legislation!

While Sen. Domenici's amendment doesn't include the $10.5 billion in
tax breaks for the oil, gas, coal, and nuclear industries (which are
attached to the foreign sales corporation bill) or a liability waiver
for MTBE producers, it is still packed with anti-consumer and
anti-environment provisions, including the repeal of the Public Utility
Holding Company Act (PUHCA) -- which would lead to further Enron-type
activities -- and exemptions from the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water
Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Bush Administration's own
Energy Information Administration has concluded that the energy bill
will do nothing to lower gas prices or reduce the country's dependence
on foreign oil.

LEARN MORE about the reprehensible contents of the energy bill here:
http://www.citizen.org/energybill

For the LATEST UPDATES on actions you can take to prevent the infamous
Bush energy policy from becoming law, go here:
http://www.stopenergybill.org

==============================================
For more Sustainable Energy action alerts, go to: http://www.gracepublicfund.org/energy/
Earth Policy News - World Food Prices Rising

Eco-Economy Update 2004-8
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2004
April 28, 2004


WORLD FOOD PRICES RISING
Decades of Environmental Neglect Shrinking Harvests in Key Countries
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update39.htm

Lester R. Brown

When this year's grain harvest begins in May, world grain stocks will be
down to 59 days of consumption--the lowest level in 30 years. The last
time stocks were this low, in 1972-74, wheat and rice prices doubled. A
politics of scarcity emerged with exporting countries, such as the United
States, restricting exports and using food for political leverage.
Hundreds of thousands of people in food-short countries, including
Ethiopia and Bangladesh, died of hunger.

Now, a generation later, a similar scenario is unfolding, but for
different reasons. After nearly tripling from 1950 to 1996, growth in the
world grain harvest came to a halt. In each of the last four years world
grain production has fallen short of consumption, forcing a drawdown of
stocks. During this period, expanding deserts, falling water tables,
crop-withering temperatures, and other environmental trends have largely
offset the positive contributions of advancing technology and additional
investment in agriculture.

Prices of basic food and feed commodities are climbing. Wheat futures for
May 2004 that traded as low as $2.90 a bushel within the last year on the
Chicago Board of Trade have recently topped $4 a bushel, a climb of 38
percent. A similar calculation shows the price of corn up by 36 percent,
rice up 39 percent, and soybeans doubling from just over $5 per bushel to
over $10 a bushel. Rises in the price of wheat and rice (the world's two
basic food staples) and corn and soybeans (the principal feedstuffs) are
contributing to higher food prices worldwide, including in China and the
United States, the largest food producers.

In China, where grain prices are 30 percent above those of a year ago, the
National Bureau of Statistics reports that retail food prices in March
were 7.9 percent higher than in March 2003. The price of vegetable oil is
up by 26 percent, meat by 15 percent, and eggs by 19 percent.

All countries are affected by the rising world price of basic food
commodities. The American Farm Bureau marketbasket survey, which monitors
U.S. retail prices of 16 basic food products in 32 states, shows a 10.5
percent rise in food prices during the first quarter of 2004 over the like
period in 2003.

Price rises range from a 2 percent rise in the price of milk to a
29-percent rise for eggs. The price of vegetable oil, up 23 percent, is
beginning to reflect the doubling of soybean prices. Meat prices are up
across the board. A pound of ground chuck climbed from $2.10 a year ago to
$2.48, up 18 percent. Whole fryers were also up 18 percent. Pork chops
were up 10 percent. Bread and potatoes were up 4 and 3 percent,
respectively. (See data www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update39_data.htm.)


Still higher food prices are likely in the second quarter as soybeans have
recently hit 15-year highs and wheat and corn 7-year highs. Prices of
livestock products that require large amounts of grain are particularly
sensitive to higher grain prices. By contrast, bread prices do not usually
rise much because wheat typically accounts for less than one-tenth the
cost of a loaf of bread. Even a doubling of wheat prices would not greatly
increase bread prices.

Food prices are rising almost everywhere. In Russia, bread shortages
pushed the price of bread in February up 38 percent compared with February
2003. This so alarmed the government that it restricted wheat exports by
imposing an export tax of 35 euros per ton.

In South Africa, corn futures prices have climbed in early 2004. The price
of white maize, the principal food staple, rose by more than half between
December 2003 and January 2004. Yellow maize, used mostly for livestock
feed, climbed by 30 percent during the same period.
Higher prices reflect sagging production in the face of soaring demand as
the world continues to add more than 70 million people a year and as
incomes rise, enabling more of the world's people to consume grain-based
livestock and poultry products.

Growth in world grain production is lagging behind the growth in demand
largely because environmental trends, such as spreading deserts, falling
water tables, and rising temperatures, are shrinking harvests in many
countries. Consider, for example, Kazakhstan, the former Soviet Republic
that was the site of the Virgin Lands Project launched in the 1950s. To
expand grain production, the Soviets plowed an area of virgin grasslands
that exceeded the wheat area of Australia and Canada combined. It
dramatically boosted production, but by 1980 soil erosion was undermining
productivity. During the 24 years since then, half the country's grainland
area has been abandoned.

During the late 1980s, Saudi Arabia launched an ambitious plan to become
self-sufficient in wheat. By tapping a deep underground aquifer, the
Saudi's raised grain output from 300,000 tons in 1980 to 5 million tons in
1994. Unfortunately the aquifer could not sustain large-scale pumping and
by 2003 the wheat harvest had fallen to 2.2 million tons. Nearby Israel,
faced with dwindling water supplies, is no longer irrigating its small
remaining area of wheat, which means that dependence on imported grain,
already over 90 percent, will climb still higher.

China is the first major food producer to face reduced harvests partly
because of expanding deserts and aquifer depletion. Some 24,000 Chinese
villages have either been abandoned or have had their farm economies
seriously impaired by invading deserts. In the arid northern half of the
country where most of the wheat is grown, tens of thousands of wells go
dry each year. These environmental trends, combined with weak grain prices
that lower planting incentives, shrank the harvest from its peak of 123
million tons in 1997 to 86 million tons in 2003, a drop of 30 percent.

Perhaps the most pervasive environmental trend that is shrinking grain
harvests today is rising temperature. When the U.S. Department of
Agriculture released its September 2003 monthly world crop estimates, it
reduced the projected world grain harvest by 35 million tons from its
August estimate. This drop, equal to half the U.S. wheat harvest, was due
almost entirely to the intense August heat wave in Europe, where
crop-withering temperatures shrank harvests from France in the west
through the Ukraine in the east.

In 2002 record heat and drought combined to shrink harvests in both India
and the United States. Record and near-record temperatures in key
food-producing countries accounted for a large share of the record world
grain shortfalls of 91 million tons in 2002 and 105 million tons in 2003.


The question now is whether farmers can expand the grain harvest this year
enough to eliminate the huge deficit of last year. Unfortunately there are
no efforts underway that are sufficient to reverse the expansion of
deserts, the fall in water tables, or the rise in temperatures that are
shrinking harvests in key countries. In the absence of such an effort,
food prices are likely to continue rising.

NOTE: The next Eco-Economy Update, scheduled for release on May 5 will
analyze the harvest prospect for this year.

# # #


American Farm Bureau Marketbasket Survey, First Quarter 2004

First Quarter First Quarter
Item 2003 2004 Change
(in dollars) (percent)

Ground chuck
(1 pound) 2.10 2.48 +18
White bread
(20-ounce loaf) 1.32 1.36 + 3
Cheerios
(10-ounce box) 2.78 3.00 + 8
Apples
(1 pound) 1.05 1.22 +16
Whole fryers
(1 pound) 1.05 1.24 +18
Pork chops
(1 pound) 3.10 3.42 +10
Eggs
(1 dozen) 1.22 1.59 +29
Cheddar cheese
(1 pound) 3.30 3.46 + 5
Bacon
(1 pound) 2.91 3.00 + 3
Mayonnaise
(32-ounce jar) 3.14 3.27 + 4
Russet potatoes
(5-lb bag) 1.89 1.96 + 4
Sirloin tip roast
(1 lb) 3.21 3.52 +10
Whole milk
(1 gallon) 2.80 2.87 + 2
Vegetable oil
(32-oz bottle) 2.25 2.76 +23
All-purpose flour
(5-lb bag) 1.53 1.62 + 6
Corn oil
(32-oz bottle) 2.41 3.09 +28

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation


Additional data and information sources at www.earth-policy.org or contact
jlarsen(at)earth-policy.org
For reprint permission contact rjkauffman(at)earth-policy.org

Please feel free to send this to interested friends or colleagues or to
distribute it on your personal listserv.
Illinois PIRG asks you to help reduce mercury pollution


Dear Illinois PIRG supporter,

Over the past three months, I've told you about the EPA's weak proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants, which sets targets so weak that the energy industry will be allowed to continue polluting without using state of the art mercury controls. You have responded with over 17,700 official comments to the EPA and over 200 letters to the editor nationwide urging the EPA to protect mothers and children from mercury poisoning by cutting mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008. Thank you (and don't forget to let me know if your letter to the editor got printed).

This is the last week of the comment period on the EPA's proposal and we want to collect over 20,000 comments, but to do that I need your help. If you haven't sent in your comments yet, please take a moment to do so. And after you send in your comments, get two other people to send in their comments by forwarding this e-mail to your family and friends.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES

Thanks again!


Background

Mercury is a dangerous toxic metal that can cause severe neurological and developmental problems in unborn fetuses and very young children whose brains are still developing. People are exposed to mercury mainly by eating fish. The EPA and forty-three states have now issued advisories warning people, especially women and children, to avoid or limit eating local fish because of mercury. But even with these warnings, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and the EPA estimate that 1 out of 6 U.S. women of childbearing age have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood due to fish consumption.

The best way to protect women and children from mercury is to eliminate it from its largest source: power plants. Smokestacks spew mercury pollution into the air, where it rains and snows down into our waterways, accumulating in fish and making them unsafe to eat. Amazingly, power plants have yet to be regulated for mercury pollution under federal clean air standards. Two years ago, the EPA's own scientists said current technologies could achieve a 90 percent reduction of mercury from power plants, but the electric and coal industries are pressing hard to avoid limiting their mercury emissions.

After years of work by us and other public health advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now under a deadline to reduce the dangers of mercury from power plants.

Last December, the EPA's initial weak proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants was released. Amazingly, they are indicating they'll reclassify mercury so that it's not considered a "toxic pollutant," despite long-standing, clear evidence of mercury's effects as a developmental toxin. This will allow them to avoid requiring power plants to use the best available technology to reduce emissions, as stipulated by the Clean Air Act.

But the Bush administration is feeling the immense public outcry about its inadequate proposal for addressing power plant emissions of mercury. In March, EPA Administrator Leavitt made an announcement that the administration would begin studying options for strengthening the rule and extended the mercury proposal comment period to April 30. Administrator Leavitt's statement cited recent EPA studies showing that loopholes in the EPA's proposal would prevent the rule from meeting its weak goals, which would allow 6-7 times more pollution than properly enforcing the Clean Air Act.

This is the last week for you to comment on this weak mercury proposal. Please take a moment to send in your comments, and then ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES

Sincerely,

Diane E. Brown
Illinois PIRG Executive Director
DianeB@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support.
Draft's return tough to fight

By JAMES SILVER
Special to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/28/2004





James Silver is a writer living in Atlanta.





File
In May 1979, anti-draft protesters gathered on the Capitol steps in Washington. A House subcommittee voted to resume registration of 18-year-old males.

I have a penchant for making political predictions. In 1988, I predicted that George Bush Sr. would choose a
little-known senator from Indiana as his running mate. I was right about that one.

In early 2003, I predicted to anyone who cared to listen that there was no way an army of 130,000 would be able to conquer a nation of 25 million people. I expected a long, drawn-out, urban guerrilla war in Iraq. Now, my prediction appears to be coming true.

Eventually, we will be forced to leave Iraq. The only real question is what that withdrawal will look like when it happens. Will our government continue to deceive us for another decade before leaving Iraq in disgrace? I won't try to predict the final result. But there is one prediction that I feel confident in making and it has been my biggest worry since the presidential campaign began...(Full Story)

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Kucinich visit changes location

By the Gazette-Times

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Democratic candidate for president, will speak with MEChA Latino students today in the Memorial Union at Oregon State University.

The talk begins at 2 p.m. in room 208 (Full Story)
Kucinich cheers Ore. renewable-energy plan

From Bend.com news sources
Posted: Monday, April 26, 2004 3:24 PM
Reference Code: PR-15097

April 26 - An ambitious renewable-energy plan unveiled by the state of Oregon over the weekend "has the potential to save state taxpayers billions of dollars and create an entirely new energy industry that would create jobs and fuel the state’s economy," Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said.

Kucinich, campaigning in Oregon, said he has reviewed a draft plan released Saturday by the Oregon Office of Energy and found it “exciting, both in terms of the state’s bold commitment to clean energy technologies and in its potential to boost the economy and enhance the quality of life.”

The plan, requested by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, sets ambitious state-wide goals to achieve by 2006, including:

· 300 megawatts of wind energy — enough to power about 300,000 homes
· 50 megawatts of...(Full Story)

Monday, April 26, 2004

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Great Lakes News: 26 April 2004
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Governor calls for uniform water standards
----------------------------------------
Some Great Lakes governors have agreed they should adopt a consistent set of
rules for determining whether their water is clean and safe. Source: Great
Lakes Radio Consortium (4/26)


A Great Lakes prophet
----------------------------------------
When the Toronto-Rochester fast ferry, The Breeze, sticks its long-awaited
bow into Toronto Harbour sometime soon, it will be an occasion for
celebration for boat designer Ian Taylor. Source: The Toronto Star (4/26)


Muddy waters around wetlands ruling
----------------------------------------
Some experts say many of the small, isolated wetlands that are home to a lot
of plants and animals are being drained, filled in and lost. Source: Great
Lakes Radio Consortium (4/26)


Great Lakes projects could see $400 million in federal funding
----------------------------------------
Cities and towns along the Great Lakes would be eligible for $400 million in
federal grants over the next four years to restore lighthouses, clean
beaches and repair sewers, under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Source: Booth Newspapers (4/26)


Education saves lives on piers
----------------------------------------
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard gathered officials from
across the state Friday in Muskegon at Grand Valley State University's Lake
Campus to focus on community safety in the state's 18 Lower Peninsula
harbors with piers. Source: The St. Joseph Herald-Palladium (4/25)


Ferry deal makes peace with boaters
----------------------------------------
The Monroe County boat launch in Charlotte will remain open when the Spirit
of Ontario ferry is at the Port of Rochester, under a new deal reached by
the county, city and U.S. Coast Guard. Source: Rochester Democrat and
Chronicle (4/25)


Last icebreaking mission in Duluth before $32 million replacement
----------------------------------------
After 60 years of service, much of it on Lake Superior, the Coast Guard
Cutter Sundew, a venerable old lady of the lakes, is about to retire.
Source: KSTP-TV (4/25)


Doyle opposes diverting Great Lakes water
----------------------------------------
Gov. Jim Doyle says he will consider allowing Lake Michigan water to be
shipped beyond the Great Lakes basin to Waukesha County, but opposes
diversion of Great Lakes water to Western states. Source: Duluth News
Tribune (4/23)


Bug that kills ash trees is discovered in Indiana
----------------------------------------
The first discovery in Indiana of the emerald ash borer that has damaged
millions of ash trees in Michigan and Ohio was confirmed Thursday by the
state Department of Natural Resources. Source: The Indianapolis Star (4/23)


EDITORIAL: We're wild for the wet word on the Great Lakes
----------------------------------------
A cold and snowy winter, and above-average rainfall in March, have combined
to give Lake Huron 7 more inches of water than this time last year. Source:
The Bay City Times (4/23)

For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/

Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html


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Kucinich urges Oregonians to register, vote

From Bend.com news sources
Posted: Sunday, April 25, 2004 7:59 PM
Reference Code: PR-15082

April 25 - Oregonians have a chance to shape the national debate and influence national policy on issues like the war in Iraq, health care, the environment, and social and economic justice, but only if they exercise their right to vote in the upcoming primary.

That was the message Sunday from Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich on the eve of his return to Oregon, where he has campaigned extensively for the past few weeks.

The deadline to register to vote in the May 18 Democratic primary is Tuesday, April 27. That is the...(Full Story)