12th Episode of GreenNews4U

Welcome to the 12th Episode of GreenNews4U's Weekly Roundup. This is a special edition of GreenNews4U where I interview Gregory Pitts who is an Eco Artist, Photographer, Entertainer, Producer, Actor and so much more. If you would like to get in contact with Gregory Pitts you can reach him at inyofaceprod@bellsouth.net or call him at 954-253-0288. Follow the links in the Source to view his art. I hope you enjoy the 12th Episode of Green News 4U.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

    GreenNews4U Podcast is hosted by and can be viewed here

You can also find GreenNews4U on Itunes

I am currently seeking sponsors for my podcast and blog.  

Melvin Wylie

Plactic Bag Ban Upheld by California Supreme Court

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2011 - The California Supreme Court issued a ruling that impacts not only plastic bag bans throughout the state but has far-reaching ramifications for the circumstances under which public agencies must prepare environmental impact reports under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"). The court ruled in favor of the City of Manhattan Beach, paving the way for the city's ban on plastic bags to go into effect. Downey Brand partner Christian Marsh argued the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of the appellant, Manhattan Beach. He was joined in the argument by James Moose of Remy Thomas Moose & Manley for amici curiae Californians Against Waste. "We were confident the city had a right to impose the bag ban, and this ruling gives cities across California some real clarity," Marsh said. An industry coalition of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors known as the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition sued Manhattan Beach for its citywide ban on plastic bags, arguing that the environmental impacts associated with increased paper bag use would outweigh any environmental benefits of the ban. The city, among many in California with similar ordinances, imposed the ban to limit the number of plastic bags making their way into the ocean and marine environment. The case raised two important issues that have been facing fiscally-strapped cities and counties across the state: (1) whether the coalition, which had a commercial interest in overturning the ban, qualified for "public interest" standing under CEQA, and (2) what is the legal threshold under CEQA for when a project or ordinance necessitates preparing an environmental impact report, known as an EIR. In its ruling, the court sided with the city on the CEQA threshold, but ruled against the city on the coalition's standing to sue. Justice Carol Corrigan, writing for a unanimous court, upheld the city's ban, finding that "it is plain the city acted within its discretion when it determined that its ban on plastic bags would have no significant effect on the environment." In the face of a number of "life cycle" studies that had been put forth by the coalition, the court noted that "common sense leads us to the conclusion that the environmental impacts discernible from the 'life cycles' of plastic and paper bags are not significantly implicated by a plastic bag ban in Manhattan Beach." The decision on the threshold for producing an EIR was being closely-watched by public entities and private project proponents alike, as often they are compelled to prepare costly and time-consuming EIRs even though the activity in question has little or no environmental impact (and in this case, a tremendous environmental benefit). As Marsh reported, "Due to the risks associated with litigation over these decisions, public agencies often feel the need to go well beyond the requirements of the statute, at great time and expense. This decision sets a more reasonable threshold for when pubic agencies must prepare EIRs, and will reduce the ability of would-be challengers to delay projects across the state. Instead of conducting unwarranted environmental review, the decision allows public agencies to focus their limited resources on producing reports for projects that are much more likely to impact the environment than minor projects would." Code: EXNC8WPUNCF7

Melvin Wylie

The Filthy Anacostia River

Just blocks away from the majestic capitol is the Nation's true treasure, with a LEED certified Baseball Field on one side, Bolling Air Force Base and a beautiful park on the other side and our beloved Anacostia River in between. Yes I'm being sarcastic; the river is a treasure of filth! Are you thinking about "going green" and would you like to start recycling? You will find a treasure of recyclable materials floating in the river, bottles, bags, soda cans, wrappers, and God knows what else. Twice a day I make my way to and from work cycling over the John Phillip Sousa Bridge and it makes me sick when I look in the water. The other day I saw ducks swimming and sifting through the garbage. I often see people down near the train tracks or on the opposite side in Anacostia Park lounging in a chair, drinking a beverage, relaxing with a line in the water in hope of catching a toxic fish. I love to fish but you would not catch me fishing in that cesspool! The fish are not safe to eat due to storm water runoff which makes the fish sick and can make the people who consume the fish sick. There are large amounts of toxins in the river to include PCB's and PAH's, both are considered carcinogens. In a study made by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, two thirds of Brown Bullhead Catfish have cancerous lesions and sores caused by contaminants in their tissue. In the afternoon, cycling across the John Phillip Sousa Bridge I often see the Capitol Rowing Club on the Anacostia. Sometimes I stop to watch them row and I think to myself "it would be beautiful if they were actually rowing on a nice clean and scenic river instead of rowing over cans, bottles, bags and trash." I wonder how many oars have picked up grocery store bags. Since I've been in the area they have been trying to clean up the Anacostia. When I say "they" I'm talking about the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT), and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). Even the Attorney General of Maryland, Doug Gansler got involved. On June 16 he led an audit of the Anacostia River. It's going to take more than Maryland and the other organizations to get involved. It's going to take a grass roots effort to make the river fishable and swimmable. Yes, it's a lofty dream but I fell like the government does not give a crap, it's all lip service for political gain to get the locals to rally behind them. 30 years of lip service with no results. Politicians can argue the point of "no results" but do a comparison on how the river is now as compared to 30 years ago and there is not much of a change. Despite the visual eye sore, it is reported that the river is improving but I wonder if this is true. It's been "improving" for the last 35+ years I've lived in the metro area. As a young boy living near Bolling Air Force Base, when the wind would blow the right way, I would remember the horrid smell and how filthy the river was. Brent Bolin the Director of Advocacy for the Anacostia Watershed Society has said "it is improving very, very slowly" and "it will take decades if not hundreds of years to reach water quality standards."  This is unacceptable! The Anacostia River can be a beautiful river, evidence of this can be seen when you go to the Aquatic Gardens. I like to take my kids there so they can see a "nice" part of the river. Here is an idea, when a company decides to build near the Anacostia, "hint, hint Nationals Stadium" They should invest in the area to include the Anacostia River. After all the Nationals Stadium, which is a LEED building, wants to use the river to boat people in for the games to reduce traffic. While you are doing that why don't you educate the passengers on recycling, conservation and the ecology of the river you are transporting them on? While they are celebrating a Nationals win and intoxicated make sure they don't throw their crap on the streets and in the river. Build an Anacostia Education Center at Nationals Park to help with the clean up. The revitalization around the stadium is going very, very slow (like the Anacostia clean up) so why not do something environmental for the area? There are parts of the river that are beautiful, after all the Anacostia is one of the Chesapeake Bay tributaries. But still I wonder if the river is in remission like a cancer ready to rear its ugly head or is it actually changing. Storm runoff is still a very big problem and has not been fixed. What you see on the streets of D.C. and Maryland wash right into the river. In my opinion this should be the first priority to get under control. Before I close out my rant, there is a very nasty part of the highway that needs to be addressed. People that ride past the Nationals Stadium, across the Frederick Douglass Bridge to get onto 295 or Suitland Parkway run into a smell that is worse than swimming in an outhouse with your mouth open. I believe it's a sewage pump station that sits right at the split from South Capitol Street South West and Suitland Parkway. If you travel that way or have traveled that way you know what I'm talking about. That pump station is a pure representation and a monument to the Anacostia River. At this moment it represents everything the river is about. When I was stuck in traffic beside a vehicle I heard them say "Is that the River? Man it stinks!"  Be smart D.C. do something about the location of that pump station or do something about the smell. I'm happy I don't have to travel that road every day. It's disgraceful and you should be embarrassed or are you so use to the smell that you enjoy it?

Melvin Wylie

Tuna Fisheries Killing Sharks

LA JOLLA, Calif. - Governments will soon have a chance to help conserve populations of oceanic whitetip sharks, which have declined so much in the eastern Pacific that catch numbers have been reduced to almost zero. Tuna fisheries are primarily responsible for the drastic decrease in population of one of the most prolific and widespread shark species, the oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus). Whitetips are routinely caught inadvertently in fishing nets and on longlines, a type of gear that extends underwater up to 30 miles. Increasing demand and high prices for fins in Asia mean fishermen have little incentive to release the animals alive. There is ample evidence showing that, even when it is illegal to do so, they often cut off and keep the fins before throwing the shark overboard to die. Governments gathered in La Jolla, California for the annual meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) responsible for managing tuna fisheries across an area totaling approximately 68 million square kilometers (26 million square miles). The 20 government members of the IATTC have an opportunity to agree on measures to promote shark conservation, including the immediate release of all oceanic whitetips from nets and lines and a ban on the use of wire leaders, the part of the fishing line attached to a baited hook—a key cause of species mortality. The leaders could instead be made of nylon, which the animals can easily bite through. "The plunging oceanic whitetip population exemplifies overall global shark decline," said Jill Hepp, manager of Global Shark Conservation at the Pew Environment Group. "The loss of these top predators can cause irreversible damage to the health of oceans. The good news is that, in the case of whitetips caught on fishing lines, there is a relatively easy fix. As custodians of the ocean, RFMOs need to take action to protect these animals and the broader marine ecosystems they inhabit." According to its own science, IATTC reports that overfishing of bigeye, yellowfin and bluefin tuna is occurring and that the exploitation rate of skipjack tuna, the most common variety purchased in cans, continues to increase. There are too many vessels. Current capacity surpasses IATTC's limit by 33 percent, allowing an excess of 51 average-size purse seine vessels, which use large underwater nets,to go to sea. "Poor fisheries management is not only taking a toll on sharks," said Amanda Nickson, senior officer for International Policy with the Pew Environment Group. "Put simply, there are more boats chasing fewer fish, with a devastating effect on marine life as billions of unwanted or non-targeted animals are caught and discarded, dead or dying, back into the ocean. It is time for IATTC to take action to conserve sharks, set science-based total allowable catch limits for all tuna species and reduce fishing capacity in line with those limits."

Melvin Wylie

Environmental Photos

[cincopa AoJA-rKPSa-G]

Melvin Wylie

Georgetown Law Images

[cincopa A4BA_paGSaaB]

Melvin Wylie

Cycling

[cincopa AsNALqqLRiY4]

Melvin Wylie