Our World and Everything in It

And it’s no surprise that half of the pollution cases that were neglected were oil spills. It also said that certain areas were inundated with unresolved violations like EPA Region 6, to include the states of NM, TX, OK, AK, LA, and Region 8, to include Montana, ND, SD, WY, UT, and CO. Interesting that most of the states are red states isn’t it? Republican support of big oil is coming back to bite them. Dallas reported dozens of oil spill cases that were either on hold or had no follow up for penalties. Denver’s office said they had hundreds of OPA’s (Oil Pollution Act) cases with no further action and a long list of violations no one intends to address. And the Kansas City office said that their “morale plummeted, employees lost hope, and the stress level is overwhelming, at critical levels.”

It was also revealed that the Asst. Secy. for the Army for Civil Works favored corporate lobbyists over scientific determinations of career officials in making Clean Water Act decisions for the Santa Cruz River in Arizona. Another non-surprise. It smacks of the rest of the Bush administration’s anti-environmental�appointments. It’s too bad besides being red states many of these SW states�may not have enough water in the future to sustain the populations of people. To pollute what is there is criminal.

This mess stems from the Supreme Court decision in June of 2006 that ruled for the Rapanos case which states that “federal agencies could assert jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act for many waters only after going through a time-consuming and resource-intensive process of demonstrating a ’significant nexus’ to ‘traditional navigable waters.’�It means�groundwater, small creeks, and streams have a habit of slipping through the cracks for any kind of protection. Michigan’s House and Senate go round and round about Michigan’s groundwater protection. The Great Lakes are protected, but inland it’s another story. A good portion of our groundwater doesn’t fall under jurisdiction for use. So the state’s aren’t protecting it, the feds aren’t protecting it, and this is where the problem lies.

This is a�pretty revealing story about the EPA in the Bush Administration leaving waters unprotected and hiding the mess from the public, while protecting corporate polluters.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-16-02.asp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. (HSC) is about to invest $1 billion dollars for expansion of its Thomas Township, Saginaw County manufacturing facility when “lawmakers offered the largest energy tax credit in the state’s history — $300 million to $350 million over 12 years.” The article on mlive.com also said this job will bring “300 full-time positions and the potential of drawing job-producing solar companies to mid-Michigan.” It couldn’t happen at a better time.

This was a hard won battle between Michigan and Tennessee where HSC plans to open a brand new $1.2 billion facility. Over the next few years HSC will funnel an additional $800 million either to Saginaw, MI or Clarksville, TN. So it looks like the competition is still on.

Now there are more jobs in the works. Dow Corning is a major owner of HSC. So HSC has decided to build a facility to manufacture monosilane gas also next to its Thomas Twp. facility. Monosilane is a specialty gas used in manufacturing thin solar cells and liquid crystal displays. 

Construction on all of these projects is to begin immediately because HSC says they are tapped out for production. Their product is bought as quickly as it’s produced. The Thomas Twp. job will bring total employment to more than 1,500 workers by finish in 2011 and at least 800 to 1,200 construction workers will stay on the site until the work is finished. Yesssss!

Maybe now all will have a little more faith in what we environmentalists have been saying all along and that is to let the green companies move forward. Nurture them if we have to. They are bursting to create product, which will boost the economy. GE has been having a hard time keeping up with wind turbine production and now this leading solar corporation says that they can hardly keep up—a good sign that there is possibly a rainbow on the horizon, a green rainbow.

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/business/index.ssf/2008/12/hemlock_semiconductor_splits_i.html

I just read an article on-line in the Freep. It was about the anniversary of Michigan’s bottle return law that turned 30 yesterday. It raised the question of adding non-carbonated beverages to the list of returnables, and problems with consumers returning bottles and cans that were purchased elsewhere. I immediately had visions of Kramer driving Newman’s mail truck to another state to return the huge load of returnable cans he had in the back. It seems Michigan has a Kramer problem. Too many people returning their out of state plastic here.

The problem may soon to be resolved. The article said that State Rep. Steve Bieda would introduce amended bills to stop the out of state bottle fraud with penalties for retailers who knowingly pay for them. And return machines will be keyed to reject any containers from out of state.

I don’t know why this hasn’t happened sooner. And I do not get that both Pepsi and Coke haven’t had to add their water bottles, which are the two most popular drinking waters, to the list of refundables. The amount of plastic water bottles that will take forever to break down in our trash dumps in inexcusable.

Adding non-carbonated beverages to the list of refundables, and curbside recycling at no additional cost to the consumer, would keep a huge amount of debris out of the trash dumps. I say “at no cost to the consumer” because some communities whose residents took the time to sort their plastic, metal, and glass actually saw their rates go up.

We have to think of something to do with the refuse that goes into dumps if we’re ever going to phase them out. I think we’re still pretty wasteful as a society that should know better.

There was a lot more car traffic this Thanksgiving than usual. People opted to either drive to their destination or simply stay home. On the news I saw some of the awful traffic backups around the country. It made me wonder about using roundabouts more because they not only relieve traffic congestion, but save gas, and idle time, which conserves on the amount of emissions in the air.

Roundabouts are used in place of an intersection where cars enter a circle until they exit onto another street. Because there is no stopping there is less gas used to accelerate, and/or idle. Everyone moves along at a steady pace.

Michigan is in the process of redoing many of their roadways. We should be seeing more roundabouts. A new single lane roundabout in Northville was completed earlier this year, one of 17 roundabouts in Southeast Michigan. Ann Arbor may soon see a roundabout at US-23 and Geddes Rd.

Roundabouts in other areas of the country like Carmel, Indiana have reported a “78% drop in accidents involving injuries, not to mention a savings of some 24,000 gal. of gas per year per roundabout because of less car idling.” According to a Time Magazine article called “You Want a Revolution,” Carmel’s mayor Jim Brainard received a climate-protection award this year from the U.S. conference of Mayors. Brainard thinks, “As our population densities become more like Europe’s, roundabouts will become more popular.”

That same article stated that the U.S. has about 1000 roundabouts in 25 states. With a lot of U.S. roads getting a makeover, it seems that roundabouts should be a no brainer.
The only problem is the fear of change many drivers feel. Anybody that has encountered a multiple lane roundabout like those in Boston knows the fear I’m talking about.

A single lane roundabout isn’t too bad, but more than one lane and “Oh Boy!” I got into a multiple lane roundabout on Hilton Head Island, SC and past the street I was trying to exit onto more than once. So there is a knack for navigating a sophisticated roundabout.

But there is an up side for “roundabout fears.” A report claimed that because the roundabout is a fairly new concept in the U.S. and a little confusing, the trepidation at entering one actually slows drivers down, and calls for a more alert approach to navigation, certainly a good thing. No wonder there are less accidents. It’s also very hard to enter a circle and get out of that circle while talking on a cell phone. But I bet we see drivers try to do it anyway.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1838753,00.html

http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/news/index.ssf/2008/11/traffic_roundabouts_planned_at.html

http://sustainablemanitowoc.blogspot.com/2008/09/roundabouts-help-save-drivers-time-and.html

There is a wilderness bill before congress that will protect more than a million acres of new wilderness areas in 8 states. It’s a good counterbalance to the acres of national forests that went up for auction over the past 8 years. Michigan is one of the states that would gain protected wilderness area through this bill.

A current Wilderness Society newsletter stated, “the bill [] would prevent new oil and gas leasing along the Wyoming Range and make permanent the National Landscape Conservation System, made up of 26 million acres of unspoiled public lands in the West.”

The only drawback to the bill is the authorization of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which groups like the Wilderness Society strongly oppose. They will work to get this one provision removed. The bill may pass by the end of the year. If not it will be presented again during the new administration.

This wilderness bill is actually a composite of 150 public land bills, and according to the same article would “designate wilderness in Michigan for the first time in 21 years. The Beaver Basin Wilderness at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore would protect a popular hiking, boating, and camping spot on Lake Superior.”

Aside from this, I recall reading WXYZ’s news ticker a couple of weeks ago that stated Sleeping Bear Dunes Park would be adding 35 miles of hiking trails and expanding the wilderness area of the park by 45%.

Encourage our state reps to pass this wilderness bill, as it will protect many areas of many states from roads, structures, and off-road vehicles forever. It’s the least we can do after the Bush Administration’s onslaught against our national parks, public lands, and wildlife, and get back on track for protecting some of our beautiful national heritage.

WXYZ news announced this morning that Detroit area Coca Cola trucks would soon be running on hybrid electric motors. The trucks were purchased earlier this year from Eaton Corp.

Eaton is an impressive corporation as far as transportation and the environment. There website states: “We create innovations in hybrid power and low emission vehicles as a leading provider of diesel-electric hybrid power systems for truck and bus applications on three continents. Eaton is also developing hydraulic hybrid power systems technologies for use in refuse trucks, delivery vehicles, buses and other applications. Eaton has a hybrid truck drivetrain center outside of Kalamazoo and is a Cleveland-based Corp.

http://www.eaton.com/EatonCom/Markets/Truck/index.htm.

Coca-Cola ordered 120 of the hybrid trucks, the largest North American commercial order from Eaton’s hybrid systems according to WWJ. Coke previewed these trucks when they purchased 20 of them last year. They evidently liked their performance.

The article below said that Coca-Cola did extensive tests and found that “Eaton’s hybrid-electric drivetrain equipped trucks decreased emissions by 32 percent and fuel consumption by up to 37 percent.” This kind of fuel savings could start a trend.

http://www.wwj.com/Coke-to-Buy-Hybrid-Delivery-Trucks-From-

Eaton/1729913

The Great Lakes are getting attention again with the Great Lakes Compact and the latest addition of $54 million per year for two years to the Great Lakes Legacy Act. There are 42 Areas of Concern that are toxic hotspots relative to the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and another 93 that are on the Superfund list as a national priority. That’s a lot of toxic spots.

I thought it would be interesting to find the 42 hotspots and found a Google map of at least 31 of them. I clicked on quite a few for more information.  There is an awful lot of work to be done. I don’t think the $54 million will make a dent and well, it’s going to take quite a long time. I know when they were cleaning up the Black Lagoon in the Trenton Channel it took most of the summer. Then there is the problem of where to dump the toxic stuff. Of course the Black Lagoon stuff ended up near my house. http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/?p=21.

I wasn’t too happy about it.

Check out the Google Map of hotspots: http://www.healthylakes.org/areas_of_concern/2008/06/24/unearthing-the-great-lakes-areas-of-concern.

The Clean Corporate Citizen (C3) program, established under Administrative Rules R324.1501 to R324.1511, allows regulated establishments that have demonstrated environmental stewardship and a strong environmental ethic through their operations in Michigan to be recognized as Clean Corporate Citizens. The C3 program is built on the concept that these Michigan facilities can be relied upon to carry out their environmental protection responsibilities without rigorous oversight, and should enjoy greater permitting flexibility than those that have not demonstrated that level of environmental awareness. Clean Corporate Citizens who voluntarily participate in this program will receive public recognition and are entitled to certain regulatory benefits, including expedited permits. http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3307_3666_4134—,00.html

While I’m happy that DTE is looking into investing in environmentally sound alternatives in the future, and this attempt to clean up AROUND Monroe’s coalburner is great progress, the Clean Corporate Citizen’s award is a little out of place here. What about the mercury? What about the CO2? Has DTE turned our coalburner into a carbon capture plant, because unless all three things are addressed with this award, than clean is a subjective word?

The award comes from Michigan’s DEQ whose budget has recently been slashed again. http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/?p=414. The same DEQ that warns they will have fewer regulators looking out for Michigan’s wetlands, rivers, and streams, and will not likely to be able to respond to pollution spills.

If you read about the Clean Corporate Citizen program above it says, “regulated establishments that had a strong environmental ethic THROUGH their operations in Michigan…”  Come on, DTE just recently installed scrubbers that DO NOT address CO2 and or the resultant mercury emissions. It’s the second largest burner in the country.

I especially like the part above that says: “should enjoy greater permitting flexibility than those that have not demonstrated that level of environmental awareness.”  DTE is now a Clean Corporate Citizen who can enjoy EXPEDITED permits says the Dept. of Environmental Quality that no longer has the funds to regulate what happens to much of our state’s surface waters. The same surface waters of which 25% do not fall under the Great Lakes Compact protection either, thanks to Michigan’s senate.

Lovely.

Does anyone else find it fishy that Michigan’s Senate Republicans fought to keep 25% of surface groundwater such as wetlands out of the Great Lakes Compact, and specifically out of the public’s domain, and now Michigan’s DEQ says it must slash its wetland inspection, and pollution spill response programs? The DEQ says many will be on the honor system when it comes to withdrawing water and dumping pollution. Great. Here we go with self regulation again, that’s not working out well in other sectors of the economy right now. 

So no one will be around if you complain that the guy behind you is filling in that nice little creek between both your houses, or that nice piece of land next to you in the boonies up north becomes a dump site of sorts, not to mention siphoning rivers like the Au Sable, and making some wetlands literally dry up.

So many cuts have been made to help Michigan’s economy along. Didn’t the senate anticipate little to no regulators being able to keep watch on our wetlands in the very near future?  It’s only been months since that compact was signed and already surface water is threatened, and not just the 25% the senate fought to keep out of the compact. Hmmm.

The only good thing is that Gov. Granholm also signed bills to manage the use of surface ground water via a computer system that will determine when and where business can make withdrawals. The problem is this computer system is so new. Just how many places have monitors installed? Probably very few. Where will the money to monitor come from since the DEQ is fresh out of money?

And here’s the kicker. Obama wants to contribute $5 million dollars to really, really clean up the Great Lakes. The way things stand now, our service water is out of the loop of protection as part of our Great Lakes. Unless it’s included in the future, there will be no clean Great Lakes. Pollutants from groundwater will make it into the lakes. And unchecked withdrawals of surface water will likely take place to the point some wetlands may disappear.

The decision to keep surface water out of public domain caters completely to industry and special interest groups. Now it’s all come back to kick us in the pants when we find we’ve lost our say in our own backyards for 25% of surface water  problems, and nobody will come if you call about the other 75% either.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-30/1221576618242910.xml&coll=7

http://greatlakesgreatmichigan.org/legislation.htm

I went to Pontiac for Arts, Beats, and Eats Saturday night. I like that festival. The food is from restaurants, and there is good entertainment, and unusual art. Despite a bad economy there was a good many people and they were buying this may have been due to the evening hour after an afternoon of eating and imbibing however.

I’ve gone to this event about 6 times now and I noticed the green effort this year. Garbage was labeled trash or recyclables. There were people there to tell you what to throw where. When I looked in the recyclable barrel there was Styrofoam, plastic cups, like the one I was tossing, and plastic utensils. I soon found out the stuff was made out of sugar cane, corn, and potatoes. The guy told me vegetable oil also. The idea was no petro products even the plastic bags vendors used to wrap their wares. Pretty amazing. It looked and appeared to be just plastic.

Chrysler had some of their Global Electric Motor (GEM) E2 and E4 cars that either drew interest, criticism, or laughter. They are hybrids that use electric up to 35 mph and then get something like 50 mpg thereafter. I’m going by what my husband remembers.

The E2 is a two seater. It looks like a cartoon mini car that parking ticket officers drive. The E4 is a four seater of course, a tad more substantial. The price for the E2 began in the $5,000 range but by the end of the sheet jumped up to in the $14,000 range. This was cause for criticism. Then there were safety issues. It’s a bug.

Maybe the E2 is not for the highways of Michigan but getting around a crowded city where traffic is always a crawl, it might not be too bad. It’s more comfortable than a bike and comparable in price to a Harley. If traffic only crawls the danger issue is reduced. As for parking—it’s a bug.

http://www.gemcar.com/