Yesterday's news is today's issue
The In the News section of this newsletter cites 120 news articles dealing with a variety of environmental topics that have appeared in the Richmond Times from November, 1998 to June, 1999*.
An effort was made to find every article that had environmental content and no bias was used in selecting articles. If one were to categorize them some interesting trends will appear.
The articles deal with about one dozen major topics and they fall out as follows:
* Contact the Specialist for a complete listing of these articles.
It is evident that trash and living resources were the big topics for discussion. Virginia's designation as the nation's second largest importer of trash led state officials to enact several bills limiting trash imports as well as address the issues of landfill quality control. The pros and cons of large, privately owned landfills have been and will continue to be debated. The economic impact to communities, use of advanced technology, and increasing need for waste removal are pitted against the unsure future legacy of landfills, demand for imported wastes to maintain profitability and concerns over future cleanup costs for localities. Somewhere in the background is the issue of recycling. However, as long as garbage is a commodity worth more in a landfill, a major increase in recycling efforts is not likely.
The key players in the living resources arena include the blue crab, horseshoe crab, oyster and shad. All four are under increasingly intense regulation to restore and protect stocks.
Striped Bass restoration programs have been very successful with the completion of a new multi-million dollar hatchery. In addition, there has been a concerted effort to reopen historic spawning grounds for striper and shad with dam breaching and new fish passages. The impact of introduced species, such as blue catfish, will be difficult to control and will only add to the pressures on economically important fishery stocks.
The most notable restoration story is the multi-billion dollar program to restore the Florida Everglades. The current status of this ecosystem is most depressing. The impact of massive dredging and draining campaigns has left the Everglades in critical condition. Another noteworthy story is the conservation easement effort that the Nature Conservancy is using to protect fragile seaside farmland on the Eastern Shore.
Water quality issues are many and varied. The effort to restore bay grasses has met with mixed success. While one area shows improvement in bay grass coverage, another area shows decline. There is an increasing concern over toxic pollution with the release of several fish advisories across the state. In addition, the EPA's dirty water list has been expanded in Virginia and there is a more concerted effort to control nutrient pollution from livestock and poultry operations. The nightmare story concerning arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh affecting nearly 20 million people should be a wake-up call for all of us.
Water quantity issues were highlighted with water shortages, increased danger of forest fires, fights over proposed dams and the choice between water for a viable fisheries or crop irrigation. "Stream flows in most Virginia's major river basins are well below normal, fires have already burned more forest land this year than went up in flames in all of 1998, and rainfall from July, '98 through April, '99 has been the fifth lowest for the period in more than a century."1
On the global front, global warming and Antarctic ice sheet melt are the big stories. Deforestation in the tropics continues at an alarming rate. This can be compared to the deforestation in the bay watershed where coverage has been reduced from nearly 50% to less than 40% since the 1950's. Charles Little's book, The Dying of the Trees, highlighted the demise of forests in the U.S. Oddly, there has been little in the news concerning last year's stratospheric ozone or UV radiation concerns.
The plight of the Virginia farmer was well documented the March 15 article, As the farm grows, so do regulations. A country that does not support its food producers with adequate financial returns and assistance in regulation compliance will severely short-change itself in the long run.
Air quality will be an increasingly important issue with new, more stringent EPA quality indicators. In order to meet the air quality standards, Virginia will eventually have to adapt auto emission inspections statewide and tighter utility and industry regulation. Ozone warnings are on the increase and public health is an important concern. However, much of Virginia's air quality problems originate west of the state and regional air quality strategies must be implemented.
Road construction versus mass transit, concerns over food safety and environmental health, failed urban sprawl measures and critical issues concerning radioactive nuclear waste storage round out the topics.
The articles are a mix of good and bad news but the overall picture is not particularly positive. As Pogo said, "I have met the enemy and he is us." In many of these issues, we, society, are the root cause of the problems. A review of the up-coming season's news reports will reveal any progress we make toward a more sustainable environment.
2 Richmond Times Dispatch, 5/14/99-B
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Call for presentations for the 15th Annual Groundwater Foundation Symposium - Understanding and Addressing Risks to Groundwater, November 15 - 17, Atlanta, Georgia. For information, contact: info@groundwater.org or go to www.groundwater.org, or call 1-800-858-4844.
Call for presentations for the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters national conference: Building on Leopold's Legacy, October 4 - 7, Madison, Wisconsin. For information, log on www.wisc.edu/wisacad/environment/landethic.
The National Arbor Day Foundation's Building with Trees National Conference. For information, contact: June Parsons at jparsons@arborday.org or call 402-474-5655.
The School Age Child Care Conference for day care providers and non-formal educators, November 5 - 6, Sheraton Inn, Fredericksburg. For information, call Barbara King Hart at 757-363-2293.
The Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Conference, Wilmington, N.C., October 15 -17. For information, log on www.vims.edu/adv/mamea or call 757-642-7169.
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Request for proposals by the Recycled Materials Resource Center which supports recycling programs. For information, contact: Colleen Mitchell at colleen.mitchell@unh.edu or log on www.rmrc.unh.edu.
The Virginia Environmental Endowment awards grants from$1000 to $5000 to schools for innovative environmental and stewardship programs. For more information, call 804-644-5000.
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Grant (Bay License Plate) applications are available from the Division of Legislative Services, 910 Capitol St., Richmond, VA 23219 or call 804-786-3591.
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The Mariners' Museum in Newport News offers a variety of youth and family educational programs. For more information, call 757-596-2222.
VORTEX - Virginia Oyster Reef Teaching Experience is a series of three workshops on oyster biology and oyster reef ecology for teachers, grades 6 - 12. For more information, contact: vclark@vims.edu or call 804-684-7169.
The James River Association is offering a variety summer field programs. For more information, call 804-730-2898.
Journey to Planet Earth is a wonderful video series that looks at the scientific, economic, political and historic viewpoints of important environmental issues - rivers, urbanization, and farm lands. For more information, log on www.pbs.org/teachersource/planetearth.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers a wide range of professional training programs at their National Conservation Training Center. For more information, call 304- 876-1600 or log on www.fws.gov/r9nctc.html.
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The voracious Blue Catfish may be an unintentional predator of migratory shad and other native species. It was stocked in the James River twenty years ago and may impact certain fish species whose numbers have been dwindling. 1
The $2 million fish passage at Boshers Dam in Richmond has been completed. This will allow shad, herring and other migratory species to travel as far as Lynchburg on their annual spawning runs for the first time since 1803.1
Virginia has several hundred illegal or improperly managed waste dumpsites that are contaminating ground and surface water. It may cost the state more than $200 million to close and clean up these sites.1
The General Assembly dealt with a number of bills that addressed water quality, land conservation and waste management. Issues included poultry waste permitting, submerged aquatic vegetation criteria, wetland mitigation banking, tax credits for conservation easements, landfill permitting, and many others. 1
Fishery studies near Hopewell discovered high level of PCB's, DDT and TBT in blue catfish. None of the adult catfish had testes, a result of exposure to these hormone-disrupting chemicals.1
The James River Association is working with riparian landowners to reestablish riparian forests. They will manage the plantings and do the work all free of charge. 1
The Great Lakes Water Quality Forum (September 23 - 26) will be looking at many of the same water problems that we have in Virginia: human and ecosystem health, toxics strategies, sediment management, water levels, agriculture and urban chemical use, fisheries decline, invasive exotics, and land use. 2
Forested riparian buffers (trees along a stream or river bank) can reduce sediment and nutrient loading up to 90% and 70% respectively when at least 60 feet in width. They also provide shade, reduce flooding and provide valuable wildlife habitat.1
The Department of Interior charges an annual grazing fee of $1.35 for each animal on its federal lands. "It's cheaper to graze cattle on public lands than to feed your pet hamster," says one environmental watch group. 3
Commercial logging in National Forests cost the taxpayers $45 million in 1997. Out of 104 National Forest Units in the nation, 83 operated at a loss. 3
Researchers are trying a variety of biopesticides in their battle against forest pests. These include lepidopteran-toxic fungi, bacteria and viruses; semiochemical application; and pheromone traps. 4
The United States produces 130 times more animal manure than human waste and there is no national standard for handling animal waste. It is a major source of water pollution and 60% of rivers and streams in the U.S. are impaired due to agriculture-related runoff. 5
Submerged aquatic grasses increased by 9% from 1996 - 1997 . However, grass coverage declined by 8% from 1997 - 1998. Nearly 12,000 acres were lost in Tangier Sound alone .7
The Elizabeth River Project is coordinating numerous projects to improve and protect the health of the Elizabeth River. These include wetland and wildlife habitat reconstruction, stormwater runoff exhibits at Nauticus, "The Living River" art show, removal of 20 sunken and derelict vessels, and matching grants awards. A 1996 inventory reported 145 abandoned vessels in the Elizabeth River . 8
A new biotech engineered corn seed contains a natural insecticide (BT) to control corn earworm. However, it is also toxic to most other moths and butterflies. The ecological impact is under study .9
There is a $2.00 bounty for live Rappa Welks taken from the Chesapeake Bay. The introduced mollusk from Japan is a possible threat to native oysters and other shellfish .10
A large bluefin tuna, weighing over 1000 pounds, can bring up to $20,000. Today there is less than one fifth of the number of adult, breeding bluefin tuna that existed in 1975. 10
Blue crab populations are at a historic low, down 70% from the average. In addition, the average size is 10% less than average. Smaller adult females produce fewer eggs than their larger counterparts. Tighter crabbing regulations are being implemented. 10
The Zebra Mussel has invaded 19 states since it first appeared in the Great Lakes in 1986. It has most recently been documented in Connecticut. 11
The Virginia Natural Heritage Program has 26 preserves totaling 13,800 acres and monitors 1431 species of plant and animals. 12
"More than 5500 large dams impede America's running waters, leaving less than 2% of the country's 3.1 million miles of rivers and streams flowing free... Two of every three freshwater mussel species are heading for extinction or are already there; half of all crayfish species are imperiled; more than one third of the country's freshwater fishes are in trouble - 17 of them missing outright... Dams, along with pollution and invasions of foreign species, are the leading detriments to the country's freshwater biodiversity." 13
Virginia has an average rainfall pH of 4.4 while most of the western half of the country has a rainfall pH of 5.0 or higher. 14
Only 50% of Virginia's trout streams support trout due to acid precipitation. 15
1 Tidings, Spring/99, James River Association
2 International Joint Commission, Detroit, MI
3 Troutline, 4/99, Trout Unlimited
4 Forest Health Technology, Winter/99
5 Aquifer, 9/98, The Groundwater Foundation
6 VA Lakes and Watersheds Association, Spring/99
7 Richmond Times Dispatch, 6/6/99, Section C.
8 Mudflats, Spring/99, Elizabeth River Project
9 National Public Radio, May 19, 1999
10 The Crest, Vol. 1, No. 1, VIMS
11 Coastlines, 2/99, UMASS
12 VNHP 12 Year Report
13 Nature Conservancy, March/April, 1999
14 National Atmospheric Deposition Program, 1998
15 Richmond Times Dispatch, 5/20/99-E
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For the Asking (and maybe some money)
Global Rivers Environmental Education Network is offering a low cost WQ kit that measures pH, DO, N/P, turbidity and biochemical O2 demand. The cost is $25.00. For more information, contact Carolyn Henne at GREEN, chenne@green.org, or call 734-761-8142.
Litter Prevention Activities for Virginia Teachers is a new SOL based curriculum available from DEQ. To request a copy, call Kelly Heimbach at 804-698-4049 or kaheimbach@deq.state.va.us.
A series of high quality nature images on CD are available from the University of Kentucky. Subjects include butterflies, urban birds, orchids and mountain wildflowers with 60 100 on each CD. The price is $35.00@. For information, contact: Dr. Tom Barnes, Extension Wildlife Specialist, Department of Forestry, UKY, Lexington, KY 40546-0073.
Watershed Stewardship: A Learning Guide is a 22 chapter guide is designed for watershed groups and land owners/managers interested in effective planning for water protection strategies. For more information, contact the University of Oregon at puborders@orst.edu (publication EM 8714, price - $32.00).
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Try the following WEB sites.
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I hope you have found this newsletter useful. Please send me your comments. There is the possibility of reviving the Virginia Association for Environmental Education. If you have an interest in helping to lead or provide service for this organization, please contact me. "And we thank you for your support."
Barry W. Fox, Extension Specialist
4-H Marine/Aquatic Education
Box 9081, Virginia State University
Petersburg, VA 23806
804-524-5848
FAX: 804-525-5057
Email: bfox@vsu.edu
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Environmental Education and Natural Resources