April 14, 1999
1) Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin "Endangered"
2) Vehicle Emission Testing Poll Shows Strong Support
3) State Senator Smitherman Introduces 5 Enviro Bills
4) Poll: Recycling and Trash Cleanups Very Popular
5) More Events Added to April-June Calendar
6) Environmental Reporter Leaving
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To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour
William Blake
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1. Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa named "Endangered"
- American Rivers, a well
respected national environmental and watershed protection group,
named the
Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin to it's top 10 endangered
rivers
list on Monday (April 12). Unbridled growth from Atlanta and the
lack of
progress on the "water war" negotiations between Georgia
and Alabama were
cited as the reasons for the national ranking.
American Rivers President Rebecca Wodder stated, "The
age old water wars of
the West have now moved east.... States are fighting among themselves
for
water to fuel unbridled growth - all to the detriment of one of
the most
ecologically diverse areas in the world."
Alabama Rivers Allliance Executive Director called upon the
Alabama
Legislature to pay more attention to water resources and water
quality issues
in Alabama. "Do we have to have massive fish kills in Alabama?"
he asked in
a Birmingham News article. "Do we have to have water crises
and great
economic impacts before we do something? We should put a water
permitting
system (for water withdrawls) in place like every other state
in the country
and put the money up to monitor these rivers and enforce standards.
Time is
running out."
For more information about the ACT River Basin top 10 ranking
and what you
can do to protect Alabama rivers, contact the Alabama Rivers Alliance
at
205-322-6395 or e-mail alabamariv@aol.com
2. Vehicle Emissions Poll Show Strong Support - According
to a recent survey
conducted by New South Research for the Jefferson County Health
Department
and the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Metro
residents are
well aware of the ground-level ozone problem and are willing to
support auto
emissions tests to combat the problem.
In this year's survey 43% of the respondents said they had
made changes in
their lifestyle as a result of the ozone awareness campaigns.
Last year 22%
of the respondents claimed they made changes.
Support for auto emissions testing also showed overwhelming
and increasing
support. In this year's survey 82% of area residents said they
supported
mandatory vehicle emissions inspections. This is an increase from
73% in
last year's survey.
This week State Representative George Perdue from Birmingham
is expected to
introduce vehicle inspection legislation to combat the ozone problem
in
Jefferson and Shelby counties.
3. State Senator Smitherman Introduces 5 Enviro Bills
- Longtime
environmental supporter State Senator Rodger Smitherman of Birmingham
introduced 5 Environmental/Health related bills in the Alabama
Senate last
week. Here is a breakdown of the 5 bills.
SB 234 -To establish the Environmental Equity and Justice Commission
to
review and eliminate the dispoprtionate concentration of environmental
hazards.
SB's 241, 242 and 243 - These bills deal with childhood lead
poisoning. SB
241 requires children to be tested for lead between the ages of
0-6 and
brings Alabama elevated level of concern in line with the federal
guidelines
of the Centers for Disease Control. SB 242 would require the State
Health
Department to establish and maintain a statewide database of housing
that is
contaminated with elevated levels of lead. SB 243 would establish
a
statewide mobile unit for lead testing.
SB 245 - Currently, the State Emergency management Agency is
not notified by
commercial storers of toxic chemicals that are in storage, or
that chemicals
have been accidently burned in a storage facility. This bill requires
commercial storers of toxic chemicals to report the storage of
toxic
chemicals and would require fire departments to report accidental
burning of
toxic chemicals.
For more information about Senator Smitherman's bills contact
his office at
334-242-7800.
4. Mobile Register Poll: Recycling & Cleanups Popular
- Mandatory recycling
programs and no tolerance for illegal garbage dumping were the
winning issues
in a poll conducted for the Mobile Register and released this
past Sunday
(April 11). Here are some of the results of the poll. (Remember
only
residents of the city of Mobile were surveyed.)
Stiffer Fines for Litterbugs - 36% strongly approve, 52% approve
(88%
Approval), 9% disapprove, 1% strongly disapprove
Mandatory Recycling Programs - 21% strongly approve, 53% approve
(74%
Approval), 19% disapprove, 1% strongly disapprove
Requiring payment of deposits on cans and bottles to encourage
people to
collect and return these items? (A Bottle Bill) - 18% strongly
approve, 52%
approve (70% Approval) 24% disaprove, 2% strongly disapprove
Have you ever made a special effort to buy products in recyclable
containers?
Would you be willing to do so in the future? (Percentages total
more than
100% because both of the first two responses could be chosen.)
75% Would be willing to , 66% Have done , 14% Neither/NA
5. More April-June Calendar Events - As expected we
did miss a few events on
the BEN April-June Calendar Special. Here are some additions to
the
calendar. If you did not get the BEN April-June Calendar Special,
write me
at pkbyington@aol.com
and I'll send one over to you.
April 16-18 - Alabama Ornithological Society Meeting at Dauphin
Island. For
more info visit their website at: http://www.bham.net/aos/
April 22 - Auntie Litter's Earth Day Parade Linn Park in Birmingham.
For more
info contact: 205-967-4374.
May 10 - 3rd Annual Planning and Land Use Law Update Seminar
in Orange Beach.
For detailed info call 1-800-TALK-UNA and ask for continuing education.
6. Post-Herald Environmental Reporter Leaving - Nick
Patterson, the
Birmingham Post-Herald's (PH) environmental reporter will be leaving
the PH
for a position within the UAB public relations department. Over
the years
Nick has written some passionate and timely hard hitting environmental
stories. Some of his last great stories were wonderful profiles
on Ruffner
Mountain and the Pinhoti Trail.
Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists.
If you have any questions about BEN, contact Pat Byington at
205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com
