1) The Mobile Register's "Alabama's Delta Wilderness Calendar"
2) The Costs of Cleaning Up Alabama's Power Plants
3) TVA Moving Forward on Green Power
4) Alabama Animal Census: How Many Hogs Live in Your Community?
5) Found!! New Alabama Environmental Websites to Bookmark
6) News You Can Use: NWF's Small Grants, Roadless Area Website

1. The Mobile Register's "Alabama's Delta Wilderness Calendar" - I do not usually place information/news in BEN about the sale of an item at the beginning of our newsletter - but this time I am making an exception.

Last week I received a copy of the Mobile Register's "Alabama's Delta Wilderness", a 12 month calendar with more than 30 stunning color photos and brilliantly written sidebars and stories about the Delta. The calendar compliments the Register's award winning environmental series "A Wilderness Despite Us" which was published earlier this year. This calendar is something everyone will treasure.

More importantly, the Mobile Register has committed to donate all proceeds from the sale of the calendar to the Nature Conservancy of Alabama. Monies raised will be dedicated to researching and restoring the Delta to its original health. What a remarkable gift!

I strongly recommend BEN readers to place "Alabama's Delta Wilderness" on your holiday shopping list. 1999 was a landmark year for the Delta. Along with the Register's groundbreaking publication, Forever Wild, the Alabama Wildlife Federation and the Conservation Department were able to purchase more than 47,000 acres in the Delta. Groups such as the Nature Conservancy of Alabama and Ducks Unlimited also provided additional monies for the Delta's purchase - the largest in Alabama conservation history. Purchasing "Alabama's Delta Wilderness" is a wonderful way to end such an historic year for the Delta. It will also build momentum for the year 2000 and beyond.

To order a calendar by mail, send $12.95 for each calendar to the Mobile Register, P.O. Box 1925, Mobile, Alabama 36652. For more information about the project contact Bill Finch at 1-800-239-1340 or the Nature Conservancy of Alabama at 205-251-1155.

2. The Costs of Cleaning Up Alabama's Power Plants - "Would you be willing to spend another 86 cents a month to help clean up one of Mobile's worst pollution threats? How about $5 more a month? That could be the customer's price range for cutting out almost a half-million pounds of air pollution from Alabama Power Co.'s coal fired power plants, according to an analysis by the Mobile Register based on industry, company and government sources." - Excerpt from Mobile Register's December 5th "Plant Cleanup Could Mean Higher Rates"

These financial questions have been raised by the Mobile Register because of a recent Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) lawsuit concerning coal-fired power plants against the Southern Company and Alabama Power.
According to the Register, depending on who you talk to, the costs of cleaning up Alabama's coal plants could range from $500 million to $2.4 billion. EPA contends that the plants must reduce emissions by more than 80%. The Barry Steam Plant near Mobile for example, would have to remove more than 73,000 tons of dangerous gases out of the air every year. The potential environmental and health benefits are immeasurable.

Despite EPA's claims, Alabama Power officials say it has violated no regulations and has already cut some emissions in recent years. To learn more about this issue and Mobile Register's findings access their story at: http://www.al.com/news/mobile/Dec1999/5-a316698a.html

3. TVA Moving Forward on Green Power - The Tennessee Valley Reform Coalition (TVERC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and TVA's distributors are working to develop a "green power" product. The green power product offered
by TVA and their distributors will be the first of it's kind in the Southeast. Ten distributors of TVA power from across the TVA service area have agreed to participate in the market test. For the market test, approximately 3 to 6 megawatts of new green power generation from wind, solar, and landfill gas are expected to be installed in or near the TVA region. Based on the success of the market test, the green power product could be offered across the TVA service area by the end of 2003.

On Tuesday, December 7th, there will be a "Green Power Forum" in Nashville, TN. at the Music City Sheraton (call 615-885-2200 for directions) between 5:30-8:00. This will be a great opportunity for people within the Tennessee Valley region (especially North Alabama) to make a positive impact on the way we use energy. For more information on this exciting new program contact TVERC at 423-637-6055 or tverc@tngreen.com

4. Alabama Animal Census: How Many Hogs Live in Your Community? - Ever wondered how many hog farms exist in Alabama? Poultry operations? Cattle ranches? Check out the Natural Resources Conservation Service's website and you will find the Alabama Agriculture Census. The site gives you a county by county breakdown of the number of every conceivable agricultural operation in Alabama. If you ever wanted to know how important agriculture is in your community and Alabama, this site documents it. You can access the Census at: http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov/al/interest.html

5. Found!! New Alabama Environmental Websites to Bookmark - In the past few weeks, a couple of Alabama environmental groups have provided me with their new websites. I will be adding these new sites to my website at http://www.BamaNews.com this week. If you would like to suggest an environmental Alabama environmental website to be published in BEN, e-mail me at pkbyington@aol.com. Please check out the important work the following groups are doing in your Alabama.

Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College - http://www.bsc.edu/sec/

Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center - http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/raptor/

6. News You Can Use: NWF's Small Grants and USFS Roadless Area Website - Special thanks to Dr. Conner Bailey at Auburn University and the Grassroots Environmental Effectiveness Network for sending me the following tidbits.

National Wildlife Federation Grants Program - Over the next two years, National Wildlife Federation's Keep the Wild Alive campaign is offering 20 small grants of between $3,000 and $7,000 to help groups with creative ideas for helping species. The first 10 grants will be awarded in April 2000. For more information on who's qualified and how to apply, please visit NWF's website at: http://www.nwf.org/wildalive

President's Roadless Initiative Website - The US Forest Service has created a national website for information on the proposed rule governing management of roadless areas in the National Forest system. The website is designed to facilitate public comments and can be seen at: http://roadless.fs.fed.us

Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists. If you have any questions or comments about this publication, contact Pat Byington, the author and publisher of BEN at 205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com We also encourage readers to visit our website at : http://www.BamaNews.com