Over 75% of monarch butterflies essential to pollinate our food supply have disappeared, along with the milkweed they need for their own survival, due to the widespread use of toxic agricultural chemicals. Nobody seems to have put forward the idea that state highway departments, at little extra cost, could plant milkweed instead of grasses, providing the little beasties with nourishment along their entire incredible migration route. It's not rocket science, folks. --- I am a member of the Conservation Commission for the City of East Providence, Rhode Island and we are looking into doing just that on some public properties along our waterfront, and I am sure that in addition to state highways there are many cities, towns, and counties that could replace weeds and grasses on a variety of public properties with milkweed and an admixture of native plants

The fossil fuel industry's campaign to promote climate denial, led by the Koch brothers, has corrupted Harvard University and the Smithsonian, two of the most trusted scientific institutions in the world. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a joint program of the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University, is harboring a polluter-funded climate denier. Documents uncovered by Greenpeace reveal that Dr. Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon has taken money from the Kochs, Exxon Mobil, coal giant Southern Company, and others to produce "deliverables" that push the long-debunked claim that solar activity, not fossil fuel pollution, drives global warming. The New York Times reports: "He has accepted more than $1.2 million in money from the fossil-fuel industry over the last decade while failing to disclose that conflict of interest in most of his scientific papers. At least 11 papers he has published since 2008 omitted such a disclosure, and in at least eight of those cases, he appears to have violated ethical guidelines of the journals that published his work." Coal giant Southern Company was one of Soon's biggest funders: "The newly disclosed documents, plus additional documents compiled by Greenpeace over the last four years, show that at least $409,000 of Dr. Soon’s funding in the past decade came from Southern Company Services, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, based in Atlanta. Southern is one of the largest utility holding companies in the country, with huge investments in coal-burning power plants." Smithsonian-Harvard's contract with Southern Company forbade disclosure of Willie Soon's funding, a clear violation of scientific integrity and ethics. The Guardian reports: "ExxonMobil gave $335,000 but stopped funding Soon in 2010, according to the documents. The astrophysicist reportedly received $274,000 from the main oil lobby, the American Petroleum Institute, and $230,000 from the Charles G Koch Foundation. He received an additional $324,000 in anonymous donations through a trust used by the Kochs and other conservative donors, the documents showed." Some of the Exxon Mobil money was used to directly fund Harvard-Smithsonian general expenses. Harvard-Smithsonian has no funding-disclosure requirements, nor does it have a conflict-of-interest policy that prevents funding from fossil-fuel companies of climate science research. Is Harvard-Smithsonian a scientific institution or a fossil-fuel climate-denial public-relations firm? To restore public trust in the institution, Harvard-Smithsonian director Charles Alcock must: 1) sever his institution's ties with Dr. Wei-Hock Soon 2) end all financial relationships with the fossil fuel industry 3) establish strong financial public disclosure rules for all institute scientists that prevent anonymous or secret funding of research Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution are two of the most prominent and trusted scientific institutions in the world. They are taking money from Koch and Exxon to promote climate denial. This must end today. Sources: "Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher," The New York Times, February 21, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html "Work of prominent climate change denier was funded by energy industry", The Guardian, February 21, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-change-denier-willie-soon-funded-energy-industry "Documents Reveal Fossil Fuel Fingerprints on Contrarian Climate Research", Inside Climate News, February 21, 2015 http://insideclimatenews.org/news/21022015/documents-reveal-fossil-fuel-fingerprints-contrarian-climate-research-willie-soon-harvard-smithsonian-koch-exxon-southern-company

The Utter Folly of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and Tar Sand Petroleum Production By John M. Bachar, Jr. Emeritus Professor of Mathematics California State University Long Beach [email protected] The Congress, the Media, and an overwhelming majority of the US population are abysmally ignorant of Facts 1 and 2 just below (estimate: 99% do not know them). If these two Facts were known by these bodies, it would easily lead to killing the Keystone project forever. Fact 1. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) published a table that shows the U.S. daily petroleum consumption (in millions of barrels of petroleum per day – MBD) by sectors from 1950-2013. The three sectors covered are: Residential/Industrial, Electric and Transportation. In 2013, the Transportation sector consumed 13.2 MBD (= 4,818 million barrels per year), and all three sectors consumed 18.9 MBD.(= 6,898.5 million barrels per year). If the Keystone XL Pipeline is built and 830,000 barrels of Tar Sands crude (the dirtiest oil on Earth) flows daily from Alberta to the Texas refineries on the Gulf Coast, it will take 15.9 YEARS to accumulate enough fuel to fulfill the US Transportation sector needs for JUST ONE DAY! To meet the ONE DAY needs of all three US Sectors it will take 22.8 YEARS! Fact 2. In 2013, there were over 253 million vehicles on US roads, and they consumed 134 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel. Thus, the average annual consumption per vehicle was 530 gallons. When a 42 gallon barrel of crude is refined, 19 gallons of fuel is produced. Thus, if the Keystone XL pipeline is ever completed, then the 830,000 barrels daily would produce 365 x 19/42 x 830,000 = 137.049 million gallons of fuel per year. This is only 1.02% of the annual requirement of 134 BILLION gallons that is needed! Thus, the Keystone supply would only meet the annual needs of one vehicle out of every thousand vehicles! Total US benefit to US petroleum needs: ZILCH! Over a period of over six years, a vast number of scientifically based articles have been written by experts about Tar Sand Oil and its production, the effect on all of society, the horrendous record of the rapacious destruction and toxic poisoning of gigantic regions of pristine wilderness and land (by 2030, the area of the disemboweled Boreal forests will equal the area of Florida and exceed the area of England as well as the Amazon Basin), the huge infestation of pollutants into the atmosphere, the massively damaging effects on the environment and climate change, and the deleterious health effects on human, animal and biological life. All of this dictates that the project should be squelched immediately. The project is utter folly. If passed, the engorged, rapacious Big Oil vultures will accelerate the disembowelment of our pristine environment. Allowing Keystone to be completed is akin to aiding and abetting vicious criminals. For much, much more, click on: http://www.absentlinks.com/-environmental-disembowelment-tar-sands-and-keystone-pipeline.html

Badgerwood LLC submitted an application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to operate a 26,000 hog factory farm in Eileen Township. The proposed factory farm is sited in the Fish Creek Watershed, a watershed that contains outstanding, exceptional resource waters and is less than 8 miles upstream from Lake Superior. The Ashland Municipal Water Utility, tasked with providing clean drinking water to City of Ashland residents, is 3 nautical miles from the junction of Fish Creek and Lake Superior. Given the quantity of manure that the proposed CAFO will produce and the self-regulating nature of the CAFO industry, it's likely that Fish Creek, the Chequamegon Bay and Lake Superior will see increased nutrients, pathogens and agricultural run-off in the water. A complete EIS will include the following information: NR 150 (2) EIS Content (a) A description of the proposed project that includes all the following: 1. Project location. 2. Type of facilities. 3. Time schedules. 4. Maps and diagrams. 5. Other information that the department deems necessary. (b) A description of the purpose and need of the proposed project. (c) A list of known state, federal, tribal, and local approvals required for the proposed project. (d) A summary of the process used to identify major issues and the issues identified for detailed analysis. (e) A list of reasonable alternatives to the proposed project, particularly those that might avoid all or some of the adverse environmental effects of the project, including a description of proposed preventive and mitigating measures and an explanation of the criteria used to discard certain alternatives from additional study. (f) A description of the human environment that will likely be affected by the proposed project and alternatives to the proposed project. (g) An evaluation of the probable positive and negative direct, secondary and cumulative effects of the proposed project, and alternatives to the proposed project, on the human environment, including all the following: 1. Effects on scarce resources such as: archeological, historic or cultural resources, scenic and recreational resources, prime farm lands, threatened or endangered species, and ecologically critical areas. 2. A summary of the adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided. 3. Consistency with plans or policies of local, state, federal, or tribal governments. 4. The relationship between short-term uses of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources. 5. The potential to establish a precedent for future actions or to foreclose future options. 6. The degree of risk or uncertainty in predicting environmental effects or effectively controlling potential deleterious environmental impacts, including those relating to public health or safety. 7. The degree of controversy over the effects on the quality of the human environment. (h) Identification of information that is incomplete or unavailable and a description of the relevance of such information. (i) Sources of information or verbiage.

We live next to Olympic National Park, home to many protected and endangered species; this unique ecosystem became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve decades ago. Now its ancient temperate rain forests, snow-capped mountains, rugged and pristine beaches could be assaulted by at least 112 of the world's loudest jets flying thousands of training exercises year-round, at altitudes as low as treetop level. War games would also test new electromagnetic weaponry, triggering significant concerns about the potential health impacts and migratory patterns of birds, amphibians and sea creatures, as well as plants, micro-fauna and human beings. Several indigenous tribes call these lands home. Waters of the Pacific Coast Marine Sanctuary would be assaulted by surface-to-air gunnery, missiles, underwater explosions, and mid-frequency sonar. Sonar can spell death to endangered whales and marine mammals, disrupting whale migration, breeding, nursing, breathing, and feeding—and sometimes causing ruptured eardrums and fatal internal hemorrhaging. While military training is important to our national security, it can -- and should -- be conducted in suitable locations and ways that do no harm to endangered wildlife. We owe it to future generations to continue to protect these irreplaceable biological treasures.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits any action, administrative or real, that results in a “taking” of a listed species, or adversely affects habitat. Yet, our government has opened up the North Carolina coast for seismic testing and development in an area where critically endangered right whales and a variety of endangered sea turtles feed. Developers have requested approval to "take" up to 5 right whales for offshore development. We need to take social action on behalf of those who cannot protect themselves and demand the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.

On February 16, an oil train derailed and exploded in Fayette County, West Virginia. At least one tank car landed in a river, spewing oil into the local water supply, a home was burned to the ground, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. This catastrophe was the third oil train disaster in just 72 hours. It's time for President Obama to stand up to the oil and rail industries and protect the 25 million Americans who live in the oil train blast zone.

To radically reduce the level of green house gas emissions, and still be able to maintain modern lifestyles through the use of biofuels and clean energy. There are many incredible and sustainable uses for hemp, and it is time we used Hemp to the fullest potential. Hemp can be grown with little to no pesticides, which would help preserve the integrity of our water supply as well as support and renew the dwindling pollinator population. Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fibre per acre, meaning we can safeguard our forests from the expansion of logging. Leading to cleaner air and the creation of more National Parks and outdoor spaces. Additionally, and most importantly, Hemp is carbon negative, helping to reverse the effects of global warming. Industrial Hemp should not be confused with Marijuana, as it has about as much THC as an O'Douls (non-alcoholic beer) has alcohol, meaning it will not render a "high" with use. Though most of the population is unacquainted with this fact, hence the push to legalize in States that have already legalized Marijuana.

CSX is considering using the rails in the Historic Community of Mt. Winans and in other surrounding communities as possible routes to ship volatile and explosive crude oil. These rail tanker cars (DOT-111) are known to leak and have a big incidence of failure. When accidents happen, the human and environmental impacts are costly and dangerous. To date, the deadliest of train derailment and explosion occurred in July 1013 in Lac-Megantic, Quebec followed by Lynchburg, Virginia. In Quebec, twenty crude oil train cars derailed and exploded, killing 47 people and flattening 30 buildings. Targa Resource, a company based in Texas, recently filed for a permit to construct a crude oil shipping facility out of the Fairfield Peninsula. If approved, this project would put thousands of Baltimore residents at risk. As a community leader, on behalf of the citizens of Mt. Winans, I urge you to keep "dirty" energy out of our small urban residential neighborhood. The long-term emergency management, environmental, safety and health risks outweigh the supposed benefits to our fair, vibrant and resilient city. Plus, Baltimore does not need another environmental injustice! Sign here to add your name to this petition, then pass it along to your family, friends, co-workers and others. Thanks, -Janette

City Planning are reviewing an application from AT&T that would site a 45’ Antenna, disguised as a tree immediately to the south of St. Francis. This “camouflaged” metal tree will tower approx. 20’ over the existing treeline, impacting the native beauty of Peregrine. Enough is enough, the area is well covered by wireless technologies. Industrial lampposts recently added to the NW of Woodman, and the barn on the ridge to the south of Woodmen both contain wireless antennas. This infrastructure has the capacity to support the bandwidth required by additional cellular providers. Perhaps more importantly, if City Planning grant this application and the Use Variance of the existing hillside and valley, it would set a precedence for the future. Opening the door to additional commercial and residential development. This is not how many of our neighbors want to see Peregrine developed.

My husband and I invested in a home in the country to get away from industry and now we may be moving because of wind power plant development. A neighbor has a child with inner ear problems and will be in proximity to the proposed development. Wind turbines emit low frequency sound waves which can cause vertigo. Industrial wind turbines decrease land values! For more information visit: http://www.garnethillwind.com/

Fayette County, West Virginia, is reeling from an oil train disaster today. Residents face flames shooting 300 feet in the air, and oil is spilling into the Kanawha River, the drinking water source for downstream communities.[1] From today's event to 2013's massive oil train explosion in North Dakota to the 47 people who lost their lives after an oil train explosion in Quebec, it is clear that oil trains put our communities at risk for death, injury, and destruction. Incredibly, first responders and local officials aren't usually informed that these unsafe trains are cruising through their communities carrying millions of gallons of explosive oil. These trains travel through major communities across the country, putting millions inside the evacuation zone of an accident like this. Our objective is clear: we need to get these dangerous oil trains out of our communities and out of Pennsylvania before they cause a catastrophic accident in the Keystone State. [1]"Train derailment sends crude oil cars into Kanawha River; explosions erupt," Metro News, February 16, 2015.