Earth Share of Washington - News

Arsenic, lead taint soils at many 'child-use areas'

Fallout from Asarco smelter in Pierce, King counties

TACOMA -- Margaret Schumacher feels sick when she thinks about the children at her in-home day care center digging and playing in arsenic-tainted soil.

Schumacher dug up her yard four years ago to lay down grass and minimize the mess from dirt. At the time, she had no idea that tests would find high levels of arsenic -- the legacy of the Asarco smelter that operated three miles away for almost a century.

"Here I was, digging away and it was all dusty," she said. "It didn't even occur to me about th...Read the full story

November 29, 2004 | Comments Off

Fueling stewardship

While a lot of people talk about pollution problems, Albert Postema has been busy doing something about protecting the air and the earth. While a lot of people talk about new ways to support farmers and agriculture, Postema has been doing something about that, too.

And, while a lot of people think it would be great to practice ecological stewardship if it weren't so costly to stick to it, Postema has spent years finding innovative ways to minimize his company's impact on the environment, often spending extra to implement his ideas, and still making a profit at it.

"The best ...Read the full story

November 24, 2004 | Comments Off

Scientists See Hope Amid Coral Doom and Gloom

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Even though nearly two thirds of coral reefs are now officially endangered, some are bouncing back despite warmer oceans and pollution, giving hope the marine marvels are not completely doomed, scientists said on Friday.

In particular, researchers are encouraged by the recovery of coral reefs in remote or well-protected areas from the devastating coral "bleaching" effect of the 1998 El Nino weather phenomenon, during which sea surface temperatures rose well above normal.

Described as a "one in a thousand year event," the bleaching, which killed off vast s...Read the full story

November 22, 2004 | Comments Off

Region urged to get serious on oil spills

On that tragic night in 1989, about the time Capt. Joseph Hazelwood emerged from a bar in Valdez, Alaska, Riki Ott was briefing town officials on her risk analysis of the oil tankers that picked up North Slope crude.

"It's not a matter of if we have a major spill," Ott, a toxicologist-turned-fisherman, told the mayor and others that night. "It's a matter of when."

About four hours later, the Exxon Valdez smashed into Bligh Reef under Hazelwood's command, spewing millions of gallons of crude.

Ott and others who lived through the Valdez debacle have some advice for peo...Read the full story

November 22, 2004 | Comments Off

West Coast Governors Strengthen Joint Climate Protection Strategy

The governors of Washington, Oregon and California today approved a series of recommendations for action to combat global warming, and directed their staffs to continue working on state and regional goals and strategies to combat global warming over the coming year. The staff report to the three governors, entitled "The West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative - Staff Recommendations to the Governors," stated:

"Global warming will have serious adverse consequences on the economy, health and environment of the West Coast states. These impacts will grow significantly in coming...Read the full story

November 19, 2004 | Comments Off

Starbucks introduces first recycled content cups

SEATTLE - In an important step to further integrate leading environmental practices into its business, Starbucks Coffee Company announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Starbucks supply chain member, Mississippi River Corporation, the first-ever approval to use recycled content in food packaging, specifically Starbucks hot beverage cups. Following successful testing, Starbucks expects to convert its hot beverage cups to 10 percent recycled material, an industry first.

"Beginning to use post-consumer recycled content hot beverage cups is an impor...Read the full story

November 19, 2004 | Comments Off

What to Do with Old Electronics

Courtesy of Earth Share of Washington organization Union of Concerned Scientists

Rapid advances in technology come with a price: the equally rapid pace of obsolescence. The average lifespan of a computer, for example, will have dropped from 4.5 years in 1992 to approximately two years by 2005.

As a result, "e-waste"--discarded computers, TVs, cell phones, and other electronics--comprises one to four percent of the municipal solid waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. What's worse, this equipment is often made from non-renewable resources an...Read the full story

November 18, 2004 | Comments Off

Stories of a Wildlife Rescue - "Go Fly A Kite... But Be Careful!"

by Naturalist Kevin Mack from Earth Share of Washington member PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, published in the November 17, 2004 edition of Wild Again

When you think about potential dangers to wildlife, you usually think of things like oil spills, habitat destruction, pesticides, domestic cats and dogs, and intentional harm by humans. Automobiles are another, very obvious threat to wildlife, as Barred Owl 04-3512 from the last edition of Wild Again can attest. But not all threats to wildlife are i...Read the full story

November 17, 2004 | Comments Off

Protecting Ellsworth Creek Watershed

Ellsworth Creek Watershed: A project with significance beyond its boundaries

In a move that promises to transform the Ellsworth Creek project into a landscape-level effort, the Nature Conservancy and the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge received a $750,000 grant to begin a cooperative forest restoration project across a 15,000-acre region in Southwest Washington.

The grant was the second largest award in the nation under the Interior Department's new "Cooperative Conservation Initiative." The funds will enable the Conservancy and the refuge to diversify 1,50...Read the full story

November 16, 2004 | Comments Off

US study links more than 200 diseases to pollution

Pollution has been linked to about 200 different diseases, ranging from cerebral palsy to testicular atrophy, as well as more than 37 kinds of cancer, startling US research shows.

The study, which the authors say probably underestimates the full toll of the contamination, will focus attention on the need for information on the tens of thousands of chemicals routinely released into the environment.

But Britain has weakened the proposed European Union regulations to provide safety information on the substances at the behest of the US government.

The research, by doctor...Read the full story

November 15, 2004 | Comments Off

Six Brilliant Megawatt Ideas

By Evan Ratliff from Earth Share of Washington organization Natural Resources Defense Council

A few very smart people came up with some very smart ways to curb our energy needs. You can even try them at home.

If you added up all the cell phones, laptops, DVD players, plasma TVs, cable boxes, and other assorted electronic gadgets typically found in American homes, the number would run (easily) into the billions. And make no mistake -- those machines are hungry for power. Combined with household appliances like air conditioners and desk lamps, they su...Read the full story

November 12, 2004 | Comments Off

An Interview with Kathryn Fuller, President of World Wildlife Fund

This story courtesy of Grist Magazine's Interactivist. World Wildlife Fund is an Earth Share of Washington organization.

Q: How do you stay optimistic? How have you managed to avoid the "long slog" attitude?-- Jule Asterisk, Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada

A: Take each day as an opportunity. Take time for oneself to recharge. Take time in nature for renewed inspiration. Not that avoiding the "long slog" is easy, but these three things ...Read the full story

November 11, 2004 | Comments Off

Global warming study finds real change in America

WASHINGTON -- From Florida to Alaska and from coast to coast, nature's indicators show strong evidence of global warming in America, scientists said yesterday.

A report co-written by University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan concluded that more than 40 scientific studies link climate change with observed ecological changes. In half of the studies, the link is strong, the report stated.

Satellite data and a century of temperature records have shown an overall increase in global temperatures to parallel the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

November 9, 2004 | Comments Off

Scientists find Arctic warming quickly

WASHINGTON -- Scientists say changes in the earth's climate from human influences are occurring particularly intensely in the Arctic region, evidenced by widespread melting of glaciers, thinning sea ice and rising permafrost temperatures.

A study released Monday said the annual average amount of sea ice in the Arctic has decreased by about 8 percent in the past 30 years, resulting in the loss of 386,100 square miles of sea ice - an area bigger than Texas and Arizona combined.

"The polar regions are essentially the earth's air conditioner," Michael McCracken, president of the...Read the full story

November 9, 2004 | Comments Off

Western Business: Small-time foresters band together to go green

OAKVILLE, Wash. -- John Henrikson logs his own land, downing the worst wood first and letting the best stuff keep growing.

There are tall, thick alders and gargantuan maples that could line his pockets handsomely, but he leaves most of them standing - chopping down only the ones nearing the end of their life span.

"I'm not going to touch this," he said, admiring one of the red alders on his 100 acres in this tiny town south of the Capitol Forest. "This is an unbelievably healthy tree."

Like many small forest owners who want to treat their land well, he's thought abou...Read the full story

November 8, 2004 | Comments Off

Stories of a Wildlife Rescue - "Silent Wings, Powerful Voice"

by Naturalist Kevin Mack from Earth Share of Washington member PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, published in the November 3, 2004 edition of Wild Again

At dusk on October 20th, PAWS Wildlife Facilities Caretaker Jim Green and I stood in a clearing in Seattle's Lincoln Park. An empty, medium-sized pet carrier with an open door sat on the ground to our left. Jim and I were both staring upwards, fixated on something in a tree about 20 feet away. Hikers and dog walkers on a nearby trail took curious gla...Read the full story

November 4, 2004 | Comments Off

Voters approve limit on Hanford nuclear waste

Voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative to limit the amount of nuclear waste at the Hanford nuclear site, but opponents argued the measure's future remains in doubt.

"Legal challenges are inevitable," said Grant Nelson, government affairs director for the Association of Washington Business. The measure is scheduled to take effect in 30 days.

Initiative 297 blocks the U.S. Department of Energy from sending more waste to the Hanford nuclear site until all the existing waste there is cleaned up.

By a more than 2-to-1 margin, voters overwhelmingly approved the initi...Read the full story

November 3, 2004 | Comments Off

Vote!

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson wrote this in a letter to his daughter, "Politics are such a torment that I would advise every one I love not to mix with them."

Jefferson wrote those words at a particularly difficult time in American history. So divided was our country at the beginning of the nineteenth century that two American leaders, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, fought a duel over their beliefs. As an apolitical organization, we do no lobbying for legislation, nor endorse candidates. There are plenty of conservation organizations that do.

As these words are written, peopl...Read the full story

November 2, 2004 | Comments Off

From black coffee to a green cause

He takes his coffee black, with room not for cream but "for walking."

This makes all kinds of sense, for despite decades of hard work crunching numbers for movers (two transportation companies), shakers (two governors) and, since 1990, Starbucks, Orin Smith doesn't have any plans to stand still. Rather, when the coffee icon's president and CEO retires next March at age 62, he will head a $1 billion fundraising effort for Conservation International (CI). [Conservation International is an Earth Share of Washington organization]. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit works to preserve t...Read the full story

November 1, 2004 | Comments Off