July 18, 1999
1) Congress Passes LWCF Amendment Without Alabama
2) University of South Alabama Receives $2 Mil For Estuary
3) Mobile Mayor Commits to Air Study
4) Sen. Shelby Introduces "Timberland/Estate Tax" Bill
5) Green Buildings/Development Workshop Planned
6) World Population Tops 6 Billion
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1. U.S. House Passes LWCF Amendment Without Alabama
- At a time when there is
a budget surplus and a huge demand for local parks and open space
dollars,
the House Appropriations committee included only a meager $165
million for
the Land Water and Conservation Fund (LWCF), with no money for
the state
grants program (ie.. a matching grant program that could benefit
programs
such as Forever Wild). This House Appropriation committee's decision
placed
Congress on track to raid 80% of dedicated LWCF funds ($900 million)
and
deny critical matching funds to states and cities for the 5th
straight year.
Last week the McGovern/Campbell/Holt/Hoeffel amendment was
offered to the
Interior Appropriations Bill to restore $30 million to the LWCF
state grants
program, and to demonstrate broad support for parks, open space
and natural
areas. The money would come from a Fossil Fuel Research and Development
program that budget hawks and taxpayer groups identified as an
unnecessary
industry handout.
The measure passed the House on Tuesday night 213 to 202. A
great victory for
the environment.
Now, before we celebrate, how did the Alabama delegation vote?
Unfortunately,
the ENTIRE Alabama House delegation sided against parks and open
space voting
unanimously against the amendment.
If you care about parks and open space and would like more
information about
LWCF and what you can do - contact Pat Byington, Americans for
Our Heritage
and Recreation at 205-226-7739 or e-mail pkbyington@aol.com .
Also, call
your Representative at 202-224-3121 (Capital Switchboard) to let
him know how
you feel about this vote.
2. USA Receives $2 Million for Estuary Research - The
University of South
Alabama (USA) announced earlier this month, that it has received
almost $2
million to support the first federally funded research center
on the Gulf
Coast. The Alabama Center for Estuarine Study on Dauphin Island
is patterned
after the successful center on the Atlantic Coast's Chesapeake
Bay. The
center will concentrate on the overall impact people have on the
Mobile Bay
environment. Dr. Bob Shipp, USA's marine sciences department chair
and
Forever Wild Board member will serve as the center's director.
3. Mobile Mayor Commits to Air Quality Study - Mobile
Mayor Mike Dow
committed last week (July 13) to solicit funding and organize
efforts to
enact a comprehensive air quality study for Mobile County. In
a letter to
Mobile Bay Watch's executive director Casi Callaway, Dow said
he "will
volunteer to personally initiate this process and work to see
it organized,
funded and implemented." The study will cost approximately
$750,000 and will
take a year and a half to complete.
This is a victory for Mobile Bay Watch and several medical/health
organizations who have been calling for an air quality study for
more than a
year. Mayor Mike Dow should also be applauded for providing the
leadership
and resources of his office to make this major environmental health
study a
reality. For more information about the Mobile Air Quality Study
and ways
you can support it - contact Mobile Bay Watch at 334-665-1385.
4. Senator Shelby Introduces Timberland/Estate Tax Bill
- "A family should
not have to clearcut their forests to pay taxes because of the
death of a
loved one." *
That is the belief behind a new tax bill Senator Richard Shelby
of Alabama
introduced last week. In a nutshell, under current federal law,
estate taxes
on timberland come due nine (9) months after the death of the
bequeather. As
a result, some inheritors are forced to havest timber prematurely
in order to
meet their tax obligations. Shelby's measure would let the family
postpone
paying the tax until they decide - for financial or ecological
reasons when
to cut their trees.
For more information about this legislation, please contact
Senator Shelby's
office at 202-224-3121.
* A personal note - For the past 4 years I have worked with
Ann Bedsole and
the Alabama Forest Resource Center to address this very important
forestry/environmental issue. The quote above is our "mission
statement" on
this issue. P.B.
5. Sustainable Design, Building & Development Workshop
- A seminar/workshop
by the Southface Energy Institute entitled "Sustainable Design,
Building and
Development" will be held Thursday July 29th from 8:30-4:00
at the
Birmingham Botanical Gardens. For folks interested in "green
architecture
and design" Southface is one of the foremost regional and
national energy
efficiency clearinghouses in the nation. If you plan to attend
the workshop
please call Alicia Frasier at 404-872-3549 or e-mail her at
alicia@southface.org. Southface's website is: http://www.southface.org
While we are on this subject, I also found two additional websites
about
"green buildings". They are:
The U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org
Green Building Concepts
http://www.greenconcepts.com
6. World Population Tops 6 Billion - According to the
U.S Census Bureau
International Program Center projections, the population of the
earth will
surpass 6 Billion today at 7:24 p.m. Central time. How fast are
we growing?
Here are a few statistics:
First of all the population of the earth has doubled since
1960 (From 3 to 6
Billion). In my father's lifetime (He is 73) the population has
tripled.
Each year the world adds the population of the state of Alabama
times 23.
For more information about what you can do about overpopulation
contact the
Facing the Future website at:
http://www.facingthefuture.org
and the U.S. Census website at
http://www.census.gov
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
