September 13, 1999
1) Drummond: State's Coal Nearly Gone
2) Agricultural Pesticide Cleanup A Success
3) Bicycle Parking? Becoming a Reality in Birmingham
4) New Book On Hummingbirds by an Alabama Author
5) New Website on Fish Advisories
6) Mark Your Calendars - Activities This Week
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"Tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to
everything else in
the universe."
- John Muir, Founder of the Sierra Club
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1. Drummond: State's Coal Nearly Gone - According to
a September 9th
Birmingham News article, Gary Neil Drummond, president of Alabama's
largest
coal company, said a 50% decrease in the state's annual coalharvest
within
five years would not surprise him.
"We have depleted most of our reserves in Alabama and
those we have left are
increasingly difficult to get to," Drummond stated in the
B'ham News
interview. "Production will decrease at a rapid rate."
Coal mining supports directly 4000 jobs and countless indirect
jobs. Today,
many of Alabama's mines are idled. Several environmental groups
are pushing
for the reclamation of hundreds of abandoned mines that litter
the state.
There is a federal fund that has been mostly untapped, that sets
aside funds
to reclaim abandoned mines. For more information about this fund
please
contact Ansel Strickland, Director of Direct Action at 205-251-4775
or e-mail
him at anselstrickland@mindspring.com
2. Agricultural Pesticide Cleanup A Success - Last week
(Sept 4), more than
50,000 pounds of agricultural pesticide waste from 81 North Alabama
farms
were collected at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension
Center in Belle
Mina. The program gave farmers the opportunity to safely, economically
and
legally remove and dispose of any pesticide wastes stored on their
farms. At
the event, Madison County farmers accounted for 33% of the waste,
followed by
Limestone county's farmers who provided 32% of the waste. This
successful
voluntary program was sponsored and funded the Alabama Agriculture
Department, TVA, ADEM, ALFA and several other governmental and
industry
groups. Legacy - Partners in Education also provided a grant for
educational
and recycling materials.
3. Bicycle Parking - Becoming a Reality in Birmingham
- The Birmingham
Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is sponsoring a Bicycle Rack
Program for
communities in Jefferson and Shelby counties. The BRPC has purchased
over
200 bicycle parking racks capable of parking nearly 800 bicycles,
for 19
municipalities. Schools, libraries, parks, commercial districts
and
community centers are the most common locations for the installation
of
racks. For more information about this innovative and badly needed
program
contact Meg Scully at the BRPC at 251-8139.
4. New Book on Hummingbirds by an Alabama Author - Bob
Sargent, the legendary
hummingbird bander who lives in Clay, near Trussville and Birmingham,
has a
new book out. Called the "Ruby-Throated Hummingbird"
the book is part of the
Stackpole Book's series on backyard books. The text is clearly
written and
reflects Bob's deep knowledge of hummers.
This fantastic book is available through amazon.com under the
name of Robert
Sargent, but people can order the book directly from Bob and Martha
Sargent.
Their e-mail is HummerBSG@aol.com
. Books ordered from them benefit their
Hummer/Bird Study Groups which does banding at Fort Morgan and
many other
places. (I want to thank and credit Sam Hodges for providing this
article. -
PB.)
5. New National Websites on Fish Advisories - EPA is
making it easier for the
public to find out if the fish they catch is safe to eat. Check
for local
fish consumption warnings on rivers, lakes or streams through
EPA's national
list of fish advisories at:
http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish
6. Mark Your Calendars For This Week's Events - As Summer
slowly winds down,
more and more events get scheduled for the Fall. Please mark your
calendars
and tell your friends about the following activities and events.
September 16th - Scenic Alabama Wine & Cheese Party - Come
meet Meg Maquire,
the President of Scenic America at Scenic Alabama's First Annual
Wine and
Cheese Benefit. The event will be held between 5:30-7:00 in the
Atrium at
Southern Progress. Please RSVP at 205-322-2120, if you plan to
attend this
wonderful affair.
September 18th - Alabama Environmental Council (AEC) Recycling
Center Cleanup
- Bring your work clothes and gloves - and help support recycling
by
providing a little "elbow grease" to make the AEC downtown
Recycling Center
"shine". The AEC will be holding a "Cleanup"
at the Center between 8:00 in
the morning until Noon. For more information, please contact Keith
Johns at
kjohns@ensafe.com or call
205-322-3126.
September 18th - Pollution Prevention in the Home - If you
can't make the
AEC's Cleanup, learn more about recycling and pollution prevention
in your
household at the "Pollution Prevention in the Home"
seminar to be held at
the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, 9:00 A.M. to 12:30. The seminar
is
sponsored by ADEM. For more information contact Shelley Green
at
205-980-1914.
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
