February 9, 2006
#257
1) Study: Waste in Catoma Creek Watershed
2) Alabama Ranks Poorly in "Green Planning"
3) Scenic Tree Summit to Address Hot Button Issue
4) Alabama's Nongame Wildlife Program Tax Checkoff
5) BEN Notes: Wanted: More "WRATTs", Alabama Wildlife Center's "Wild About Chocolate", B'ham Audubon Society Scholarships, Southeastern Lake & Water Management Conference, Author Janisse Ray To Speak in Auburn
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Call for Spring Calendar Events - If you have an event you would like published in the Bama Environmental News' Annual Spring Calendar, please send details to Pat Byington at pkbyington@aol.com by February 24th.
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In lieu of a subscription fee, BEN Readers are asked to donate to specific charities. This year, we will be adding a new charity, the Norman James and Ethel Jenisch Rose Endowed Scholarship at the University of Washington.
Monies from the endowed scholarship go to University of Washington medical students who will be practicing rural family medicine in the Northwest United States. The scholarship is named in honor of my wife's grandparents. During the Depression, Kathy's grandfather practiced rural family medicine in North Dakota. His work there had a very positive and profound impact on the Rose family (Kathy's grandmother was from Chicago - you can imagine the changes she endured). It is a wonderful scholarship, which has helped and encouraged numerous medical students at the University of Washington to practice rural family medicine, in a region that is in desperate need of medical doctors. Please consider supporting this charity. (For more information, click here for a pdf explaining the scholarship.)
I will be including additional information on the BEN website in the coming weeks. If you are interested in supporting this program, checks can be made payable to:
University of Washington Foundation
**make sure to reference the Norman James and Ethel Jenisch Rose Endowed Scholarship on your check.
If you want to mail a check - send to: UW Foundation, 1200 Fifth Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, Washington 98101. Or you can contribute via their website at http://www.supportuwmedicine.org and hit the "Make a Gift" link. - PB
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1. Study: Waste in Catoma Creek Watershed - According to the Montgomery Advertiser, a new study conducted by Auburn University has found that waste primarily from humans, dogs and waterfowl - not farming, as previously thought - accounts for a majority of the identifiable fecal contamination in Montgomery County's Catoma Creek Watershed.
The study also concluded that the level of contamination exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's safety standards, potentially threatening the health of humans who come in contact with the water. While the study does not identify how the contamination enters the waterways, health officials believe poor septic tank systems may be contributing to the problem.
2. Alabama Ranks Poorly in "Green Planning" - The Resource Renewal Institute, an organization which promotes "Green Plans," in 2001, released a State of the States report on Green Planning. In the report, Alabama ranked 50th, according to the group's Green Plan Capacity (GPC) Index.
The GPC Index, comprised several components, including:
* Comprehensiveness of the environmental management framework
* Level of environmental policy innovation
* Fiscal and program commitment
* Quality of governance
The report can be accessed at http://greenplans.rri.org/resources/pubs/sos_2.html . It would interesting to see if Alabama has made any progress over the past 5 years.
3. Scenic Tree Summit to Address Hot Button Issue - The recent decision by the Alabama Department of Transportation to cut down many highway trees has generated unprecedented public outcry, especially in the Birmingham Metro area.
In an effort to address the complex issue of balancing public safety, scenic roadways and community pride, Scenic Alabama will be convening a Scenic Tree Summit on February 21st, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the Birmingham Southern College's campus in the Harbert Auditorium. Representatives from the Department of Transportation will be giving presentations at the event, along with urban planners and foresters.
4. Alabama's Nongame Wildlife Program Tax Checkoff - We have all heard these statements - Alabama is an ecological "hotspot" ... Alabama ranks in the top 5 in biological diversity nationally ... Alabama ranks in the top 5 nationally in the number of federally listed endangered and threatened species ... More than 900 species of wildlife in Alabama are classified as "nongame."
In 1982, the Alabama Legislature enacted a law providing for the Alabama Nongame Wildlife Fund checkoff box on the state income tax form. This provides concerned citizens an opportunity to donate all or a portion of their state income tax refund for the benefit of nongame wildlife. For every dollar donated, the state receives a federal match of $3. Presently, the Nongame Wildlife Program does not receive state tax dollars.
Here is the shocking news. More than 1 million Alabamians receive a state tax refund each year. Recent annual donations to the state Nongame Wildlife Program has been averaging dismally less than $20,000.
If you want to reverse this trend and support Alabama's Nongame Wildlife contact the Department of Conservation at 334-242-3469 or visit their website at http://www.outdooralabama.com to learn how you can help.
5. BEN Notes: Wanted: More "WRATTs", Alabama Wildlife Center's "Wild About Chocolate", B'ham Audubon Society Scholarships, Southeastern Lake & Water Management Conference, Author Janisse Ray To Speak in Auburn
Wanted: More "WRATTs" - The Waste Reduction and Technology Transfer Foundation (WRATT) is recruiting retirees with scientific or engineering backgrounds in the Birmingham and Montgomery areas for intermittent, part-time assignments serving as team members conducting energy audits, waste reduction assessments, or pollution prevention surveys for Alabama businesses, industries and public or private institutions. Retirees will receive free training, compensation, and reasonable travel expenses. For more information, contact the Foundation at 1-800-516-6358 or visit their website at http://www.wratt.org .
Alabama Wildlife Center's "Wild About Chocolate" - Here is the ultimate Valentine event. The Alabama Wildlife Center will be holding "Wild About Chocolate" fundraiser, February 11th, 8-11 p.m. at the B&A Warehouse, 1531 1st Ave. South, Birmingham. Sixteen (16) of Birmingham's most celebrated restaurants will be offering chocolate desserts. For more info go to: http://awrc.org/WAC.htm
B'ham Audubon Society Scholarships - The Birmingham Audubon Society (BAS) will be offering scholarships to local curriculum coordinators, elementary school teachers, and middle and high school science teachers in Jefferson, Shelby, and surrounding counties. These scholarship are educators interested in attending the BAS's Audubon Mountain Workshop, May 11-14, 2006 or Maine's Audubon Society's Workshop for Educators, July 9-15, 2006. For applications and additional information, go to http://www.birminghamaudubon.org
Southeastern Lake & Water Management Conference - The North American Lake Management Society will be holding their 15th Annual Southeastern Lake and Water Management Conference, March 8-10 in Columbus, Georgia. For registration info go to http://science.kennesaw.edu/%7Ejdirnber/SELM2005/Conference.htm
Author Janisse Ray To Speak in Auburn - One of my favorite environmental writers, Janisse Ray, author of a Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, will be speaking at Auburn University on March 9th, 3:00 p.m. For more info, call Auburn's English Department at 334-844-4620.
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