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1) Correction to the February 7th BEN 1. Correction to the February 7th BEN - Senate Bill #1 prohibiting ATV's in creeks and rivers was introduced in the second special session that was held in the Alabama legislature last fall. The bill has yet to be reintroduced in the 2000 Regular Session. As soon as the Bama Environmental News receives a bill number for this session we will pass it on to our readers. 2. League of Conservation Voters Scorecard Released: Bama Scores Are Dismal - The Washington D.C. based League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the political arm of the national environmental movement, released their 1999 National Environmental Scorecard on the first session of the 106th U.S. Congress this week. Once again, the scores given to the Alabama Congressional delegation, with the exception of Rep. Earl Hilliard of Birmingham, were dismal. The following are the scores received by the delegation. Senate: Sessions - 0% and Shelby 0% Despite these very disappointing national scores, environmental progress was made locally with some members of the delegation. 1999 local initiatives included the sponsorship and passage of the Dugger Mountain Wilderness bill by Rep. Bob Riley and Sen. Jeff Sessions and Coastal land acquisition appropriations by Rep. Sonny Callahan. Hopefully in 2000, the environmental community can find a way to translate local statewide environmental progress into better national scores from our elected officials. To learn more about the Scorecard and the "vote" descriptions, please visit LCV's website at http://www.lcv.org. 3. Green Power in North Alabama? TVA's Exciting New Program - TVA and 10 distributors of TVA power plan to offer consumers a green power option during a market test expected to begin in the spring of 2000. "Green Power" is the term commonly used to describe electricity generated by renewable resources, such as solar or wind power. These sources help the environment by decreasing air pollution. TVA's Green Power will initially come from three sources: wind, solar and landfill gas. This mix was determined based on information gathered from telephone surveys and public forums TVA and stakeholders conducted in late 1998 across the TVA service area. Buying Green Power causes more renewable energy to be used and will help create a market for these sources, while providing cleaner air for all of us. It is estimated that the average household would pay an extra $2 -$10 per month on their electric bill for Green Power, if they "volunteer" to participate in this program. Green Power was developed by TVA in cooperation with distributors of TVA power and the environmental community, particularly the Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition (TVERC). To explain more about Green Power, TVERC will be hosting a series of meetings to talk to the public. One of the meetings has been scheduled in Huntsville on March 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the church on Burritt Museum grounds. Contact Soos Weber at 256-539-3747 for additional details about the Huntsville meeting. For further information on Green Power or future meetings in North Alabama contact TVERC at 423-637-6055 or visit their website at: http://www.TnGreen.com/tverc. Also, TVA's website has a great deal of useful information on Green Power at : http://www.tva.gov/greenpower. 4. Coosa River Basin Clean Water Partnership Meetings Announced - For people who care about the Coosa River Basin, a series of "Clean Water Partnership" meetings will be held at the end of this month, as part of ADEM's Clean Water Action Plan. Strong environmental participation is needed. Here are the scheduled meeting dates across East and Central Alabama. Weiss Lake - Wednesday, February 23 (tentative), time and
location still to be determined. Please contact Sabra Sutton at ssutton@ch2m.com for additional details. 5. Free Alabama Natural Wonders Lesson Plans Available - The Alabama Natural Wonders Campaign, a project of the Alabama Environmental Council (AEC), is designed to promote the state's ten most scenically and ecologically significant areas, to educate citizens about these special places and to build support for our natural heritage. One goal of the Natural Wonders Campaign is to educate youth about their natural heritage. Recently teaching units have been written and published for elementary, middle, and secondary grades. Teachers may find this curriculum especially useful because it incorporates many of the biology core courses of the study objectives, and utilizes a multidisciplinary approach. Free Natural Wonders lesson plans are available to teachers upon request at The Alabama Environmental Council. Just send your request to 2717 7th Ave. South Suite 207, Birmingham, Alabama 35233, and the AEC will provide you with the appropriate lesson plans. You can also reach the AEC at 205-322-3126 or stateoffice@alenvironmentalcouncil.org. 6. New Geological Survey Brochure on Groundwater Available Online - Here are some additional educational websites provided by the Geological Survey of Alabama for BEN readers. So you want to learn about groundwater? Check out "Groundwater: the underlying issue" an educational brochure produced by GSA at: http://www.gsa.state.al.us/gsa/Education/edpage_gwbroch2.html . If you want to find a library of Earth Sciences educational
web links visit the GSA's recently expanded site at: Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists. If you have any questions or comments about this publication, contact Pat Byington, the author and publisher of BEN at 205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com We also encourage readers to visit our website at : http://www.BamaNews.com |
