Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
Hazardous Waste?......Not in My House! Solvents and Paints

Feature:
Democrats to let longtime ban on offshore drilling expire;
Patrick presses for home heating aid in D.C.

Calendar:
STARGAZING with MARK ALAN LOVEWELL;
Nature Tours with The Trustees of Reservations on Chappaquiddick;
Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Public Input Session;
more...

Save The Date:
The Trustees of Reservations Mark the Opening of Their 100th Property;
Modifying Tidal Inlets to Mitigate Nitrogen Loading in Coastal Systems

Sustainable Book Club:
Omnivour’s Dilemma

Energy Update:
Energy co-op proposes towns install solar panels

Wildlife Update:
Lyme Disease Study Begins;
BILL TO PROTECT MIGRATORY SONGBIRDS INTRODUCED IN SENATE

Recycle Update:
Electronics dumping ground

Water Update:
EPA to decline regulating chemical in water

Climate Change Update:
HISTORIC CARBON POLLUTION AUCTION KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 25

LOCAL NEWS

The following article is part of the Vineyard Conservation Society’s Clean Water Initiative intended to educate Vineyarders on ways to protect our water resources. It has been excerpted from the “Island Blue Pages, A Guide to Protecting Martha’s Vineyard Waters.”

Hazardous Waste?..........Not in My House

Solvents and Paints

Oil-based paints and preservatives, paint thinners and removers, rust removers, furniture strippers and even nail polish and nail polish remover are highly toxic to aquatic life and can contaminate groundwater.

Go to the Water section for the rest of the list.

Feature

Democrats to let longtime ban on offshore drilling expire
By Richard Simon
Los Angeles Times / September 24, 2008
Boston Globe

WASHINGTON - A longstanding congressional ban on new offshore oil drilling will expire in seven days, with Democratic leaders conceding yesterday they stand no chance of renewing it this year over President Bush's opposition - and in an election year where gasoline prices have become a hot campaign issue.

By lapsing, the issue will gain greater prominence in the presidential election because it will be up to the next president and Congress to decide whether to renew all or part of the ban, which first was imposed in 1981 to put much of the California coast off-limits to new rigs and expanded to much of the rest of the US coast in 1985.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/
articles/2008/09/24/
democrats_to_let_longtime_ban_on_offshore_drilling_expire/

Patrick presses for home heating aid in D.C.
By ANDREW MIGA
Associated Press Writer
Sep 25, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has traveled to Washington, where he is seeking more government help for people expected to struggle with record home heating bills this winter.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/
P/PATRICK_CONGRESS_MAOL-?SITE=MAHYC
&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

What Are Carbon Offsets?
Carbon offsets work when

the reductions have been independently measured and verified
they meet high quality criteria
they are part of a comprehensive plan to reduce emissions from a company’s operations.

Offsets Reduce Emissions, Globally
Wherever greenhouse gases are emitted around the world, they have the same heat-trapping effect and contribute the same amount to global warming.

The converse is also true: we can fight global warming by reducing emissions anywhere in the world.

Reductions achieved within a company’s own operations contribute to the fight against global warming, as do carbon offsets: emission reductions sourced from external projects.

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=26448

Calendar

STARGAZING with MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Mon Sept 29, STARGAZING with MARK ALAN LOVEWELL, Felix Neck Sanctuary 7:00—8:00 pm Explore the night sky. We will view the stars and planets and look at fall constellations. This program will only run on clear, cloudless nights, so please call the day of the program to confirm. Fee: $6M, $9NM per person

Nature Tours with The Trustees of Reservations on Chappaquiddick

Mon Sept. 29, Nature Tours with The Trustees of Reservations on Chappaquiddick are offered daily, including Fishing Discovery tours, Cape Pogue Natural History, Lighthouse or Quest tours. For details and reservations, call 508-627-3599.

Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Public Input Session

Mon Sept. 29, Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Public Input Session is at 5 p.m. in the meeting room of the Vineyard Transit Authority office in the airport business park. For details, call 508-627-7141

CREATURE FEATURE

Tues Sept 30, CREATURE FEATURE - Osprey, Felix Neck Sanctuary 10:00-11:00 am Young naturalists get a close-up to native animals of Martha’s Vineyard. Programs combine a story, craft and a look at the “creature” of the week! Fee: $6M, $9NM per child For children ages 3-5 with an adult

MV Water Alliance meeting

Wed, Oct 1, MV Water Alliance meeting, at the MV Commission Stone Building, OB 12:30 PM Tom Osmers to give an update on the local fisheries.

Public Meeting on Permanent Drawbridge

Wed, Oct 1, Public Meeting on Permanent Drawbridge, 4:00 p.m. Martha's Vineyard Commission Offices, 33 New York Avenue, Oak Bluffs- Representatives of MassHighway and the bridge designers, Parsons Engineering, will present their proposals for the basic configuration of the permanent Lagoon Pond Drawbridge, including: the bridge width, height, and layout; the location and clearance of the boating channel; the design of the bridge tender’s house; the size and location of retaining walls; and the adjacent open spaces and pedestrian paths. This is the critical meeting for providing input on the basic configuration. After this stage, the designers will be moving onto the design details, and it will be very difficult to make substantial changes to the basic design configuration. Everyone is invited to participate in this important meeting.

Beach “Rescue”

Sat, Oct 4, Please join The Trustees at Wasque Reservation for a Beach “Rescue” event from 1- 3 PM. See details in Save The Date section.

COMSOG Fall Festival

Sun, Oct 5, COMSOG Fall Festival 12 noon-3 pm, COMSOG, Oak Bluffs. Silver Anniversary event; soup, music, crafts people, antiques, collectibles.

Save The Date

The Trustees of Reservations Mark the Opening of Their 100th Property

With Local Celebrations Across Massachusetts

Beach Rescue at Wasque Reservation Saturday, October 4th from 1- 3 PM
& Family Frolic at Long Point Saturday October 11th from 1- 4 PM

Please join The Trustees at Wasque Reservation for a Beach “Rescue” event on Saturday, October 4th from 1- 3 PM. Hear from community members who helped raise the funds to save Wasque from development in the 1960s. We’ll also take an interpretive walk along the Swan Pond trail and through a rare, sand barren habitat and cap off the celebration with cake and cider. Event is Free; please park at the Fisherman’s Parking Lot (the left-hand road as you enter the property).

Then, please join us at Long Point Reservation for a Family Frolic event Saturday, October 11th from 1- 4 PM. We’ll celebrate all the ways Long Point is a perfect place for family fun, with kite flying, a sand activities station, a make-a-bluebird-box station, the debut of a new quest (or, outdoor scavenger hunt), and a Tisbury Pond Club walk. End the day with cake to celebrate! Event is also free. Use the Winter parking lot at the end of Deep Bottom Road (off Edgartown-West Tisbury Rd.) in West Tisbury. For more information, please call 508-693-7662.

Modifying Tidal Inlets to Mitigate Nitrogen Loading in Coastal Systems

Workshop Series for Decision-Makers: Workshop # 4

Thurs, Oct 9, 2008, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
9:00 am – 12:15 pm

As towns seek to reduce watershed nitrogen loads to coastal bays and ponds, modifying tidal inlets to improve water quality may be considered in certain scenarios as a potential management approach. Drawing on available science and regional examples, this workshop will examine whether or not this non-traditional approach can offer real solutions and how it compares with other nitrogen management alternatives.

Registration: Please register online at www.waquoitbayreserve.org by clicking on the workshop in the list of upcoming events. If you are registering online for the first time, you will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and a password of your choice. After completing these steps, click on “Add me as a user” to continue. If you have a question about registration, please contact Laurie Tompkins at laurie.tompkins@state.ma.us or 508-457-0495 ext. 108. Cost: There is no charge to attend, but registration is required. For more information on the program, contact Tonna-Marie Rogers, at 508-457-0495 ext. 110 or tonna-marie.surgeon-rogers@state.ma.us.

Sustainable Book Club

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

In October Reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Discussion Thursday, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m. Oak Bluffs Library

Please join this island-wide book group, reading and discussing books that examine our relationship with nature. The group is sponsored by all six island libraries, Felix Neck Sanctuary, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, The Island Grown Initiative and The Vineyard Conservation Society. Newcomers always welcome.

Energy Update

Energy co-op proposes towns install solar panels
By Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
September 26, 2008

HYANNIS — A regional electric cooperative has announced a green incentive for towns to join its ranks. The Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative — formed last year by the Cape Light Compact, Barnstable County and the town of Barnstable — is negotiating with a third party to install between $5 million and $10 million in solar panels on rooftops owned by its municipal members.

http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20080926/NEWS/809260331/-1/NEWS01

Wildlife Update

Lyme Disease Study Begins
By SAM BUNGEY
Vineyard Gazette

With tick-borne diseases at epidemic levels on the Vineyard and the cause of growing concern as a public health threat here, the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has launched a controlled study of Lyme disease and tularemia in the Island Wampanoag population.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?18568

BILL TO PROTECT MIGRATORY SONGBIRDS INTRODUCED IN SENATE

On Monday, September 15, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), along with a bipartisan group of seven other senators, introduced a critically important bill for bird conservation. The bill would increase the funding available through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act for the conservation of birds that breed in North America and spend their winters in the tropics. The bill would increase funding from a current level of $6.5 million per year up to $20 million per year by 2015. The seven original cosponsors of the bill are Senators Whitehouse (D-RI), Voinovich (R-OH), Collins (R-ME), Leahy (D-VT), Kerry (D-MA), Lieberman (I-CT), and Menendez (D-NJ). Stay tuned for your opportunity to let Congress know that this important legislation for migratory birds deserves to pass!

Recycle Update

Electronics dumping ground
By Derrick Z. Jackson
September 23, 2008

IT IS EASY to dump on China's tainted milk, toxic toys, and poison pet food, ignoring how the United States makes China its personal PC dump.

Last week, the Government Accountability Office found virtually no enforcement by the Environmental Protection Agency on exports of used electronics to developing countries that often dismantle them in extremely unsafe operations. The GAO had agents pose as buyers of broken cathode-ray tube television and computer monitors. It found that dozens of electronics recyclers in the United States were willing to export "broken, untested or nonworking" CRTs to developing nations like China, India, and Indonesia and regions like Western Africa. CRTs have enough lead in them to be "especially harmful to humans and the environment" if handled improperly.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/
editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/23/
electronics_dumping_ground/

Water Update

EPA to decline regulating chemical in water
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post / September 22, 2008
Boston Globe

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency, under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is poised to rule as early as today that it will not set a drinking water safety standard for perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns, and young children across the nation.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/
articles/2008/09/22/
epa_to_decline_regulating_chemical_in_water/

Climate Change Update

HISTORIC CARBON POLLUTION AUCTION KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 25

CLF hails regional effort as first step to reducing power plant emissions

Contact
Colin Durrant, CLF Director of Communications
617-850-1722

Boston, MA (September 23, 2008) - For the first time ever a price will be put on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in the United States under a historic "cap and trade" emissions auction set to begin on September 25. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a global warming agreement among 10 northeast and mid-Atlantic states will set an overall cap on global warming pollution from power plants and then auction limited allowances to pollute up to that cap on an open market.

http://www.clf.org/general/internal.asp?id=1122

Mobilizing to Save Civilization: What You and I Can Do
Lester R. Brown

One of the questions I am frequently asked when I am speaking in various countries is, given the environmental problems that the world is facing, can we make it? That is, can we avoid economic decline and the collapse of civilization? My answer is always the same: it depends on you and me, on what you and I do to reverse these trends. It means becoming politically active. Saving our civilization is not a spectator sport.

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/
Seg/PB3ch13_ss7.htm

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