UPS Kicks Off Global Volunteer Month, Commits to Planting Additional 1 Million Trees - UPS Pressroom

UPS Kicks Off Global Volunteer Month, Commits to Planting Additional 1 Million Trees - UPS Pressroom

Berkeley Lab Climate Scientists See Better Climate Models, Warmer Future « Berkeley Lab News Center

Berkeley Lab Climate Scientists See Better Climate Models, Warmer Future « Berkeley Lab News Center

USDA Blog » Students Reduce Erosion on the Hoosier National Forest

USDA Blog » Students Reduce Erosion on the Hoosier National Forest

EPA Recognizes Dell as a Leading Green Power Purchaser

Press Releases | Dell

Union Pacific Press Release:

Union Pacific Railroad Achieves Best-Ever CDP Climate Change Report Performance

Recognized for Climate Change Transparency with CDP Leadership Positions

RESOURCES

• CDP S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2013
  (PDF File)
• CDP Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013
  (PDF File)
• Union Pacific Unveils New Aerodynamic Technology for Double-Stack Intermodal Trains
• Union Pacific Sustainability & Citizenship Report 2012

Omaha, Neb., September 24, 2013 – Union Pacific Railroad achieved its best-ever performance in CDP's Global 500 and Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) climate change 2013 reports. The railroad's carbon disclosure score is 98, out of a possible 100, and in the top 10 percent of all companies in the Global 500 and S&P 500 samples, securing Union Pacific a leadership position on the Global 500 and S&P 500 Climate Disclosure Leadership indexes.

Union Pacific is the only North American railroad to achieve a place on both indexes. Its carbon disclosure score is an 11-point improvement over last year. The company also attained a B rating in CDP's performance band.

"Union Pacific's annually improving CDP performance indicates our solid understanding of climate change-related issues affecting the company and our continued dedication to taking data-driven actions that reduce our environmental impact," said Bob Grimaila, Union Pacific vice president-Safety, Security and Environment. "Environmentally sustainable business practices are an essential component of Union Pacific's ongoing commitment to safely deliver the goods American families and businesses use every day."

Just last month, Union Pacific unveiled its Arrowedge® production version, a new employee-designed aerodynamic technology for fuel and locomotive emissions reductions on double-stack intermodal freight trains. The Arrowedge® is the latest innovation in Union Pacific's continual efforts to design, build and implement fuel- and emissions-reducing technologies.

Key 2012 environmental achievements include:

• Eliminating an estimated 33.5 million tons of greenhouse gases from shipments by customers who move their products by rail instead of trucks.
• Purchasing 200 new fuel-efficient locomotives, replacing older, less fuel-efficient units.
• Diverting from landfills an estimated 75 percent of the company's waste.

Additional information about Union Pacific's environmental efforts can be found in the company's Sustainability and Citizenship Report and on its website.

About CDP

CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. CDP works with 722 institutional investors with assets of $87 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. CDP is believed to hold the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and forest-risk commodities information, and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2007-2012, Union Pacific invested $18 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure, including a record $3.7 billion in 2012. The railroad’s diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.

USDA Blog » LED Lighting Improves Sustainability for Specialty-Crop Producers

USDA Blog » LED Lighting Improves Sustainability for Specialty-Crop Producers

Norfolk Southern Press Release:

GE, Norfolk Southern Host 3rd Railroad Sustainability Symposium

• Event attended by key players, thought leaders in rail industry
• Tackled importance of sustainability and its financial benefits
• Explored trends and game changers, like LNG, that could alter the rail landscape

Ossining, N.Y. (September 10, 2013) -- GE Transportation (NYSE: GE) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), sponsors of the Railroad Sustainability Symposium, concluded a two-day session aimed at bringing together thought leaders, customers, suppliers, and partners from different parts of the rail industry to discuss how best to increase sustainable practices throughout the railroad industry. In addition, the participants discussed game-changing methods and technology that will further improve the railroad industry’s overall sustainability. ��

In early 2011, Norfolk Southern and GE Transportation became proactive about their shared interest in sustainability. Believing there was an opportunity for enhanced understanding and sustainability from an open industry dialogue, GE and NS launched the Railroad Sustainability Symposium, meeting for the first time in 2011 in Ossining, N.Y. This year, more than 60 participants from 25 different companies convened at GE’s Crotonville Learning Center for the third annual symposium.

Deb Frodl, global executive director, ecomagination said, “Ecomagination works to drive measurable and sustainable outcomes for our customers. Reducing the carbon footprint of the rail industry will save our customers money while improving the communities where they work. We were happy to host this meeting on shaping the next generation of efficient solutions within the rail industry.”

Topics for the two-day conference focused on current sustainable practices, reporting and disclosure, financial value, and future energy sources. Speakers represented organizations and companies such as BNSF, CSX, the Association of American Railroads, Environmental Defense Fund, Stella-Jones Corporation, J.B. Hunt Transport, Ford Motor Company, and Bloomberg, among others.

“Norfolk Southern and the rail industry have come a long way on the sustainability path, but the journey continues,” said Blair Wimbush, Norfolk Southern vice president real estate and corporate sustainability officer.  “This symposium was a great opportunity to bring together some of the best minds in sustainability to exchange innovative ideas and best practices for incorporating economical environmental practices into core business strategies.”

Innovation and technology were a focal point of the discussions, particularly as the rail landscape evolves to include alternative energy sources such as LNG.

GE Transportation, a global technology and rail leader, is developing technology that will use LNG. The company, which is currently piloting technology with BNSF, believes it will generate 50 percent fuel savings and 30 percent reduction in NOx and PM emissions.

This innovation is part of GE’s broader ecomagination strategy, GE’s commitment to make measurable differences and create sustainable outcomes for customers and operations across the globe. Ecomagination helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent and fresh water use by 46 percent in 2012. By 2015, the company hopes to double research and development to $10 billion from 2010-2015 and double GE’s ecomagination revenues, which were $25 billion in 2012.

About GE Transportation
GE Transportation, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), solves the world’s toughest transportation challenges. GE Transportation builds equipment that moves the rail, mining, and marine industries. Our fuel-efficient and lower-emissions freight and passenger locomotives, diesel engines for rail, marine and stationary power applications, signaling and software solutions, drive systems for mining trucks, underground mining equipment, energy storage systems, and value-added services help customers grow. GE Transportation has approximately 13,000 employees. For more information visitwww.getransportation.com.

About ecomagination
Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to provide innovative solutions that make measurable differences and create sustainable outcomes for our customers and our own operations across the globe. Ecomagination works to help build a world that is faster, cleaner, and better for all of us. To learn more about GE’s work to build solutions for today's environmental challenges while driving economic growth, visit www.ge.com/ecomagination.

About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.�� To learn more about how NS is connected to jobs, economies, environmental benefits, and efficient delivery of goods, visit www.nssustainability.com.

###

EPA Recognizes Intel in Sustained Green Leadership

EPA Recognizes Intel in Sustained Green Leadership

EPA Honors 24 Organizations for Green Power Leadership

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2013

EPA Honors 24 Organizations for Green Power Leadership

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented its 13th annual Green Power Leadership Awards to 21 Green Power Partners and three suppliers for their achievements in advancing the nation’s renewable electricity market. Close to one-third of America’s carbon pollution – a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change – comes from power plants. By using green power, communities, businesses and organizations can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support America’s growing renewable energy industry, improve public health, and help transition the United States to cleaner energy sources.

“Our 2013 Green Power Leadership Award winners are driving new renewable energy generation and providing clear examples of organizations thriving on innovation and sustainability,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “These winners are moving us closer to the vision President Obama outlined in his Climate Action Plan—cutting harmful pollution and promoting American leadership in renewable energy.”

EPA defines green power as electricity that is generated from renewable resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas and low-impact hydroelectric sources and produces no fossil fuel-based carbon pollution. The winning organizations are recognized for dramatically increasing their green power purchases, installing large-scale solar panel arrays, and leading innovative renewable energy procurement efforts, among other actions.

The 2013 Green Power Leadership Award winners are listed below in the following categories:

Sustained Excellence in Green Power: Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, Calif.); Kohl's Department Stores (Menomonee Falls, Wis.); Staples (Framingham, Mass.)
Green Power Partners of the Year: Cisco Systems, Inc. (San Jose, Calif.); Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.); Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.); The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
Green Power Communities of the Year: Cincinnati, Ohio; Mercer Island, Wash.
Green Power Purchasing: Accredo Packaging, Inc. (Sugar Land, Texas); Dell Inc. (Round Rock, Texas); Pearson (Upper Saddle River, N.J.); Powdr (Park City, Utah), The North Face (Alameda, Calif.); U.S. Department of Energy (Washington, D.C.); UW Credit Union (Madison, Wis.); Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
On-site Generation: Apple Inc. (Cupertino, Calif.); County of Santa Clara, Calif.; Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.); Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Green Power Suppliers of the Year: 3Degrees (San Francisco, Calif.); Dominion Virginia Power (Richmond, Va.); Sterling Planet (Atlanta, Ga.)

The 21 award-winning partners were chosen for their exemplary use of green power from more than 1,500 partner organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state and federal governments, and colleges and universities. Utilities, renewable energy project developers, and other green power suppliers were eligible to apply for the Supplier of the Year Award, which recognizes leadership in voluntary renewable energy offerings.

EPA also announced the winners of the third annual Green Power Community Challenge, a national competition between communities to use renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the collective participation of local governments, businesses, and residents. Out of 48 competing communities, Washington, D.C., won the challenge for a third year in a row for using the most green power annually with more than one billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). Oak Park, Ill., also won the challenge for a second consecutive year for achieving the highest green power percentage of total electricity use at 92 percent.

EPA, through the Green Power Partnership, works with partner organizations to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Nearly two-thirds of partners use 100 percent green power. All together, the partners are voluntarily using more than 28 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to avoiding carbon pollution created by the electricity use of more than three million average American homes each year.

Governor Quinn Announces Green Infrastructure Grant Award Recipients

Illinois.gov - Illinois Government News Network (IGNN) - Search the News Results

USDA Blog » New Mexico Farmers Supply Local Food to Community with Conservation

USDA Blog » New Mexico Farmers Supply Local Food to Community with Conservation

Berkeley Lab Releases Most Comprehensive Databook on China’s Energy and Environment « Berkeley Lab News Center

Berkeley Lab Releases Most Comprehensive Databook on China’s Energy and Environment « Berkeley Lab News Center

Climate Scientists Face Crisis Over Global Warming Pause - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Data shows global temperatures aren't rising the way climate scientists have predicted. Now the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change faces a problem: publicize these findings and encourage skeptics -- or hush up the figures.

Climate Scientists Face Crisis Over Global Warming Pause - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Popular bathroom wipes blamed for sewer clogs - KansasCity.com

Popular bathroom wipes blamed for sewer clogs - KansasCity.com

The 'Columbian Exchange': How Discovering the Americas Transformed the World - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Columbus' arrival in the Americas sparked the globalization of animals, plants and microbes. A recent book takes a closer look at how items from the New World, such as potatoes, guano and rubber, quickly and radically transformed the rest of the planet.

The 'Columbian Exchange': How Discovering the Americas Transformed the World - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Study could help improve nuclear waste repositories

Sandia Labs News Releases

September 19, 2013

Study could help improve nuclear waste repositories

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Here’s the question faced by a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers: How fast will iodine-129 released from spent nuclear fuel move through a deep, clay-based geological repository?

Understanding that process is crucial as countries worldwide consider underground clay formations for nuclear waste disposal, because clay offers low permeability and high radionuclide retention. Even when a repository isn’t sited in clay, engineered barriers often include a compacted buffer of bentonite, a common type of clay, to improve waste isolation.

Iodine-129, a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 15.7 million years, is an important fission product in spent nuclear fuel and a major contributor to the predicted total radiation dose from a deep geological repository. So even a small improvement in the ability of clay to retain iodine-129 can make a difference in total dose predictions.

Some evidence indicates weak interaction between clay and iodide — a negatively charged predominant chemical species of iodine in geologic repositories, said researcher Yifeng Wang, who leads the study. Computer models haven’t been able to adequately explain clay’s chemical behavior with iodide, and the mechanism is difficult to study because the faint interaction is easily masked by measurement uncertainties.

“It seems there’s some kind of previously unrecognized mechanism that accounts for that kind of interaction,” said Wang, co-principal investigator for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development project to study radionuclide-clay interaction, now in its third and final year.

His team concluded the interaction, often disregarded as experimental noise, is real and that there might be engineering ways to improve clay’s ability to retain iodide. 

Sandia researcher Yifeng Wang examines a clay sample from South Dakota as part of iodide experiments. A team of Sandia researchers is working to understand how fast iodine-129 released from spent nuclear fuel would move through a deep clay-based geological repository. (Photo by Randy Montoya) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image

Sandia team focuses on clay structure

The team —Wang and former co-principal investigator Andy Miller, who recently left Sandia; technician Hernesto Tellez; and year-round interns Jessica Kruichak and Melissa Mills — developed experiments with different clays, focusing on their structural characteristics. Past studies of iodide retention in clay concentrated on bentonite. Wang’s team instead studied several different clays, five with the same type of layered structure as bentonite.

Although industries are accustomed to using the plentiful and oft-studied bentonite, the team’s experiments show other clays have higher radionuclide retention capability and might isolate spent fuel waste better. Kaolinite had the best iodide retention of the five clays with layering properties. Wang said the team believes its work “can help us select a better clay material or combination of clay materials.”

Team members believe they discovered a mechanism for iodide-clay interactions that allows more accurate prediction of iodine-129 movement in a geologic repository. The finding was presented in May to the International High Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference in Albuquerque and was published in the conference proceeding.

The experimental data indicate iodide directly interacts with the tiny spaces between the layers of clay, called clay interlayer sites. That raises the question of how negatively charged iodide gets into those negatively charged interlayer sites, since like charges repel each other, similar to magnets of the same polarity. “So that contradicts the conventional concept,” Wang said.

The team got clues about what was going on by studying the problem at the nanoscale, 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. At that scale, Wang said, the property of water changes in a way that enhances the pairing of ions. 

Conclusion: ion pairing explains iodide reaction with clay

Ion pairing explains how iodide reacts with clay and moves into the pores despite the fact both iodide and clays are negatively charged.

The team postulates that iodide pairs with positively charged sodium to create a neutral ion pair. That occurs because of the enhanced ion association capability of water trapped in nanometer-scale clay interlayers, resulting in a pairing that helps iodide move into the interlayer by minimizing electric repulsion, Wang said.

Clay is densely compacted when it’s used as a barrier and can swell as it contacts with water. “That’s why people use clay materials and compact it,” Wang said. “It’s a good engineered barrier to isolate radionuclides.”

Retention properties increase with compaction, which makes the pores smaller, he said. “That’s another way to increase the effectiveness of clay materials,” he said.

But Sandia’s study also suggests measurements in labs could be more accurate. Usually researchers break up samples before they measure the solvency of a specific material. “We actually show the nano-pore confinement makes a big difference,” Wang said. “That means what you measure in the lab most of the time is not representative of an actual compacted material. The compacted material may in fact give you better retention.”

---

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson settles with EPA for hazardous waste law violations

EPA Press Release:

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson settles with EPA for hazardous waste law violations

Contact information: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, kader.hanady@epa.gov

(Seattle—Sept 18, 2013) Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage failed to comply with federal hazardous waste management laws and has agreed to pay a fine to resolve the violations, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The base has taken action to correct the violations and will pay a fine of over $21,000.

“Careful hazardous waste management protects human lives and the environment, and it also prevents the public from having to fund costly cleanup operations,” said Scott Downey, Manager of the Hazardous Waste Compliance Unit at the EPA Seattle office. “Facilities have to inspect hazardous waste storage and keep staff up to date on training to prevent incidents.”

The facility generates and stores hazardous waste from vehicles, aircraft and other facility maintenance. This includes acids, contaminated soils, batteries, PCB wastes, solvents, used oil and pesticides.

EPA inspections found a series of violations from 2010-2011, including failure to conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste facilities and containers for leakage or deterioration; failure to ensure staff participated in annual hazardous waste management training; and failure to submit hazardous waste tracking reports.

The violations occurred under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

FRIDAY: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Speaks at National Press Club Sept. 20

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2013
FRIDAY: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Speaks at National Press Club Sept. 20
WASHINGTON – EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will discuss EPA's priorities in addressing climate change at a National Press Club Speakers' event on Friday, Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. Administrator McCarthy will highlight the Administration's commitment to carrying out President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution and address the impacts of a changing climate. She will also discuss her vision for the EPA and challenges the Agency will face going forward.

WHO: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy

WHAT: Clean Air Act announcement

WHEN: Friday, September 20, 2013, 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: 13th floor, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Credentialed press may cover this event with ID
National Press Club Speakers Events are webcast live on press.org.

Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NPCLunch, or on Facebook at (facebook.com/PressClubDC) and Twitter (@PressClubDC).

Submit questions for speakers in advance and during the live event by sending them to @QNPCLunch on Twitter. Or email a question in advance, type MCCARTHY in the subject line and send to president@press.org before 9 a.m. on the day of event.

*** The event is open to members of the media, NPC members and their guests. For more information, contact Debra Silimeo, NPC Speakers Committee Member, at 202-706-7410 or dsilimeo@hagersharp.com or Julia P. Valentine, EPA Press Officer, at 202-564-0496 or valentine.julia@epa.gov ***

About the National Press Club 

The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists with more than 3,300 members worldwide representing every major news organization. More than 250,000 people visit the Club each year to attend more than 2,000 events. The Club was founded in 1908 and is on the web at press.org.

R155

Are Frogs on the Edge of Survival?

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Robert Westover, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service, on September 18, 2013 at 12:05 PM

The very existence of frogs worldwide is being threatened by a killer fungus. Photo Credit: National Science Foundation

A lethal fungus is killing frogs and other water-dwelling amphibians all over the world, but a team of international scientists led by U.S. Forest Service scientist Deanna Olson is working to understand why.

Olson, who works at the agency’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, and her colleagues have the daunting task of tracking the disease, known as the amphibian chytrid fungus. Unlike the clearly visible white-nose syndrome killing bats in the U.S., the frog fungus cannot be seen except with a microscope. That makes scientists’ jobs that much more difficult.

Since the discovery of the malady is so recent, scientists still don’t understand a great deal about the fungus except that it affects the skin and ultimately leads to cardiac arrest in amphibians.

Scientists fear the fungus could mean the possible extinction of entire frog species and other amphibians. These creatures are an integral part of the world’s ecosystem providing a bridge between dry land and water. They are the proverbial canary in the coal mine for the health of aquatic systems worldwide.

With this in mind, scientists have assembled an online international database with more than 36,000 records of amphibians that were sampled at more than 4,000 sites.

Olson is hopeful that this international mapping network of scientists will see success in understanding this disease. The project, called Bd-Maps, got under way in 2008.

“This is allowing us to track what we know about this disease, which has been implicated in mass mortality events as well as some extinction at the global scale,” Olson said.

Plotting data geographically on both a global and country scale allows the team to see where the fungus is and is not present, and where it has or has not been tested in the animals. Anyone can upload their data to the site, and Olson’s team updates it annually to make sure it reflects the latest findings in the field.

Sampling sites are marked with pins that are color-coded to indicate whether the amphibians tested turned out to be positive or negative for the disease. This allows scientists and wildlife managers to get a quick understanding of how their area’s amphibians fare as a whole.

“In some places chytrid fungus is a huge problem, but in other places it doesn’t appear to be such a problem,” Olson said. “For example, in the U.S. there has only been a handful of mortality events. But places like Central America and Australia are experiencing a lot of mass mortality and even extinctions.”

Leading by Example: Conservation in Arizona

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USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Beverly Moseley, NRCS, on September 18, 2013 at 11:05 AM

Newly installed pivot irrigation lines run behind Gerry Gonzalez, NRCS district conservationist in Douglas (left) and farmer Alfredo Zamora.

Travel 30 miles south of Alfredo and Sabrina Zamora’s farm in Cochise County, Ariz., and the imposing border fence between the U.S. and Mexico rises up across the horizon. This border county is rural, arid, open land where the Zamoras have spent their lives farming.

The couple is well known in the area for their cotton, pecans and alfalfa crops and they are no strangers at the local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Douglas. They’ve worked with NRCS over the years to plan out and implement conservation on their farm, including more efficient water and irrigation practices, the use of crop residue to improve soil health and the reduction of soil erosion.

Both Zamoras grew up in Cochise County, and from a young age, they were in the fields working for area farmers. They left to attend college, but returned home after graduation in the 1990s to farm their own land. Almost immediately, Alfredo consulted with NRCS about available assistance.

“It was very hard for somebody like me with very little experience and no money to go into a government office and ask for things. We’ve come a long way in the last 20 years; I’d say in that I feel completely comfortable going in there,” Alfredo says.

Recently, the Zamoras replaced four outdated pivot irrigation systems with new upgraded ones on their cropland with help from the USDA StrikeForce Rural Growth and Opportunity initiative. The new pivot irrigation lines are 10 percent more efficient in water use and electricity and should last up to 30 years, ultimately saving not just water, but also money.

The national initiative addresses high-priority funding and technical assistance needs in rural communities in 16 states, including Arizona, with a special emphasis on historically underserved communities and areas with persistent poverty.

Gerry Gonzalez, district conservationist with the NRCS in Douglas, was excited when he learned that Arizona was part of StrikeForce, because the initiative provides NRCS additional funding to do specialized outreach to historically underserved communities.

“Here along the border areas, there are a lot of small landowners—a lot of underserved, nontraditional clients and the USDA Strikeforce initiative provides opportunities for them,” Gonzalez says.

The Zamoras have worked closely over the years with Gonzalez and agree with him that the initiative provides an opportunity for people interested in farming to possibly reach that goal.

The Zamoras serve as an example of how NRCS can help make a difference on their operation. They regularly hold field days on their farm to share with other local farmers the benefits of USDA programs and to increase participation in those programs, especially among Hispanic farmers, who USDA considers a historically underserved population.

Follow NRCS on Twitter.

Check out other conservation-related stories on the USDA blog.

Vibrant alfalfa, along with other crops like cotton and pecans, are grown by Alfredo and Sabrina Zamora on their farm in Douglas, Ariz.

Are U.S. and China finally getting serious about climate change? – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs

Are U.S. and China finally getting serious about climate change? – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Testimony Before House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Carrot Ink




EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 18, 2013
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Testimony Before House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power

WASHINGTON -- As prepared for delivery.

Chairman Whitfield, Ranking Member Rush, members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

In June, the President reaffirmed his commitment to reducing carbon pollution when he directed many federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, to take meaningful steps to mitigate the current and future damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions and to prepare for the anticipated climate changes that have already been set in motion.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Based on the evidence, more than 97% of climate scientists are convinced that human caused climate change is occurring. If our changing climate goes unchecked, it will have devastating impacts on the United States and the planet. Reducing carbon pollution is critically important to the protection of Americans’ health and the environment upon which our economy depends.

Responding to climate change is an urgent public health, safety, national security, and environmental imperative that presents an economic challenge and an economic opportunity. As the President has stated, both the economy and the environment must provide for current and future generations and we can and must embrace cutting carbon pollution as a spark for business innovation, job creation, clean energy and broad economic growth. The United States’ success over the past 40 years makes clear that environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand.

The President’s Climate Action Plan directs federal agencies to address climate change using existing executive authorities. The Plan has three key pillars: cutting carbon pollution in America; preparing the country for the impacts of climate change; and leading international efforts to combat global climate change.

Cutting Carbon PollutionEPA plays a critical role in implementing the Plan’s first pillar, cutting carbon pollution. Over the past four years, EPA has begun to address this task under the Clean Air Act.
Our first steps addressed motor vehicles, which emit nearly a third of U.S. carbon pollution. EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, along with the auto industry and other stakeholders, worked together to set greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for Model Year 2012 to 2025 light-duty vehicles. Over the life of these vehicles, the standards will save an estimated $1.7 trillion for consumers and businesses and cut America’s oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons.  
EPA’s and NHTSA’s standards for model year 2014 through 2018 heavy-duty trucks and buses present a similar success story. Under the President’s Plan, we will be developing a second phase of heavy-duty vehicle standards for post 2018 model years.
Building on this success, the President asked EPA to work with states, utilities and other key stakeholders to develop plans to reduce carbon pollution from future and existing power plants, which are responsible for about 40 percent of America’s carbon pollution.
EPA will soon issue new proposed carbon pollution standards for future power plants, reflecting new information and the extensive public comments on our 2012 proposal. For existing plants, we are engaged in outreach to a broad group of stakeholders with expertise who can inform the development of proposed standards, regulations, or guidelines, which we expect to issue in June of 2014. These guidelines will provide guidance to States, which have the primary role in developing and implementing plans to address carbon pollution from existing plants. This framework will allow us to capitalize on state leadership and innovation while also accounting for regional diversity and providing the necessary flexibility.
The Plan also calls for the development of a comprehensive, interagency strategy to address emissions of methane – a powerful greenhouse gas that also contributes to ozone pollution, but which has substantial economic value. EPA will work with other agencies to assess emissions data, address data gaps, and identify opportunities to reduce methane emissions through incentive-based programs and existing authorities.

Preparing for Impacts of Climate ChangeEven as we work to avoid dangerous climate change, we must strengthen America’s resilience to climate impacts we’re already experiencing and those that can no longer be avoided. The President’s Plan calls for a broad array of actions on this front. EPA will incorporate research on climate impacts into the implementation of our existing programs, and develop information and tools to help decision-makers – including State, local and tribal governments – to better understand and address these impacts. Further, EPA is working closely with our federal agency counterparts on several other aspects of building our national resilience, including developing the National Drought Resilience Partnership, ensuring the security of our freshwater supplies, protecting our water utilities, and protecting and restoring our forests in the fact of a changing climate.

International EffortsOur changing climate is also a global challenge, and the President’s Plan recognizes that the United States must couple action at home with leadership abroad. Working closely with the State Department, EPA will continue to engage our international partners in reducing carbon pollution through an array of activities.. These include public-private partnership efforts to address emissions of methane and other short-lived climate pollutants under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the Global Methane Initiative, as well as bilateral cooperation with major economies.

ConclusionThe President’s Plan provides a roadmap for federal action to meet the pressing challenge of a changing climate– promoting clean energy solutions that capitalize on American innovation and drive economic growth. EPA looks forward to working with other federal agencies and all stakeholders on these critical efforts.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to answering your questions.

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EPA Extends Public Comment Period on Cleanup Plan for Maywood Chemical Company Superfund Site in Maywood and Rochelle Park, New Jersey

EPA Press Release:

EPA Extends Public Comment Period on Cleanup Plan for

Maywood Chemical Company Superfund Site in Maywood and Rochelle Park, New Jersey

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – September 18, 2013) On August 23, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed cleanup plan to address contaminated soil at the Maywood Chemical Company Superfund site in Maywood and Rochelle Park, New Jersey. Previous industrial activity at the site resulted in contamination of the soil and ground water with volatile organic compounds, radioactive waste and metals. The EPA proposal calls for a combination of removing and treating contaminated soil. The EPA held a public meeting on September 9, 2013 to explain the proposed plan.

The agency is extending the public comment period, which was set to end on September 23 to a new deadline for public comments of October 22.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Betsy Donovan
Remedial Project Manager
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10007-1866
(212) 637-4369 donovan.betsy@epa.gov

To review the plan for the Maywood Chemical Company Superfund site, please visit:http://epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/maywood.

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Birth of a Hummingbird

Wonderful photos showing the transition of a hummingbird from hatching to flight.

24 photos.

http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

TOMORROW: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz to Testify Before House Energy & Commerce Committee on Climate Change

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 17, 2013
TOMORROW: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz to Testify Before House Energy & Commerce Committee on Climate Change
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz will testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. EDT at a hearing to discuss President Obama’s climate change policies.

Hearing details:
WHO:   EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz
WHAT: Testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, September 18, 2013

WHERE: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

More information on climate change: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ and http://energy.gov/climate-change

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EPA Extends Public Comment Period on Cleanup Plan for LCP Chemicals, Inc. Superfund Site in Linden, New Jersey

EPA Press Release:

EPA Extends Public Comment Period on Cleanup Plan for

LCP Chemicals, Inc. Superfund Site in Linden, New Jersey

Contact: John Martin (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov  

(New York, N.Y. – September 17, 2013) On August 21, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed cleanup plan for the LCP Chemicals, Inc. Superfund Site, which includes demolishing the contaminated buildings on the site, treating some of the contaminated soil to stabilize contaminants, capping all of the soil and treating the contaminated ground water. The EPA held a public meeting on August 28, 2013 to explain this proposed plan.

The agency is extending the public comment period, which was set to end on September 21 to a new deadline for public comments of October 21.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:

Mr. Jon Gorin

Remedial Project Manager

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2

290 Broadway – 19th Floor

New York, N.Y. 10007-1866

212-637-4361

gorin.jonathan@epa.gov

The EPA has a web page on the site at: http://epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/lcpchemicals.

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EPA Provides Grant for Organic Gardening and Composting Training in Brooklyn

EPA Press Release:

EPA Provides Grant for Organic Gardening and

Composting Training in Brooklyn

Community Gardens in Bedford-Stuyvesant to Benefit from Program

Contact: John Martin, (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – September 17, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $30,000 to Green Guerillas, a New York City community-based organization, to teach organic gardening skills to a team of Brooklyn young people. The grant was awarded under the EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, which supports and empowers communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues.

“EPA environmental justice grants provide much needed funds to tackle local pollution problems and improve the quality of life in low income communities," said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. "The grant to Green Guerillas will educate young people in Brooklyn on ways they can utilize urban land, create healthier neighborhoods and get people working together to solve problems.”

Through its Youth Tillers program, Green Guerillas will use this EPA environmental justice grant to recruit and train a team of Brooklyn young people to work on composting, rainwater collection and the reduction of pesticide use through organic gardening. Along with the Green Guerillas staff, Youth Tillers will work with 15 Bedford-Stuyvesant community gardens to expand current composting systems or install new systems to reduce solid plant waste and food scraps. Participants will also improve upon or install rainwater systems to help harvest hundreds of gallons of water to reduce runoff and sewer overflows. In turn, youth participants will educate area residents using hands-on demonstration techniques, educational materials and by conducting healthy gardening and cooking classes.

Since 1994, the EPA’s environmental justice small grants program has supported projects to address environmental justice issues in more than 1,300 communities. The grants represent EPA’s continued commitment to expand the conversation on environmentalism and advance environmental justice in communities across the nation.

2013 EJ Small Grant recipients and project descriptions: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/ej-smgrants-recipients-2013.pdf

More information about EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants program: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-smgrants.html

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/eparegion2

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U.S. EPA Awards Over $1 Million to Northern California Tribe to Protect Klamath River, Enhance Tribal Environmental Program

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  September 16, 2013

MEDIA CONTACT: David Yogi, yogi.david@epa.gov, Ph: (415) 972-3350, Cell: (415) 760-5419 

U.S. EPA Awards Over $1 Million to Northern California Tribe to Protect Klamath River, Enhance Tribal Environmental Program

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announces it has awarded a $1.3 million grant under its Performance Partnership Grant Program to the Yurok Tribe in Klamath, Calif. to support the tribe’s efforts to control water pollution, enhance the tribe’s wetlands preservation and restoration program, and provide community outreach and staff environmental training. The grant will support tribal environmental protection activities for two years.

“The Yurok Tribe is working to preserve and improve ecosystems along 45 miles of the Klamath River, including approximately 5800 acres of wetlands,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.  “The Yurok’s efforts are a great example of how states and tribes can take advantage of EPA resources to further the scope of their environmental programs.”

Under this grant, the Yurok Tribe will:

·       -   enhance water quality monitoring and analysis of tribal waters;

·       -   implement a new management plan addressing sources of water pollution, such as land runoff;

·       -   support intertribal watershed coordination activities with the Klamath Basin Tribal Water Quality Workgroup;

·       -   further development of the Tribe's wetlands program plan, including assessing climate change impacts to reservation wetlands;

·       -   close nine dumpsites and implement new tools to better manage solid waste; and

·       -   conduct community outreach and education, staff training and general administration and evaluation of the tribe’s environmental program.

EPA’s Performance Partnership Grant Program allows for states and tribes to combine multiple environmental program grants into a single grant. Yurok’s grant includes funds from four EPA grant programs.

The Yurok Tribe is the largest tribe in California, with more than 5,000 members and more than 200 employees. The tribe’s major initiatives include: the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, dam removal, natural resources protection, sustainable economic development enterprises and land acquisition.  The Yurok Tribe chairman is Thomas P. O'Rourke Sr.

For more information about the Yurok Tribe’s work, visit:  http://www.yuroktribe.org/departments/ytep/ytep.htm

For more information about EPA’s Performance Partnership Grant Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/ocirpage/nepps/pp_grants.htm

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