Local Environmental Activist Calling Out TCEQ with ‘Smoking Gun’

Posted: Feb 18, 2011 9:16 PM by Steven Romo, KRIS TV,  kristv.com

CORPUS CHRISTI – A local environmental activist is coming forward with what she calls another smoking gun against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Suzie Canales of the Citizens for Environmental Justice, held a press conference to showcase some video of the old Encycle Facility on Up River Road.

The plant is closed and is set to be demolished. Canales says, this video shows that there are harmful chemicals still around the facility, and her group is afraid demolishing the site will cause those chemicals to spread.

She says, the video comes from an anonymous source who is able to tour the site. The video shows a field of industrial parts scattered around. Canales says, it also shows acid vats, which seem to still hold a corrosive chemical.

The TCEQ says the facility is prepared for Hurricane Damage but Canales says, the video shows otherwise.

Now, Canales is trying to meet with officials who own Encycle to get information on the status of the plant.

“Now, we have the documentation that shows that they’re not telling the truth. And, I think shame on the TCEQ our biggest problems through the years has not been the industry. Because they do what they do. They’re out to make billions of dollars; we understand that. Our biggest obstacle has been the government,” she said.

We were not able to reach anyone with the TCEQ for comment on this story. Canales says, she has been in contact with that agency and the EPA.

http://www.kristv.com/news/local-environmental-activist-calling-out-tceq-with-smoking-gun-/

Using Geographic Information Science to achieve sustainable development

 

Posted Sunday, 20th February 2011, by Marie Louise Pace, The Times of Malta, timesofmalta.com

Geographic Information Science can help identify areas important to fishermen with a view to managing them better and avoid conflicts between different users of the sea.

Geographic Information Science (GIS) involves capturing, storing and analysing different set of data and performing different queries according to one’s aims and objectives.

The use of GIS has become increasingly important in analysing data sets of different topics.

For example, with GIS, one can superimpose different layers, such as the basemap of Malta, its road network, and then the different modes of transport, such as bus routes.

When these layers are placed over each other, one can then use queries to analyse different criteria, for example, which is the fastest route from one location to another, or which route is best for bus transport.

My undergraduate dissertation was entitled ‘A comparative study of beach morphology between urban and rural environments: case studies – Għajn Tuffieħa and Balluta beaches’. Part of the dissertation required the use of GIS in order to analyse the data.

In this case, GIS was used to monitor the movement and erosion of a number of pebbles in the two mentioned areas.

Further studies on the subject together with the use of GIS, can lead to better management of the coasts. The use of GIS in the dissertation played an important part in my decision to pursue a Master’s degree in GIS.

The Master’s dissertation was entitled ‘Evaluating two different methods of deriving data layers of the commercial value of fishing activity using a combination of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and skipper log book data’.

The main aim of the dissertation was to assess different methods for redistributing the landings value from an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) rectangle scale which covers an area of 0.5 ° latitude by 1° longitude, to a finer resolution-based one where the fishing activity is taking place as identified by the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data by developing and being able to automate a workflow.

By redistributing the value of landings to a finer resolution, better management and planning could be introduced in order to maintain and increase the socio-economic interest without endangering the environment.

Two different methods were used in order to identify which one was the most practical method to adapt in terms of time and money in representing the data and also the efficiency in dealing with different parameters.

The first method considered the total fishing effort (which is the time spent fishing in a particular area at a particular time) for all the vessels fishing within an ICES rectangle. The landings values were distributed proportionately to the effort for that rectangle as identified by the VMS.

The second method considered the landings value for each vessel and distributed them equally across all its VMS positions.

Moreover, a workflow for each method was also developed and automated using the Modelbuilder in Arc GIS.

The two methods were later on compared and analysed in order to see which method presented a more realistic result and which was the most practical to use in terms of time and money efficiency.

From the results obtained, it was shown that the second method could be more appropriate in distributing the landings value as it showed more accurate results.

The use of GIS in the Master’s dissertation aimed at developing a workflow whereby the user can input the required data and obtain results in a matter of a few minutes.

Since the ocean has no boundaries, by using the workflow, the user could identify areas that are important to fishermen in order with a view to managing them better. With better spatially managed areas, conflicts between different users of the sea could be reduced.

The use of GIS is becoming more important every day and is very useful in analysing data so that one can adopt better policies and better management, and make it easier to attain sustainable development.

Ms Pace M.Sc studies were partially funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (STEPS) programme, which is part financed by the European Union – European Social Fund (ESF) under operational programme II – Cohesion policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life’.

 

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110220/education/using-geographic-information-science-to-achieve-sustainable-development

Vandana Shiva: Mother Earth Incarnate Coming to Portland

Psted February 18th, 2011, by STACY BROWNHILL, Willamette Week, wweek.com

Vandana Shiva wants you to put down your fork and turn on your brain.

Shiva, who will be in Portland next week to speak at a World Affairs Council event, is a 58-year-old environmental activist on the frontlines of the global fight against “biopiracy”— the corporate patenting of ancient food crops.

Formerly one of India’s leading physicists and mother of a Lewis & Clark College grad, Shiva is possibly Mother Earth disguised in a sari. She has hugged trees to prevent felling, written more than 20 books on environmental justice, spoken at the 1999 Seattle WTO Summit, and won the 1993 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize.

She starred in the award-winning documentaries “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” and “Dirt! The Movie,” and is the founder of Navdanya (“Nine Seeds”), a food sovereignty movement that flouts WTO laws against seed-sharing and seed-saving. She also has successfully protected over 2,000 varieties of rice in India.

In advance of her speech on Wednesday, Feb. 23 about the world food crisis and the need to go local, WW talked to Shiva via Skype.

Willamette Week:  What do you say to people who think organic and local food is too expensive?

Vandana Shiva: It’s time to separate organic from class, and recognize that organic works for everyone. The only reason junk food is so cheap is because it’s subsidized at every level. The corporations that pollute our water and destroy our climate collect a huge amount of subsidies—$400 billion is collected by agro-businesses at the global level to dump cheap food on us. But when you remove long-distance trade and keep food local, costs go down. We have all been told a big lie—‘you have to industrialize and put chemicals in the ground to produce more food.’ That’s not true. Local, organic systems of agriculture are not just more productive than any commercialized agricultural system, but also have lower costs that solve the agrarian crises. In India, the costs [of buying pesticides and herbicides] show in the form of 200,000 farmers (according to the India National Crime Records Bureau) who’ve committed suicide because of immense debt.

What is the genetically-modified food you most miss eating?

I don’t miss eating any GM food because there is already enough diversity on this Earth. Maybe if eggplant had become a GM-monopoly, I would have missed that.

What are a few baby steps Americans can take to promote better agriculture practices?

The first step is for every American to recognize that there are giant corporations like Monsanto controlling food supplies. We eat three times a day and the food we choose to eat is something we can change. We need to know what we eat. We’ve been told for over 200 years of industrialization that, to touch the land- ‘oh my God, it’s dirty’. We should turn gardening into our deepest expression of humanity. Every child should have the miracle of harvesting a garden.

Do you think GM-food has any place in our food supply? For instance, in preventing famines?

The Union of Concerned Scientists has put out a study saying genetic engineering does not increase yield. If you can’t prove there’s more yield, how can you prove genetically modified food prevents famines? Monsanto is growing lies, not food.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I have to use cars, trains and planes. I don’t get a kick out of flying, but I do it conscientiously. I use planes because I realize we have to be connected in order to overcome the challenges we face. We cannot be isolated. When I fly to Portland to give this talk, the two images in my head will be butterflies and bees pollinating.

ATTEND IT: Vandana Shiva will be speaking in Portland Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7pm at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the 2011 World Affairs Council of Oregon’s International Speaker Series. The topic of her lecture is “Soil Not Oil: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Food Justice.” Tickets available online starting at $31.25.

 

http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-26527-vandana_shiva_mother_earth_incarnate_coming_to_portland.html

Lily Cole cried over unethical cotton farming

As a result, model-turned-actress launched ethical fashion brand to raise awareness of environmental issues in the fashion industry.

Posted Feb 21 2011, by Michael d’Estries, Mother Nature Network, mnn.com

The former Playboy model, who most recently starred in the film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”, was given the information by the Environmental Justice Foundation. “I had thought the problem was just sweatshops,” she said. “I cried when I read it.”

Cole immediately launched The North Circular, an ethical knitwear business which donates five per cent of profits to the Environmental Justice Foundation.

“I set (the brand) up with two friends,” she said. “They run it day to day, but I’m still involved, particularly with promoting it. It’s only been going a few years, but it’s working… I like (ethical fashion) in the same way that I like to think that my soap and food are properly made. If my hat’s knitted by a lovely woman in England, that becomes quite important. It makes me feel better about it.”

Cole’s company recently won the RSPCA Good Business Awards “Large Company prize” for their “stylish designs and its animal-friendly methods of production.” One example of this is their use of wool only from flocks of rescued sheep.

RSPCA director of communications David Bowles said: “All these companies were recognized for leading the way in animal welfare in the high street and on the catwalk, and deserve our recognition as they set the standard for others to work towards.”

Cole can next be seen in the historical epic “There Be Dragons”, due for release in 2011.

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/blogs/lily-cole-cried-over-unethical-cotton-farming