Victory! Agent Orange Crops Halted

From: Center for Food Safety <office@centerforfoodsafety.org<mailto:office@centerforfoodsafety.org>>
Date: November 25, 2015 at 17:39:38 EST

In response to CFS litigation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it is revoking the registration of "Enlist Duo," a toxic pesticide designed to be used with genetically engineered "Agent Orange" crops!

Responding to a lawsuit brought by Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, yesterday EPA announced it is revoking the registration of "Enlist Duo," a toxic combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D – the main ingredient in Agent Orange.

Approved by the agency just over a year ago, Dow's Enlist Duo was created for use on the next generation of genetically engineered (GE) crops, what we dubbed "Agent Orange crops", designed to withstand being drenched with this potent herbicide cocktail. In its court filing, EPA stated it is taking this action after realizing that the combination of these chemicals is likely significantly more harmful than it had initially believed.

EPA had approved use of Enlist Duo in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, and had intended to approve it in additional areas in the near future.

Dow created Enlist crops as a quick fix for the problem created by "Roundup Ready" crops, the previous generation of genetically engineered crops designed to resist the effects of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Just as overuse of antibiotics has left resistant strains of bacteria to thrive, repeated use of Roundup on those crops allowed glyphosate-resistant "superweeds" to proliferate, and those weeds now infest tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmland. Enlist crops allow farmers to spray both glyphosate and 2,4-D without killing their crops, which they hope will kill weeds resistant to glyphosate alone. But some weeds have already developed 2,4-D resistance, and the escalating cycle of more toxic pesticides in the environment will continue unless EPA stops approving these chemicals, and USDA stops rubber-stamping new genetically engineered crops.

The decision by EPA to withdraw the illegally approved Enlist Duo crops is a huge victory for the environment and the future of our food!

Thanks for your support. We are so grateful to be able to share this tremendous victory with you!

- the Center for Food Safety team

Read more about this victory: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4144/epa-pulls-registration-for-dows-enlist-duo-herbicide-citing-high-toxicity-levels<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=I5f99RLJwtHxc150NPeUl%2Fa0q2ImMd9F>






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Rover posting to FERC

From: Frank Zaski

Date: November 25, 2015 at 11:39
Subject: Rover posting to FERC

This was just posted to FERC to counter the demands of Rover and 3 shippers to pull ahead the timing for the final EIS and approval.


Rover assumes FERC will approve their application and that nothing in the EIS will delay or deter them. Rover has even set a DEADLINE FOR FERC TO APPROVE ROVER, "no later than the second quarter of 2016." (Roughly a 5-6 month pull ahead.) http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20151109-5038

Unlike Rover, many people think FERC approvals are not automatic and depend on a thorough evaluation of all factors.

Rover states that the "numerous pipeline certificate applications" are evidence of lack of pipelines. On the contrary, perhaps they represent the irrational speculation and poor planning that has plagued this industry for years.

However, THIS application is not about "numerous pipelines" but specifically Rover. Energy Transfer has not provided enough specific facts to prove Rover is justified, especially north of Defiance, OH.

If there really was a pipeline shortage, there would be high gas prices and low working gas storage levels. As it is, hub prices are below average, and the US is awash with natural gas with working gas storage at a record 4,000 Bcf level. All parts of the US have gas storage levels above their 5 year averages. http://ir.eia.gov/ngs/ngs.html?src=email

The substantial Marcellus price differential is being caused by Marcellus drilling companies blindly seeking production volumes rather than value. The pipeline companies are complicit. Economics dictates excessive production results in excessively low prices.

Over speculation and production has resulted in many gas drillers having risky debt levels and poor credit ratings. It is probably that some will not be able to fulfill their commitments.
http://www.capitalcube.com/blog/index.php/range-resources-corp-value-analysis-nyserrc-november-18-2015/

Shipper/drillers requests to pull ahead the Rover EIS should be evaluated considering FERC's own policy, "the Commission's traditional factors for establishing the need for a project, such as contracts and precedent agreements, MAY NO LONGER BE A SUFFICIENT INDICATOR that a project is in the public convenience and necessity." https://www.ferc.gov/legal/maj-ord-reg/PL99-3-001.pdf


And regarding the long view…

The DOE reports the US needs only "relatively modest interstate pipeline capacity additions (2.2–2.7 Bcf/d annually between 2015 and 2020). These "are potentially lower-cost alternatives to building new infrastructure and can accommodate a significant increase in natural gas flows."
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/02/f19/DOE%20Report%20Natural%20Gas%20Infrastructure%20V_02-02.pdf

Few new pipelines are needed to meet the proposed Clean Power Plan. The EPA expects the proposed "Plan to increase natural gas use for electric generation by 1.2 Tcf in 2020, declining over time." http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-06/documents/20140602ria-clean-power-plan.pdf

A study finds new natural gas pipelines are NOT needed even in New England.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_29134769/new-gas-pipelines-not-needed-region-energy-report

Rover's hopes for LNG EXPORT may be dashed. Many analysts predict few new US and Canadian LNG export facilities will be built. From an SNL analysis of worldwide LNG overbuild, "The new consensus<https://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?ID=33750706> among analysts and other industry observers that the global LNG market will be oversupplied<https://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?ID=33795399> in the near term could mean that expansions of U.S. export projects constitute an overbuild." https://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?CDID=A-34491752-12842&KPLT=4 Longer term, even more foreign LNG capacity is coming. http://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/?src=email

It is up to FERC to consider ALL factors NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES to conduct a thorough review of Rover.

Based on available information, it appears the economic, social and environmental COSTS OF ROVER FAR OUTWEIGH ANY BENEFITS.

FERC, thank you for your thorough review of Rover and for asking the right questions.

Higher Fees for Electric and Hybrid Cars and Discouraging Net-Metering Rates for Residential Solar Roofs

Thanks to Governor Snyder and some other Republican lawmakers Michigan will soon be the joke of this nation that finally starts to wake up to reality. Instead of increasing incentives for people to move towards more sustainability in face of undeniable man-made global warming, they are planning to punish people to do the right thing. It is almost unbelievable and follows a very crooked logic to increase registration fees for cars that use less fuel like electric and hybrid cars. In all reality, people who own cars that are less efficient than 45 miles per gallon should be penalized for polluting our environment more than necessary by paying higher taxes and fees - not the other way around. This almost unbelievable and unethical stupidity follows the same lines as a proposal to allow utility companies to buy electricity from net-metering owners of rooftop solar panels at wholesale rate but sell them the energy back at retail rate. To even come up with such an absurd double-standard is mind-bugling. It is like - wait a minute where am I - in the dark middle-ages?

Update: I reached out to several electric car and hybrid car groups but nobody seems to care to object this INSANE, MAD and BACKWARDS ruling on cars that should be paying less!
For the solar panels, the proposal is not yet signed into law - there is a petition, which you all can sign to show our lawmakers that we will not take this false signal and discouragement to do the right thing. You can find the petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/michigan-state-house-michigan-state-senate-michigan-governor-michigan-stop-the-attack-on-rooftop-solar

Stories of Hope

Dear Tom, Guardian readers have asked us to report more often on stories of hope -- and so we have turned to Africa. From Morocco to South Africa, we've covered some of the communities and governments who have turned to solar power – not just as a way to fight climate change, but to bring some people electricity for the first time. As Erick Kabendera found in Tanzania, solar is not just helping health centres and on the way to lighting up 1m homes, but it's keeping snakes away too.  In Burundi, despite civil unrest and violence, one of the continent's most ambitious solar projects is moving ahead on 17 hectares of land in Mubuga village. David Smith heard how it'll change lives, as well as creating hundreds of jobs. On an even bigger scale is Morocco, where Arthur Neslen visited the edge of the Sahara desert to find out more about plans for a mega solar plant. Once complete, it will be the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the world. We're not the only ones to find these projects hopeful. So do leading figures such as former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who calls lack of access to electricity as "intolerable, avoidable and profoundly unfair" for Africans. He believes solar holds the answer.  Please continue to share your reporting requests with us. Just reply to this e-mail with ideas.  Best, Adam Vaughan, online environment editor You are receiving this email because you opted to receive Keep it in the ground emails from Guardian News & Media Limited. Click here if you do not wish to receive Keep it in the ground emails from the Guardian News and Media. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC.  Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396

BREAKING VICTORY: President Obama has rejected the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline!!!

350.org

This is a historic victory that sets the standard for climate action by keeping millions of tons of carbon underground. And it's a victory for the people: the President's courage today is a reflection of the courage of thousands of people who stood up to fight this project.

We want to thank everyone who fought to make this victory happen. Add your name to the Keystone XL Movement Thank You Card to help celebrate making history:http://350.org/thankyou

David W. Orr to speak at Siena Heights University

The Sustainable College Committee of Siena Heights is delighted to present David W. Orr as our Fall 2015 William Issa Endowment Speaker on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Dominican Hall (Rueckert) Auditorium in Adrian, Michigan. You can find a campus map and directions at: http://sienaheights.edu/About/CampusMap.aspx

David is “Counselor to the President” of Oberlin College. He is the author of seven books, including Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (Oxford, 2009) and co-editor of three others. His eighth book, Dangerous Years: Climate Change and the Long Emergency will be published in 2016. He has authored over 220 articles, reviews, book chapters, and professional publications. In the past twenty-five years he has served as a board member or adviser to ten foundations and on the Boards of many organizations including the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Currently he is a Trustee of the Bioneers, Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, and the WorldWatch Institute. He has been awarded eight honorary degrees and a dozen other awards including a Lyndhurst Prize, a National Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation, leadership awards from the U.S. Green Building Council (2014) and from Second Nature (2012). He has lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He headed the effort to design, fund, and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which was named by an AIA panel in 2010 as “the most important green building of the past thirty years,” and as “one of thirty milestone buildings of the twentieth century” by the U.S. Department of Energy. He is founder and Chair of the Board of the Oberlin project and a founding editor of the journal Solutions.

The title of David’s talk is "What's One to do in a Hotter World?” - Education and the Long Emergency"
David Orr does not convey the message that "all is lost" but he sees our call in higher education is to tell the truth as best as we can see it. The science of climate change is sobering and it gives us little time to make adjustments. David understands that the role of education is to engage students in the creation of solutions. At Oberlin he led the effort to design and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which is still the only entirely solar powered building on an US college campus (it's also zero discharge). In addition, he is further promoting the Oberlin Project, and he is striving to equip students with the analytical skills and habits needed to solve environmental problems. He beliefs firmly that hope is indeed a verb with its sleeves rolled up.

The Talk and associated events (program below) are free for the public. We would appreciate if you could help us spread the word and forward this announcement to everybody that may be interested.

See You at SHU!

Tom
---------------------------------------
Thomas Wassmer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Chair, Sustainable College Committee
Siena Heights University
1247 E. Siena Heights Dr.
Adrian, MI 49221
517-264-7637

EPA Water Quality Assessment Status for Reporting Year 2012 River Raisin in Adrian

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Waterbody Quality Assessment Report

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On This Page

• Causes of Impairment
• Probable Sources Contributing to Impairments

State: Michigan
Waterbody ID: MI041000020206-01
Location: Includes: South Branch River Raisin
State Waterbody Type: 
EPA Waterbody Type: 
Water Size: 
Units: 
Watershed Name:

Waterbody History Report

2012 Waterbody Report for Rivers/Streams in HUC 041000020206

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Water Quality Assessment Status for Reporting Year 2012

Description of this table

Designated Use	Designated Use Group	Status
Agriculture	Agricultural	Good
Cold Water Fishery	Fish, Shellfish, And Wildlife Protection And Propagation	Not Assessed
Fish Consumption	Aquatic Life Harvesting	Impaired
Industrial Water Supply	Industrial	Good
Navigation	Other	Good
Other Indigenous Aquatic Life	Fish, Shellfish, And Wildlife Protection And Propagation	Good
Partial Body Contact Recreation	Recreation	Impaired
Public Water Supply	Public Water Supply	Not Assessed
Total Body Contact Recreation	Recreation	Impaired
Warm Water Fishery	Fish, Shellfish, And Wildlife Protection And Propagation	Good

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Causes of Impairment for Reporting Year 2012

Description of this table

Cause of Impairment	Cause of Impairment Group	Designated Use(s)	State TMDL Development Status
Escherichia Coli (E. Coli)	Pathogens	Partial Body Contact Recreation, Total Body Contact Recreation	TMDL needed
PCB(s) in Fish Tissue	Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)	Fish Consumption	TMDL needed
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)	Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)	Fish Consumption	TMDL needed

Original page at: http://ofmpub.epa.gov/tmdl_waters10/attains_waterbody.control?p_au_id=MI041000020206-01&p_cycle=2012

Similar results for 2008 and 2010. This has history and NOTHING HAPPENS because the little bit of business for a few seems to be more important than the health of the majority of people in Lenawee County and the integrity of the environment!
(2010: http://ofmpub.epa.gov/tmdl_waters10/attains_waterbody.control?p_au_id=MI041000020206-01&p_cycle=2010
2008: http://ofmpub.epa.gov/tmdl_waters10/attains_waterbody.control?p_au_id=MI041000020206-01&p_cycle=2008)

BTW Also ignored by the local government and the County Health Department!

Not only the South Branch of River Raisin is bad - check out the entire watershed at:
http://ofmpub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_watershed.control?p_state=MI&p_huc=04100002&p_cycle=2010&p_report_type=A

Red/pink is BAD!!!

Now where does this shit (literally) come from? Take a good guess where so much boop may come from????