Issues Outside Arkansas

Refer to (indicated date/page in) recent Democrat Gazette for more info:

9/29/24 pg 2G - Wave power and wind turbines off Oregon's coast.
9/29/24 pg 1G - Cambodian canal project raise worries for neighbor Vietnam

8/4/24 pg 3A - Vermont flood damage exceeds $6M; Tropical storm on path to hit Florida; California firefighters make progress

8/4/24 pg 1G - Resourceful Sicilians make most of island's scarce water supply

7/28/24 pg 1G - Acidic soil in African countries blamed on chemical fertilizers

7/14/24 pg 5A - Metal thieves are stripping US cities
7/14/24 pg 7G - Mine waste eyed as source of rare metals

4/7/24 pg 7A - Argentina scrambles for mosquito spray for dengue outbreak
4/7/24 pg 7A - Greenhouse gases shot up in '23

4/7/24 pg PB3 - The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed the shooting of hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save spotted owls of the northwest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past issues:

This page provides information on issues in other areas that may be of interest to - or affect - our members. (Links below checked and still work on 8/3/19.   ...Broken links deleted.)

Page Index (date of most recent change):

Macroplastic Pollution

8/3/2019 - Many stories and studies have focused on microplastic, the smaller stuff that plastic items like bottles, toothbrushes and shopping bags get broken into by ocean currents and exposure to ultraviolet light. The new study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, finds that there's been a significant increase in macroplastic pollution, too: entire plastic bags, plastic fishing gear and other items.   ...For more info, click HERE.

Microplastics Everywhere

8/2/2019 - News stories frequently mention small pieces of plastic in the oceans. ...Americans alone eat, drink and breathe between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles each year depending on their age and sex, according to a recent study. If you drink bottled water only instead of tap water, you can add up to 90,000 plastic particles to your estimated intake...   ...For more info, click HERE.

Greenland Ice Melting

8/2/2019 - Greenland lost 11 billion tons of surface ice in One Day (August 1)…   …For more info, click HERE. 

Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico

8/1/2019 - The Gulf of Mexico's annual dead zone – a region of water without enough oxygen for fish and other marine life to survive – is the eighth-largest ever recorded, according to scientists. For more info, click HERE.

Coastal Flooding

7/28/19 - Jakarta, Indonesia - Indonesia's president said that he wants to see the speedy construction of a giant sea wall around Jakarta to prevent the low-lying capital from sinking under the sea. Estimates indicate that one-third of the city could be submerged by 2050. The ground has been sinking around four inches a year, partly due to extensive draining of the city's aquifers. For more info, check Conway's Log Cabin Democrat - 7/28, page C4 - or the source Associated Press story. 

...members of National Park Service advisory panel resign in frustration

1/15/18 - Three-quarters of the 12 members of the federally chartered board advising the National Park Service abruptly quit Monday night out of frustration that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had refused to meet with them or convene a single meeting last year.

National Monuments Under Review

2017 - Comment Period May 11 thru (Comment Deadline is May 26 for Bears Ears in Utah, July 10 for the others, listed in the Notice). For a PDF of the notice as it actually appeared in the pages of the FR, go to: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-05-11/pdf/2017-09490.pdf     

From the Notice: In making the requisite determinations, the Secretary is directed to consider:
(i) The requirements and original objectives of the Act, including the Act’s requirement that reservations of land not exceed ‘‘the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected’’;
(ii) whether designated lands are appropriately classified under the Act as ‘‘historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, [or] other objects of historic or scientific interest’’;

(iii) the effects of a designation on the available uses of designated Federal lands, including consideration of the multiple-use policy of section 102(a)(7) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(7)), as well as the effects on the available uses of Federal lands beyond the monument boundaries;

(iv) the effects of a designation on the use and enjoyment of non-Federal lands within or beyond monument boundaries;
(v) concerns of State, tribal, and local governments affected by a designation, including the economic development and fiscal condition of affected States, tribes, and localities;

(vi) the availability of Federal resources to properly manage designated areas; and
(vii) such other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate. 82 FR 20429–20430 (May 1, 2017).
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You may submit written comments online at http:// www.regulations.gov by entering ‘‘DOI– 2017–0002’’ in the Search bar and clicking ‘‘Search,’’  or by mail to: Monument Review, MS–1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240
(The above is a re-print from a Sierra Club California message)