[Imc-midwest-regional] FWD: TIPSHEET: TIPSHEET OF 11 JULY, 2001

[jacobs]

Pardon the cross-posting.  Below is the TipSheet, an electronic newsletter of 
environmental stories and news tips.  This, as well as the Society for 
Environmental Journalists Journal will be linked from the forthcoming U-C IMC 
Library's homepage.  I'll send out a notice when the site comes live, but I 
just wanted to let folks know that their research needs will soon be aided by 
the library website!  Be on the lookout for this.

Peace,

James Jacobs
Radical Librarian

>===== Original Message From SEJOffice at aol.com =====
TIPSHEET OF 11 JULY, 2001

TipSheet provides weekly news tips for journalists on potential environmental
stories and sources. TipSheet is produced jointly by the Society of
Environmental Journalists, the Radio and Television News Directors
Foundation, and the National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center.
TipSheet is posted to searchable archives on SEJ's Web site at
http://www.sej.org/pub/index.htm and to EHC's Web site at
http://nsc.org/ehc/jrn/tipindex.htm.

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IN THIS ISSUE...

-- Experimental GE Crops Widespread
-- Report Due on Rocket Fuel Pollution
-- Bush and Federal Labs Cross Wires on Energy
-- Uranium Recycling Risks Wider than Thought
-- Can States Be Trusted with Environmental Enforcement?
-- First Commercial Fish May Be Endangered
-- EPA Public Participation Goes On-Line

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U.S. HAS 1000s OF SECRET GE CROP TEST SITES

Nearly 29,000 field tests of more than 80 genetically engineered organisms,
mostly crops, have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since
1987, says the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (June 14, 2001, report,
"Raising Risk: Field Testing of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.,"
http://www.pirg.org/ge/press/raisingrisk/pr.html). More than 60% of field
tests conducted in 2000 involved secret genes protected as confidential
business information. USPIRG lists its results by state. Identifying specific
sites may be possible with a FOIA request. USPIRG, Richard Caplan,
202-546-9707, ext. 329, rcaplan at pirg.org

USPIRG says that cross-pollination of non-GE crops is one of the risks posed
by these test sites, and that regulation by USDA has been limited and is on
the wane. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials say their
efforts are appropriate: Jim Rogers, 301-734-8563,
jim.d.rogers at aphis.usda.gov, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotech

A workshop held July 13-14, 2000, by the National Research Council concluded
in part that "ecological monitoring of genetically engineered crops is
warranted" -- it's at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10068.html. A book published
in 2000 by the NRC also addresses GE crops: Genetically Modified
Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation,
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9795.html. The National Academy of Sciences is
expected to release a report this fall on facets of USDA's role. NAS, Dave
Schneier, 202-334-2138, news at nas.edu

Along with the test sites, genetically engineered crops themselves are
widespread in the U.S., including an estimated 64% of cotton, 63% of
soybeans, and 24% of corn: http://www.sej.org/go/010711-4.htm. GE crops vary
in yield, profitability, and ability to help reduce herbicide use:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer786. USDA Economic Research Service,
Ralph Heimlich, 202-694-5504, heimlich at ers.usda.gov

The U.S. General Accounting Office is contemplating a GE crops investigation,
which may include the issue of field testing. GAO press, Jerri Hoy,
202-512-9936, hoyj at gao.gov

Monsanto (or a company it now owns) has applied to conduct the most field
tests each year since 1987. Mark Buckingham, 314-694-5291,
mark.buckingham at monsanto.com

-- Biotechnology Industry Organization, Lisa Dry, 202-857-0244, ldry at bio.org

-- Organic Farming Research Foundation, Mark Lipson, 831-426-6606,
mark at ofrf.org

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COMING REPORT: ROCKET FUEL POLLUTES MANY STATES

On July 18, 2001, sites in 39 states that have known or suspected
contamination from perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel and some
fertilizers, will be highlighted in an  Environmental Working Group report
(Rocket Science: Perchlorate and the Toxic Legacy of the Cold War, available
at http://www.ewg.org with a password on July 17, and to the public on July
18). Contamination is dominated by rocket fuel see page from defense
contractor sites. The report also offers EWG's perspective on proposed
drinking water standards for perchlorate under development by EPA. EWG, Bill
Walker, 510-444-0973, bwalker at ewg.org or Liza Pike, 415-561-2325, liza at ems.org

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DOE LABS, WHITE HOUSE ENERGY VIEWS DIFFER

President Bush's proposed energy policy is somewhat at odds with a report
issued by three national laboratories during the Clinton administration.
Highlights of the conflicting energy views are presented in the July 2001
issue of Spectrum, published by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers. The magazine summarizes the philosophies and conclusions of both
President Bush's energy task force and a joint study by Oak Ridge Nat'l.
Lab., Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l. Lab., and the Nat'l. Renewable Energy Lab.
IEEE: Nancy Hantman,  212-419-7561, n.hantman at ieee.org,
http://www.sej.org/go/010711-3.htm

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CONTAMINATION FROM URANIUM RECYCLING IS FAR-FLUNG

U.S. Department of Energy studies show that uranium recycling at more than
100 locations around the country has exposed thousands more people than
expected to potentially harmful doses of toxic substances. On June 24, 2001,
USA Today published two articles by Peter Eisler on the issue,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/poison/2001-06-25-hotnukes.htm, based in part on
DOE studies released in March 2001:
http://tis.eh.doe.gov/legacy/releases/pr01045.html. DOE press, Dolline
Hatchett, 202-586-0608

-- For information on other recent DOE investigations of nuclear
manufacturing contamination, see Sept. 20, 2000, TipSheet,
http://www.sej.org/go/010711-2.htm

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REPORT: SOME KEY STATES FUMBLING ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT

Many key US environmental laws are implemented and enforced at the state
level -- and the Bush Admin. wants to turn even more environmental laws over
to state control. But are states up to the task? A June 11, 2001, Natl.
Environmental Trust report charged three key states (OH, GA, and TX) with
doing a lousy job:  http://www.environet.org/cleanair/issue/whitepaper.pdf.
NET: Joel Finkelstein, 202-887-1345, jfinkelstein at environet.org

NET examined the three states' progress on implementing an air-pollution
permit system required by the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. Nearly
half of all eligible facilities did not have permits 10 years after the
states took over the program.

In April 2001, the Environmental Council of the States issued a parallel
report: http://www.sej.org/go/010711-1.htm. ECOS considered slightly
different issues -- primarily the role of states in enforcing federal
environmental laws (states account for some 90% of enforcement actions), as
well as problems in meeting reporting requirements. ECOS: Steven Brown,
202-624-3660, sbrown at sso.org

EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance handles enforcement when
states don't meet federal standards: 202-564-2440, http://es.epa.gov/oeca

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BOCACCIO SENDS RIPPLES THROUGH PACIFIC FISHERIES

On June 14, the National Marine Fisheries Service notified three
environmental groups that their petition to list bocaccio (also known as
Pacific red snapper) as an endangered species merited further consideration.
The decision is significant because bocaccio, a species of rockfish, is
caught incidentally along with many other groundfish species on the West
Coast.

Bocaccio was once among the most common species caught by West Coast
trawlers; industry, government and environmental groups agree that its
numbers have declined by 98 percent in the past several decades. Overfishing
and habitat degradation are the primary threats to the species.

Industry watchers say most of the fisheries in which bocaccio gets caught as
bycatch are already effectively shut down. If bocaccio is listed (the final
decision would be made in March 2002), it would be the first commercial
marine species to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act.

-- NMFS: Jim Lecky, 562-980-4015, jim.lecky at noaa.gov; or Marta Nammack,
301-713-1401, marta.nammack at noaa.gov

-- Natural Resources Defense Council: Karen Garrison, 415-777-0220,
kgarrison at nrdc.org. Center for Biological Diversity: Brendan Cummings,
510-848-5486, bcummings at biologicaldiversity.org

-- Fishermen's Marketing Association: Pete Leipzig, 707-442-3789;
fma at trawl.org

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EPA PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOES ON-LINE

The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a "national dialogue" online
to get views on its public participation programs -- including right-to-know
issues affecting journalists. It runs July 10-20, 2001, at
http://www.network-democracy.org/epa-pip/

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Next TipSheet: July 18, 2001

Journalists: Please tell your colleagues about TipSheet. For free
subscription send name and full contact information to sej at sej.org. Have a
tip? Comments? Contact Joe Davis, editor, at 202-974-2464, davisja at nsc.org,
or Beth Parke, associate editor, at 215-884-8174 or sej at sej.org. TipSheet is
posted to searchable archives on SEJ's Web site at
http://www.sej.org/pub/index.htm and on EHC's Web site at
http://nsc.org/ehc/jrn/tipindex.htm.
==============================================
TipSheet is a weekly publication of the Society of Environmental
Journalists, the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation and
the Environmental Health Center. To stop getting TipSheet, send an
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==============================================

James R. Jacobs 
Graduate Reference Assistant 
Education/Social Science Library
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign                        
Home: 303B1 Paddock Drive  
Savoy, IL 61874           
(217)359-9283
jacobs at uiuc.edu
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"Librarians, Dusty, possess a vast store of politeness.
These are people who get asked regularly the dumbest
questions on God's green earth. These people tolerate
every kind of crank and eccentric and mouth-breather
there is." 
--Garrison Keillor, "Lives of the Cowboys"
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"But to live outside the law you must be honest." R.Zimmerman
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