How a natural-gas tycoon tapped into Pa.’s governor

This article recaps a situation that has been going on for many decades. The special interest doesn’t just give money to a politician to be a nice guy. Nosiree. The giver expects results and, once again, he got them. Campaign contributions don’t influence the decision-makng process? Sure, buckaroo. Sure.

Six more California Condors duffer lead poisoning from ammo, three die

Three more California Condors, among the most endangered birds in the world, have died from lead poisoning from ammunition, while three others were treated for lead poisoning, according to The Peregrine Fund’s Condor Recovery Program in Arizona. This brings the total number of condors killed by lead in the last 11 years to 19.

“This tragic news comes as little surprise for those of us engaged in the lead ammunition issue. We expect more condor, eagle, and other bird deaths as long as lead remains an ingredient in bullets and shot used for hunting,” said George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. You can read the whole sad story in this release from the American Bird Conservancy

 

Obama administration weighs in on Spotted Owl

As usual, this wire service media account says nothing about the root causes of the species’ population downturn and why the Barred Owl has moved in from the east. Human actions are to blame, but you wouldn’t know that by reading this shallow bit of reporting.

Quote of the day

“Not all people feel they need to have wilderness, but I do. If things go bad and everything seems to go wrong, the best place to go is right into the remote wilderness and everything’s in balance there.”

- Adirondack conservationist Clarence Petty, 1905-2009

Md. offers free septic upgrades to help the Bay

Well, that’s nice. Real nice. But still, the best solution to urban wastewater pollution is to stop the sprawl machine.

Bicycling good for economic health (and it doesn’t pollute)

Cycling isn’t just good for your personal health, it’s also good for economic health. A new report by the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute finds that cycling projects create 11.4 jobs for every $1 million invested — 46% more the 7.8 jobs than car-only road projects.

[E]conomic benefits include tourism and recreation-related spending (which is a boon to businesses and increases local tax revenues), and a rise in real estate values. Other benefits include higher quality of life, environmental benefits such as buffer zones to protect water sources from pollution run-off, and mitigation of flood damage. A 2008 user survey of a multi-use trail in Pennsylvania showed that over 80 percent of users purchased “hard goods” such as bikes and cycling equipment in relation to their use of the trail, and some also pur- chase “soft goods” such as drinks and snacks at nearby establishments.

The trend is similar to what we see at farmer’s markets, where people have many times the number of interactions than they do at the grocery store (all while supporting local businesses). When cyclists move through properly-designed infrastructure for bikes, they’re more likely to interact with their surroundings and spend more money. Here’s an example from North Carolina:

 

Data were gathered through user surveys and bicycle traffic counts to estimate the amount of money that tourists spent during a visit, the total number of tourists, and the proportion of tourists for whom bicycling was an important reason for the visit. The researchers found that, annually, approximately 68,000 tourists visited the area at least partly to cycle. This led to an estimate that $60 million in tourism spending and multiplier effects came to the area in relation to the bikeways, and supported approximately 1,400 jobs.

When confronted with a decision of whether or not to include pedestrian and/or bicycle facilities in transportation infrastructure projects, planning officials should do so, not only because of the environmental, safety, and health benefits but also because these projects can create local jobs.”

Cycling infrastructure is a win-win-win for communities: They can raise local health standards, increase local economic activity and reduce emissions that impact the global environment. This report offers yet more evidence of the immense benefits for communities that support bicycles.

Special interest group sues to stop Chesapeake cleanup plan

And that special interest is the National Association of Home Builders. What took them so long? Hell, the American Farm Bureau Federation beat them to the courthouse. This action is all too typical of today’s pro-pollution lobby. Just throw good money at a real solution and hope it will go away so the pollution can continue flowing. Read about the Home Builders’ lawsuit.

On BLM land in Idaho, recreation brings in more bucks than does grazing

The federal Bureau of Land Management, though, changes real slowly. The leasing of livestock grazing rights on BLM public land is still a big money loser for the property owner – the American public. There is a reason why the Interior agency is still derided, in some conservation circles, as the Bureau of Lumber and Mining. The Boise paper offers this article about the growing financial impact to local communities of recreation on BLM land in Idaho.

Quote of the day

“Driving is a stop-and-go experience,” he said. “That’s what we like! Our goal is to reconquer public space for pedestrians, not to make iteasy for drivers.”

- From a NY Times article in today’s edition

Pro-dam crowd doesn’t like choice for Interior post

No kidding. The dam-building, fish-killing crowd just has this thing about the woman who once led the conservation organization American Rivers. Rebecca Wodder, nonetheless, is an ideal choice for the job at the Department of the Interior and should b confirmed without further delay, regardless of what these dam advocates are saying.