6/15/2008
Water, Sustainability, Spain
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/15/travel/0615-JOURNEYS_index.html
6/13/2008
Tomato Fright!
The antidote to Fear of Tomatoes? Your local Farmers' Market! See you tomorrow morning, downtown Southern Pines. Maureen
6/12/2008
6/11/2008
6/09/2008
6/08/2008
6/04/2008
Downtown Southern Pines Green Space?
A group of downtown [Southern Pines] merchants met this morning. It was our second meeting, and we are meeting to discuss issues affecting the downtown merchants.
Today's meeting was focused on the park where the Farmer's Market is held on Saturday mornings. We have heard that the town wants to build a town hall on the site, and we are opposed to that idea. We would like to see it remain green.
A petition is being printed that will be available for signatures at the Ice Cream Parlor, Flynne's Coffee Shop,and the Country Bookshop. The signers must be Southern Pines residents.
We are also writing letters to the Editor to help educate people on this idea, and would like to see more letters.
Yard signs are being printed and will be available soon.
We are going to attend Town Council meetings and get up and speak about this, and are looking for others to do so, too. The next meeting is Tuesday, June 10 at 7 pm at the Douglas Center at 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave.
Hope to see you there!
[posted by Maureen, member of Moore County Farmers Market]
Today's meeting was focused on the park where the Farmer's Market is held on Saturday mornings. We have heard that the town wants to build a town hall on the site, and we are opposed to that idea. We would like to see it remain green.
A petition is being printed that will be available for signatures at the Ice Cream Parlor, Flynne's Coffee Shop,and the Country Bookshop. The signers must be Southern Pines residents.
We are also writing letters to the Editor to help educate people on this idea, and would like to see more letters.
Yard signs are being printed and will be available soon.
We are going to attend Town Council meetings and get up and speak about this, and are looking for others to do so, too. The next meeting is Tuesday, June 10 at 7 pm at the Douglas Center at 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave.
Hope to see you there!
[posted by Maureen, member of Moore County Farmers Market]
6/03/2008
Q & A: Rising Food Prices
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7340214.stm
[processed foods and drinks now account for 80% of sales.]
[processed foods and drinks now account for 80% of sales.]
6/02/2008
Sandhills Renaissance Players, June 6, 7
The Sandhills Renaissance Players present
TRUE COLORS, an original work
Pinecrest HS Auditorium
June 6 and 7, 7:30 p.m.
$8 (children under age 12 admitted free)
more info: 695-1004
www.sandhillsrenaissance.com
TRUE COLORS, an original work
Pinecrest HS Auditorium
June 6 and 7, 7:30 p.m.
$8 (children under age 12 admitted free)
more info: 695-1004
www.sandhillsrenaissance.com
6/01/2008
Conservation Insider Bulletin, May 30
Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
May 30, 2008
Key bills are introduced in priority areas good and bad; the Catawba River interbasin lawsuit parties expand; another challenge is filed to EPA's newest ozone standards; and other news, this week in CIB:
--Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day
--Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit
--Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged
--Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest
Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day
More Key Bills Reviewed: As anticipated, legislation to block the new coastal stormwater rules approved by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) and Rules Review Commission (RRC) has been filed in the General Assembly. The bills, HB 2138 / SB 1967, "Disapprove Coastal Stormwater Rule" are a priority target for opposition by the environmental "Common Agenda" coalition which includes CCNC.
CIB thinks that the Charlotte Observer editorial of 5/29/08 has the right analysis of the disapproval effort: "If you want to know why government doesn't work very well, look no further than House Bill 2138, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Anson. The bill, also sponsored by 11 other Democrats and Republicans, would stop new stormwater runoff rules designed to protect water quality in coastal counties that are more than 100 miles from his district... Never mind that the rules were carefully crafted over more than two years by experts concerned that existing stormwater runoff rules have been ineffective in halting the decline of water quality along North Carolina's coast.
Never mind that more than 100,000 acres of shellfish beds along the coast have been closed because they are so fouled with bacteria from feces and contaminated with fertilizer runoff and toxic heavy metals from oil and gas along the state's roads. Never mind that health officials sometimes designate areas of the coast that are not safe to swim in on a warm summer's day.
Never mind that in January the N.C. Environmental Management Commission considered, amended, debated and adopted the rules, designed to slow the increase in water pollution in an area where the pace of residential development is rapidly consuming land.
Never mind that the N.C. Rules Review Commission -- which usually takes a hard look at any environmental rules and declines to approve them if its members believe they go too far -- approved the new rules in March. In spite of all that, these legislators now would step in to block those much-needed rules...[T]he simple fact is that coastal construction is proceeding at a break-neck pace, consuming land, creating more hard surfaces and worsening water quality. The state needs stricter coastal stormwater runoff rules, not a legislative cave-in to builders who don't want to be inconvenienced by having to slow the flow of poison into waters that belong to all of us."
Another key defensive effort in the environmental Common Agenda this session will be stopping proposals to gut North Carolina's beach protection policies which bar the construction of new seawalls and other "hardening" of the oceanfront. In particular, environmental groups will focus on opposing SB 599, "Inlet Stabilization Pilot Program", which passed the Senate last year and is currently held in committee in the House. The so-called "pilot program" would simply authorize "terminal groins" to protect threatened private structures--a strategy which is an old, well-known failure, that simply shifts the point of erosion to nearby properties.
On the positive side, environmental groups will support SB 1871 / HB 2526, "Motor Vehicle Emissions Study", an effort to move North Carolina toward adoption of the California "clean cars" standards that will help fight global warming by demanding greater fuel efficiency by vehicles sold in our state.
The water planning/drought management bills reviewed in last week's CIB, HB 2499 / SB 1879, "Drought/Water Management Recommendations", incorporating recommendations from the legislature's Environmental Review Commission, will also receive support from the Common Agenda groups.
Clean Water Lobby Day: Reminder: CCNC encourages concerned conservationists to come out for Clean Water Lobby Day at the General Assembly this Wednesday, June 4 in Raleigh. Focus issues this year will include water management, coastal stormwater rules, and steep-slope development rules in the mountains. The day's activities will begin with a 9 a.m. meeting of conservation advocates at the N.C. History Museum, 4 E. Edenton Street, in Raleigh, and continue with meetings with legislators throughout the day until 3 p.m. For more information, contact the CCNC office via carrie@conservationcouncilnc.org. Clean Water Lobby Day is a cooperative effort sponsored by a coalition of 20 organizations, including CCNC and other conservation groups around North Carolina.
Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit
The City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, and a water system serving Union and Lancaster counties have been allowed to join as parties in the lawsuit by South Carolina against North Carolina over withdrawals from the Catawba River basin. South Carolina sued North Carolina last year after the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) partially approved a request by the cities of Concord and Kannapolis to transfer millions of gallons of water per day from the Catawba to the Yadkin basin. The newly authorized parties say that their own withdrawals from the Catawba could be affected by the suit's outcome, but that neither state government fully reflects their interests.
The addition of these parties may simultaneously expand the breadth of issues to be reviewed, and complicate the case's settlement. The "special master" named by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case allowed the new parties' entry into the case. Since the lawsuit originated as a case between two states, the U.S. Supreme Court has unusual original jurisdiction over the case. Decisions by the designated "special master" are reviewable only by the Supreme Court itself.
Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged
The environmental law group Earthjustice this week filed a second lawsuit challenging EPA's new ozone standards as too weak to protect public health, on behalf of a number of environmental and public health organizations (including the American Lung Association). A similar claim has previously been filed on behalf of 11 states, by Connecticut's state attorney general. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear the case.
Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest
The U.S. Senate seat contest between incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and challenger N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) has clearly moved onto a front-burner spot for both sides of the struggle for control of the Senate. Recent polls showing the race to be a statistical dead heat have sparked interest by national endorsing groups, including the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV).
On the anti-environmental side, one of the national flat-earth groups which continues to oppose action on global warming, the "Club for Growth", is financing a series of broadcast ads aimed at six senators including Dole. The ads exhort her to oppose legislation coming up for a vote in the U.S. Senate which would mandate American action on climate control. Dole is currently a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. Look for any waffling by Dole on that bill to provide a sense of whether she plans to try to run to the middle or move to the right-wing on environmental issues in this campaign.
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
May 30, 2008
Key bills are introduced in priority areas good and bad; the Catawba River interbasin lawsuit parties expand; another challenge is filed to EPA's newest ozone standards; and other news, this week in CIB:
--Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day
--Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit
--Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged
--Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest
Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day
More Key Bills Reviewed: As anticipated, legislation to block the new coastal stormwater rules approved by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) and Rules Review Commission (RRC) has been filed in the General Assembly. The bills, HB 2138 / SB 1967, "Disapprove Coastal Stormwater Rule" are a priority target for opposition by the environmental "Common Agenda" coalition which includes CCNC.
CIB thinks that the Charlotte Observer editorial of 5/29/08 has the right analysis of the disapproval effort: "If you want to know why government doesn't work very well, look no further than House Bill 2138, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Anson. The bill, also sponsored by 11 other Democrats and Republicans, would stop new stormwater runoff rules designed to protect water quality in coastal counties that are more than 100 miles from his district... Never mind that the rules were carefully crafted over more than two years by experts concerned that existing stormwater runoff rules have been ineffective in halting the decline of water quality along North Carolina's coast.
Never mind that more than 100,000 acres of shellfish beds along the coast have been closed because they are so fouled with bacteria from feces and contaminated with fertilizer runoff and toxic heavy metals from oil and gas along the state's roads. Never mind that health officials sometimes designate areas of the coast that are not safe to swim in on a warm summer's day.
Never mind that in January the N.C. Environmental Management Commission considered, amended, debated and adopted the rules, designed to slow the increase in water pollution in an area where the pace of residential development is rapidly consuming land.
Never mind that the N.C. Rules Review Commission -- which usually takes a hard look at any environmental rules and declines to approve them if its members believe they go too far -- approved the new rules in March. In spite of all that, these legislators now would step in to block those much-needed rules...[T]he simple fact is that coastal construction is proceeding at a break-neck pace, consuming land, creating more hard surfaces and worsening water quality. The state needs stricter coastal stormwater runoff rules, not a legislative cave-in to builders who don't want to be inconvenienced by having to slow the flow of poison into waters that belong to all of us."
Another key defensive effort in the environmental Common Agenda this session will be stopping proposals to gut North Carolina's beach protection policies which bar the construction of new seawalls and other "hardening" of the oceanfront. In particular, environmental groups will focus on opposing SB 599, "Inlet Stabilization Pilot Program", which passed the Senate last year and is currently held in committee in the House. The so-called "pilot program" would simply authorize "terminal groins" to protect threatened private structures--a strategy which is an old, well-known failure, that simply shifts the point of erosion to nearby properties.
On the positive side, environmental groups will support SB 1871 / HB 2526, "Motor Vehicle Emissions Study", an effort to move North Carolina toward adoption of the California "clean cars" standards that will help fight global warming by demanding greater fuel efficiency by vehicles sold in our state.
The water planning/drought management bills reviewed in last week's CIB, HB 2499 / SB 1879, "Drought/Water Management Recommendations", incorporating recommendations from the legislature's Environmental Review Commission, will also receive support from the Common Agenda groups.
Clean Water Lobby Day: Reminder: CCNC encourages concerned conservationists to come out for Clean Water Lobby Day at the General Assembly this Wednesday, June 4 in Raleigh. Focus issues this year will include water management, coastal stormwater rules, and steep-slope development rules in the mountains. The day's activities will begin with a 9 a.m. meeting of conservation advocates at the N.C. History Museum, 4 E. Edenton Street, in Raleigh, and continue with meetings with legislators throughout the day until 3 p.m. For more information, contact the CCNC office via carrie@conservationcouncilnc.org. Clean Water Lobby Day is a cooperative effort sponsored by a coalition of 20 organizations, including CCNC and other conservation groups around North Carolina.
Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit
The City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, and a water system serving Union and Lancaster counties have been allowed to join as parties in the lawsuit by South Carolina against North Carolina over withdrawals from the Catawba River basin. South Carolina sued North Carolina last year after the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) partially approved a request by the cities of Concord and Kannapolis to transfer millions of gallons of water per day from the Catawba to the Yadkin basin. The newly authorized parties say that their own withdrawals from the Catawba could be affected by the suit's outcome, but that neither state government fully reflects their interests.
The addition of these parties may simultaneously expand the breadth of issues to be reviewed, and complicate the case's settlement. The "special master" named by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case allowed the new parties' entry into the case. Since the lawsuit originated as a case between two states, the U.S. Supreme Court has unusual original jurisdiction over the case. Decisions by the designated "special master" are reviewable only by the Supreme Court itself.
Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged
The environmental law group Earthjustice this week filed a second lawsuit challenging EPA's new ozone standards as too weak to protect public health, on behalf of a number of environmental and public health organizations (including the American Lung Association). A similar claim has previously been filed on behalf of 11 states, by Connecticut's state attorney general. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear the case.
Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest
The U.S. Senate seat contest between incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and challenger N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) has clearly moved onto a front-burner spot for both sides of the struggle for control of the Senate. Recent polls showing the race to be a statistical dead heat have sparked interest by national endorsing groups, including the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV).
On the anti-environmental side, one of the national flat-earth groups which continues to oppose action on global warming, the "Club for Growth", is financing a series of broadcast ads aimed at six senators including Dole. The ads exhort her to oppose legislation coming up for a vote in the U.S. Senate which would mandate American action on climate control. Dole is currently a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. Look for any waffling by Dole on that bill to provide a sense of whether she plans to try to run to the middle or move to the right-wing on environmental issues in this campaign.
Poetry Day, Weymouth, June 21
SATURDAY JUNE 21
SOUTHERN PINES, NC
The North Carolina Poetry Society presents
SAM RAGAN POETRY FESTIVAL
WEYMOUTH CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES
A fun-filled, jam-packed day featuring readings by Pulitzer Prize nominee Keith Flynn, Michael Beadle’s performance poetry, campfire songs with Bill Griffin, musical performances by Bill Blackley, John Amen, and Linda and Shelby Stephenson, free giveaways, open mic readings throughout the day, and more!
Bring a bag lunch or order a box lunch from 195 during morning registration which begins at 9:15 a.m.
Visit www.NCPoetrySociety.org for directions to Weymouth, general Poetry Society info, and photos of past Festivals.
Contact NCPS Vice President of Programs, Sara Claytor at sclaytor@nc.rr.com with questions.
SOUTHERN PINES, NC
The North Carolina Poetry Society presents
SAM RAGAN POETRY FESTIVAL
WEYMOUTH CENTER FOR THE ARTS & HUMANITIES
A fun-filled, jam-packed day featuring readings by Pulitzer Prize nominee Keith Flynn, Michael Beadle’s performance poetry, campfire songs with Bill Griffin, musical performances by Bill Blackley, John Amen, and Linda and Shelby Stephenson, free giveaways, open mic readings throughout the day, and more!
Bring a bag lunch or order a box lunch from 195 during morning registration which begins at 9:15 a.m.
Visit www.NCPoetrySociety.org for directions to Weymouth, general Poetry Society info, and photos of past Festivals.
Contact NCPS Vice President of Programs, Sara Claytor at sclaytor@nc.rr.com with questions.
Carbon Farming
What a concept! Grow plants especially good at sequestering carbon in the soil, and sell the carbon credits as one of your crops! How cool!
Snips from a provocative article:
The next step is to add carbon farming as a core or foundational element of this industry.
Let’s speculate about a small urban farmer. She is targeting both the food and ornamental markets [vegetable, micro-livestock and potted flowers]. If she can gear up to be paid on a regular basis for her carbon sequestering, she will have a base cash flow. She will then select her crops partially based on their government certified carbon return capacity and the seasonal measurement of her soil’s carbon content.
So, she might chose to grow a root and vine and shrub crop mixture rather than only one of them; thereby creating a diverse roots and foliage capacity.
And snips from an interview very clever Vermont Farmer who heads the Carbon Farmers of America:
We are an all-grass, organic dairy – one of a growing handful of dairies in the United States doing no-grain dairying. We have created a new company, Carbon Farmers of America, to advance the idea that soil building can reverse climate change, and that the planned grazing of livestock on perennial grasslands is the single most-effective way to rapidly create new topsoil. On our dairy farm, we are using a number of methods in addition to planned grazing that allow us to build topsoil even faster by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and putting it back into the soil as various forms of organic matter.
If society chooses to pay farmers $25 dollars per ton of carbon dioxide transformed into soil organic matter, then we humans can reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to pre-industrial levels within a decade. We will also eliminate most water-quality problems and biosecurity issues, we will restore economic prosperity to our rural communities, and we will not have a farm-viability crisis on our hands any more.
WOW!!!
Posted By Jill to All Along The Edge
Snips from a provocative article:
The next step is to add carbon farming as a core or foundational element of this industry.
Let’s speculate about a small urban farmer. She is targeting both the food and ornamental markets [vegetable, micro-livestock and potted flowers]. If she can gear up to be paid on a regular basis for her carbon sequestering, she will have a base cash flow. She will then select her crops partially based on their government certified carbon return capacity and the seasonal measurement of her soil’s carbon content.
So, she might chose to grow a root and vine and shrub crop mixture rather than only one of them; thereby creating a diverse roots and foliage capacity.
And snips from an interview very clever Vermont Farmer who heads the Carbon Farmers of America:
We are an all-grass, organic dairy – one of a growing handful of dairies in the United States doing no-grain dairying. We have created a new company, Carbon Farmers of America, to advance the idea that soil building can reverse climate change, and that the planned grazing of livestock on perennial grasslands is the single most-effective way to rapidly create new topsoil. On our dairy farm, we are using a number of methods in addition to planned grazing that allow us to build topsoil even faster by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and putting it back into the soil as various forms of organic matter.
If society chooses to pay farmers $25 dollars per ton of carbon dioxide transformed into soil organic matter, then we humans can reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to pre-industrial levels within a decade. We will also eliminate most water-quality problems and biosecurity issues, we will restore economic prosperity to our rural communities, and we will not have a farm-viability crisis on our hands any more.
WOW!!!
Posted By Jill to All Along The Edge
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)