Time is short to vote. Don't miss the chance to help elect an honest, steadfast mayor with a heart big enough to value everyone.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. Vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor
Please click on image to Enlarge photo of woman with her grandson holding signs at South School and Martin Luther King Boulevard, formerly Sixth Street.
Time is short to vote. Don't miss the chance to help elect an honest, steadfast mayor with a heart big enough to value everyone.
Time is short to vote. Don't miss the chance to help elect an honest, steadfast mayor with a heart big enough to value everyone.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Louise Mann says support Lioneld Jordan to support our police and firefighters
Please click on images to ENLARGE photos of Louise Mann supporting Lioneld Jordan.
I'm sure we all want to show support for our fire and police, the people who risk their lives for us, daily.
They have now stood up against the current mayor. The Fire and Police have come together and endorsed Lioneld Jordan for mayor.
Why would they do that, if they did not feel very strongly there was a need for change? This is an endorsement that comes from the guys in the trenches. They have worked with both candidates.
Please think about this next question? Would you have the courage to come out and openly endorse against your boss? Have you ever taken such a courageous stand? It's not a small thing to do. Imagine the consequences.
Both Walt Eilers and Steve Clark have endorsed Lioneld. The Green groups have endorsed Lioneld. And the Unions have endorsed Lioneld.
These people/groups did not make their endorsements lightly. People are speaking out because they know, from firsthand experience, what kind of leadership would be good for Fayetteville.
I think most of us would agree that our fire and police have been darn good to us over the years.
Let's support our Fire and Police Depts. and give them the leader they have requested, Lioneld Jordan!
Bush moves to destroy wilderness protection
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What he can destroy in 60 days
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President for 60 More Days, Bush Tearing Apart Protection for America's Wilderness
Thursday 20 November 2008
by: Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian UK
Oil shale mining in Rocky Mountains gets go-ahead. "Midnight regulations" to dismantle safeguards.
Washington - George Bush is working at a breakneck pace to dismantle at least 10 major environmental safeguards protecting America's wildlife, national parks and rivers before he leaves office in January.
With barely 60 days to go until Bush hands over to Barack Obama, his White House is working methodically to weaken or reverse an array of regulations that protect America's wilderness from logging or mining operations, and compel factory farms to clean up dangerous waste.
In the latest such move this week, Bush opened up some 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of land in Rocky Mountain states for the development of oil shale, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. The law goes into effect on January 17, three days before Obama takes office.
The timing is crucial. Most regulations take effect 60 days after publication, and Bush wants the new rules in place before he leaves the White House on January 20. That will make it more difficult for Obama to undo them.
"There are probably going to be scores of rules that are issued between now and January 20," said John Walke, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defence Council. "And there are at least a dozen very controversial rules that will weaken public health and environment protection that have no business being adopted and would not be acceptable to the incoming Obama administration, based on stances he has taken as a senator and during the campaign."
The flurry of new rules - known as midnight regulations - is part of a broader campaign by the Bush administration to leave a lasting imprint on environmental policy. Some of the actions have provoked widespread protests such as the Bureau of Land Management's plans to auction off 20,000 hectares of oil and gas parcels within sight of Utah's Delicate Arch natural bridge.
The Bush administration is also accused of engaging in a parallel go-slow on court-ordered actions on the environment. "There are the midnight regulations that they are trying to force out before they leave office, and then there are the other things they are trying not to do before they go. A lot of the climate stuff falls into the category of things they would rather not do," said a career official at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Other presidents have worked up to the final moments of their presidency to impose their legacy on history. But Bush has been particularly organised in his campaign to roll back years of protections - not only on the environment, but workplace safety and employee rights.
"This is Bush trying to leave a legacy that supports his ideology," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, an independent Washington thinktank that monitors the White House office of management and budget. "This was very strategic and it was in line of the ideology of the Bush administration which has been to put in place a free market and conservative agenda."
The campaign got under way in May when the White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, wrote to government agencies asking them to forward proposals for rule changes. Bolten had initially set a November 1 deadline on rule-making. The White House denies that the flurry of rule changes is politically motivated. "What the chief of staff wanted to avoid was this very charge that we would be trying to, in the dark of night in the last days of the administration, be rushing regulations into place ahead of the incoming, next administration," Tony Fratto, the White House spokesman, told reporters.
But OMB Watch notes that the office of management and budget website shows 83 rules reviewed from September 1 to October 31 this year - about double its workload in 2007, 2006 and 2005.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration cut short the timeframe for public comment. In one instance, officials claimed to have reviewed 300,000 comments about changes to wildlife protection within the space of a week.
The new regulations include a provision that would free industrial-scale pig and cattle farms from complying with the Clean Water Act so long as they declare they are not dumping animal waste in lakes and rivers. The rule was finalised on October 31. Mountain-top mining operations will also be exempt from the Clean Water Act, allowing them to dump debris in rivers and lakes. The rule is still under review at the OMB. Coal-fired power plants will no longer be required to install pollution controls or clean up soot and smog pollution.
Yet another of the new rules, which has generated publicity, would allow the Pentagon and other government agencies to embark on new projects without first undertaking studies on the potential dangers to wildlife.
Announcements of further rule changes are expected in the next few days including one that would weaken regulation of perchlorate, a toxin in rocket fuel that can affect brain development in children, in drinking water.
The Bush strategy has prompted a fightback from environmentalists, the Democratic-controlled Congress, and members of the Obama transition team.
John Podesta, who is overseeing the transition, has said that Obama will review the last-minute actions, and will seek to repeal those that are "not in the interests of the country".
Pollute, Baby, Pollute
The last-minute rules passed during the "midnight hours" of the George Bush presidency differ from his predecessors because they are basically a project of deregulation - not regulation. Among the most far-reaching:
Industrial-size pig, cow and chicken farms can disregard the Clean Water Act and air pollution controls.
The interior department can approve development such as mining or logging without consulting wildlife managers about their impact.
Restrictions will be eased so power plants can operate near national parks and wilderness areas.
Pollution controls on new power plants will be downgraded.
Mountain-top mine operators could dump waste into rivers and streams.
2m acres of land in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado opened to development of oil shales, the dirtiest fuel on Earth.
Reply all
Forward
What he can destroy in 60 days
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President for 60 More Days, Bush Tearing Apart Protection for America's Wilderness
Thursday 20 November 2008
by: Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian UK
Oil shale mining in Rocky Mountains gets go-ahead. "Midnight regulations" to dismantle safeguards.
Washington - George Bush is working at a breakneck pace to dismantle at least 10 major environmental safeguards protecting America's wildlife, national parks and rivers before he leaves office in January.
With barely 60 days to go until Bush hands over to Barack Obama, his White House is working methodically to weaken or reverse an array of regulations that protect America's wilderness from logging or mining operations, and compel factory farms to clean up dangerous waste.
In the latest such move this week, Bush opened up some 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of land in Rocky Mountain states for the development of oil shale, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. The law goes into effect on January 17, three days before Obama takes office.
The timing is crucial. Most regulations take effect 60 days after publication, and Bush wants the new rules in place before he leaves the White House on January 20. That will make it more difficult for Obama to undo them.
"There are probably going to be scores of rules that are issued between now and January 20," said John Walke, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defence Council. "And there are at least a dozen very controversial rules that will weaken public health and environment protection that have no business being adopted and would not be acceptable to the incoming Obama administration, based on stances he has taken as a senator and during the campaign."
The flurry of new rules - known as midnight regulations - is part of a broader campaign by the Bush administration to leave a lasting imprint on environmental policy. Some of the actions have provoked widespread protests such as the Bureau of Land Management's plans to auction off 20,000 hectares of oil and gas parcels within sight of Utah's Delicate Arch natural bridge.
The Bush administration is also accused of engaging in a parallel go-slow on court-ordered actions on the environment. "There are the midnight regulations that they are trying to force out before they leave office, and then there are the other things they are trying not to do before they go. A lot of the climate stuff falls into the category of things they would rather not do," said a career official at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Other presidents have worked up to the final moments of their presidency to impose their legacy on history. But Bush has been particularly organised in his campaign to roll back years of protections - not only on the environment, but workplace safety and employee rights.
"This is Bush trying to leave a legacy that supports his ideology," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, an independent Washington thinktank that monitors the White House office of management and budget. "This was very strategic and it was in line of the ideology of the Bush administration which has been to put in place a free market and conservative agenda."
The campaign got under way in May when the White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, wrote to government agencies asking them to forward proposals for rule changes. Bolten had initially set a November 1 deadline on rule-making. The White House denies that the flurry of rule changes is politically motivated. "What the chief of staff wanted to avoid was this very charge that we would be trying to, in the dark of night in the last days of the administration, be rushing regulations into place ahead of the incoming, next administration," Tony Fratto, the White House spokesman, told reporters.
But OMB Watch notes that the office of management and budget website shows 83 rules reviewed from September 1 to October 31 this year - about double its workload in 2007, 2006 and 2005.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration cut short the timeframe for public comment. In one instance, officials claimed to have reviewed 300,000 comments about changes to wildlife protection within the space of a week.
The new regulations include a provision that would free industrial-scale pig and cattle farms from complying with the Clean Water Act so long as they declare they are not dumping animal waste in lakes and rivers. The rule was finalised on October 31. Mountain-top mining operations will also be exempt from the Clean Water Act, allowing them to dump debris in rivers and lakes. The rule is still under review at the OMB. Coal-fired power plants will no longer be required to install pollution controls or clean up soot and smog pollution.
Yet another of the new rules, which has generated publicity, would allow the Pentagon and other government agencies to embark on new projects without first undertaking studies on the potential dangers to wildlife.
Announcements of further rule changes are expected in the next few days including one that would weaken regulation of perchlorate, a toxin in rocket fuel that can affect brain development in children, in drinking water.
The Bush strategy has prompted a fightback from environmentalists, the Democratic-controlled Congress, and members of the Obama transition team.
John Podesta, who is overseeing the transition, has said that Obama will review the last-minute actions, and will seek to repeal those that are "not in the interests of the country".
Pollute, Baby, Pollute
The last-minute rules passed during the "midnight hours" of the George Bush presidency differ from his predecessors because they are basically a project of deregulation - not regulation. Among the most far-reaching:
Industrial-size pig, cow and chicken farms can disregard the Clean Water Act and air pollution controls.
The interior department can approve development such as mining or logging without consulting wildlife managers about their impact.
Restrictions will be eased so power plants can operate near national parks and wilderness areas.
Pollution controls on new power plants will be downgraded.
Mountain-top mine operators could dump waste into rivers and streams.
2m acres of land in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado opened to development of oil shales, the dirtiest fuel on Earth.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Aubrey Shepherd supports Lioneld Jordan in the Nov. 20, 2008, Fayetteville Free Weekly
Lioneld Jordan offers fair and open government
In the general election, Lioneld Jordan got votes from people from all political parties. Independence of thought and freedom from prejudice are two important qualities people admire about Lioneld Jordan.
Some said they follow city-government meetings on Government Channel and respect Lioneld for his work in eight years of City Council, committee and ward meetings.
Several said his work for neighborhoods made them trust him more than any other official.
Others said they met Lioneld years ago and respected his integrity in private life. Some said they had worked with him and recognized his consistently good judgment and kindness as he rose to a supervisory management position.
Some city workers have said privately that after years of interaction with Lioneld they felt more comfortable working with him than with any other elected official.
People who care about the fertile soil, clean air and water, trees, tall-grass prairie, wildlife, streams and all things living in Fayetteville said they voted for Lionel because of his consistent support of trails and parks and especially his voting to protect Wilson Spring and to create World Peace Wetland Prairie.
Some people said they voted for Jordan because of his support of well-planned developments and because he invites developers to his Ward Four meetings to interact with constituents BEFORE developers commit to projects with flaws easily recognized by people who live near the projects.
Most important is that many long-time Fayetteville residents recognize that Lioneld is dedicated to improving life for everyone in our city, regardless of economic status. He is a working man who reads constantly, listens to everyone and learns every day.
Early voting begins November 18 at the Washington County Courthouse. The county Website lists polling places for runoff election day, November 25.
Please vote to elect Lioneld Jordan mayor of Fayetteville.
Aubrey James Shepherd
Fayetteville, Arkansas
In the general election, Lioneld Jordan got votes from people from all political parties. Independence of thought and freedom from prejudice are two important qualities people admire about Lioneld Jordan.
Some said they follow city-government meetings on Government Channel and respect Lioneld for his work in eight years of City Council, committee and ward meetings.
Several said his work for neighborhoods made them trust him more than any other official.
Others said they met Lioneld years ago and respected his integrity in private life. Some said they had worked with him and recognized his consistently good judgment and kindness as he rose to a supervisory management position.
Some city workers have said privately that after years of interaction with Lioneld they felt more comfortable working with him than with any other elected official.
People who care about the fertile soil, clean air and water, trees, tall-grass prairie, wildlife, streams and all things living in Fayetteville said they voted for Lionel because of his consistent support of trails and parks and especially his voting to protect Wilson Spring and to create World Peace Wetland Prairie.
Some people said they voted for Jordan because of his support of well-planned developments and because he invites developers to his Ward Four meetings to interact with constituents BEFORE developers commit to projects with flaws easily recognized by people who live near the projects.
Most important is that many long-time Fayetteville residents recognize that Lioneld is dedicated to improving life for everyone in our city, regardless of economic status. He is a working man who reads constantly, listens to everyone and learns every day.
Early voting begins November 18 at the Washington County Courthouse. The county Website lists polling places for runoff election day, November 25.
Please vote to elect Lioneld Jordan mayor of Fayetteville.
Aubrey James Shepherd
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Marsha Melnichak's passing leaves an empty spot in the hearts of Fayetteville residents
Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of Marsha Melnichak (right) and friends visiting the Fayetteville Farmer's Market on October 25, 2008.
Marsha Melnichak died in her sleep Thursday night November 20, 2008, or early this morning, at Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I was told.
Having visited her Wednesday night at the hospital, I knew her time was short. During the meeting of the Telecommunication Board on Tuesday night, several people spoke off camera of their sadness that she would likely never again attend such meetings and report on them with her clear sense of reality and highly developed ability to sort through the chaff and find the significant points of such city meetings. She earned universal respect from city workers, public officials and area residents who read her news stories.
Few people reach Marsha's high level of competence and integrity in reporting the news.
She covered the beginning of the mayoral campaign well, and it was clear in brief conversations in the weeks since she found herself unable to work that one of her concerns was not being able to continue her work and be on hand next Tuesday to report on the final chapter.
Maybe she realized that she would not be with us by this time. Most of us did not.
Her absence should be a reminder that, whatever goals we set, pursuing them with honesty, good humor and grace is as important as the result.
Marsha Melnichak died in her sleep Thursday night November 20, 2008, or early this morning, at Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I was told.
Having visited her Wednesday night at the hospital, I knew her time was short. During the meeting of the Telecommunication Board on Tuesday night, several people spoke off camera of their sadness that she would likely never again attend such meetings and report on them with her clear sense of reality and highly developed ability to sort through the chaff and find the significant points of such city meetings. She earned universal respect from city workers, public officials and area residents who read her news stories.
Few people reach Marsha's high level of competence and integrity in reporting the news.
She covered the beginning of the mayoral campaign well, and it was clear in brief conversations in the weeks since she found herself unable to work that one of her concerns was not being able to continue her work and be on hand next Tuesday to report on the final chapter.
Maybe she realized that she would not be with us by this time. Most of us did not.
Her absence should be a reminder that, whatever goals we set, pursuing them with honesty, good humor and grace is as important as the result.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Steve Clark's endorsement of Lioneld Jordan on Google video
Please click the "play" arrow to view video of Steve Clark endorsing Lioneld Jordan.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Steve Clark endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please click image to enlarge view of Steve Clark as he announces his support for Lioneld Jordan and Alderman Jordan applauding.
Former Arkansas Attorney General Clark finished third in the race for mayor in a six-person field of candidates during the general election. Jordan is in a runoff with the incumbent mayor for the highest office in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Early voting has begun at the Washington County Courthouse and is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Monday will be the final day to vote early at the courthouse and runoff election day is Tuesday, November 25 at regular polling places in Fayetteville.
Former Arkansas Attorney General Clark finished third in the race for mayor in a six-person field of candidates during the general election. Jordan is in a runoff with the incumbent mayor for the highest office in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Early voting has begun at the Washington County Courthouse and is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Monday will be the final day to vote early at the courthouse and runoff election day is Tuesday, November 25 at regular polling places in Fayetteville.
Steve Clark endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please click image to enlarge view of Steve Clark as he announces his support for Lioneld Jordan and Alderman Jordan applauding.
Former Arkansas Attorney General Clark finished third in the race for mayor in a six-person field of candidates during the general election. Jordan is in a runoff with the incumbent mayor for the highest office in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Early voting has begun at the Washington County Courthouse and is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Monday will be the final day to vote early at the courthouse and runoff election day is Tuesday, November 25 at regular polling places in Fayetteville.
Former Arkansas Attorney General Clark finished third in the race for mayor in a six-person field of candidates during the general election. Jordan is in a runoff with the incumbent mayor for the highest office in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Early voting has begun at the Washington County Courthouse and is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Monday will be the final day to vote early at the courthouse and runoff election day is Tuesday, November 25 at regular polling places in Fayetteville.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette endorses Lioneld Jordan in the runoff for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
EDITORIALS : Still for Lioneld Jordan
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/244000
LIONELD JORDAN, the
conscientious alderman, is in a run-off for
mayor of Fayetteville. He’s trying to unseat Dan Coody, the two-term incumbent who’s seeking a third term. Mr. Jordan was our choice in the general election earlier this month. He remains our choice in Tuesday’s run-off.
Lioneld Jordan has much to recommend him. In his eight years as alderman, he’s never missed a city council meeting. He’s held monthly meetings in his ward to stay in touch with those who elected him to the city council. Known for his open approach, he listens to all. Even when he disagrees, he’s straightforward enough to explain why. He takes the time to master the difficult issues that come before a city council, and he’s been willing to admit he was wrong when he’s decided to change his mind.
He’s in a tough runoff. His opponent, Mayor Coody, has been a fixture in Fayetteville politics for many years, long predating his first election as mayor in 2000. And the mayor has got lots of supporters to show for it. But his opponent in this runoff has put together a notable coalition in his campaign to become Fayetteville’s next mayor. Mr. Jordan has won the endorsements of Fayetteville’s police officers and firefighters, as well as that of the Sierra Club and the local Green Party. In addition, three other candidates for mayor in the general election have now offered their support to him.
Mayor Coody has had his share of difficulties over the years. He bears ultimate responsibility for the $ 60-million-plus cost overrun for the expansion of the city’s wastewater system. The project came in three years late and had to be rescued with an increase in the city sales tax. He pushed hard for putting up a big hotelplus-condo at the site of the old Mountain Inn. But it has yet to materialize. Instead, the city has gotten a parking lot on the site.
The mayor has also disappointed with his heavy-handed take-over of the city’s Government Channel, which resulted in the cancellation of its public opinion forums. Those forums had been a popular way to provide non-partisan information about issues of interest to anyone who lives in Fayetteville.
Nobody expects Lioneld Jordan to do everything right if he’s elected mayor. But the city can be confident he’ll approach city government with a willingness to hear all sides and take all opinions into account before making the decision he believes is best for Fayetteville. He’s shown commendable openness in his years as an alderman. Based on his record, voters can expect the same from him as mayor. Which is why we’re endorsing him—again.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Letters supporting Lioneld Jordan for mayor on November 16, 2008
Letters to the editor
http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/71174
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008
Jordan can be trusted
Early voting for the mayoral runoff election begins on Nov. 18, and Election Day is Nov. 25. I urge you to get out and vote and, when you do, to vote for Lioneld Jordan. Here are three of the many reasons why I will be voting for Lioneld: 1. We need a mayor who believes in balancing the city budget and living within our city income. Last year, it fell to Vice Mayor Jordan to lead the City Council through this difficult task while the mayor was off in Europe doing other things. This year, Jordan joined the Council in passing a resolution directing the mayor to submit a balanced budget, which the mayor refused to do. Lioneld will not need that kind of direction. 2. We need a mayor who believes in closely monitoring large multi-million dollar city projects right from the beginning, not after they have fallen years behind schedule and are running millions of dollars over budget. Contrast the initial mismanagement of the sewer and trails projects by the Streets Committee under Lioneld Jordan’s chairmanship. 3. We need a mayor who not only believes in regular two-way communication with the people, but actually practices it. Contrast Lioneld’s 110 face-to-face Ward 4 and other meetings with the number of such appearances by our mayor over the past eight years. Again, please get out and vote during this runoff, and when you do please remember: Lioneld Jordan — Experience You Can Trust !
William A. Moeller
Fayetteville
Incumbent’s campaign disappoints
The Sunday, Nov. 9, Northwest Arkansas Times illustrates strongly why Lioneld Jordan should be Fayetteville’s next mayor. In the article about the runoff race, incumbent Mayor Coody disappoints, but hardly surprises me, by resorting to the politics of fear to down Mr. Jordan. Coody uses the buzzwords “ union, ” the Wal-Mart bogeyman, and “ radical, ” which actually translates as from the roots, to frighten people worried about the city budget. Check the record. Mr. Jordan has certainly had a grassroots campaign, but he has never proposed unionizing city employees. It is Coody who defied the elected city council’s directive to present a balanced budget. Dr. Nick Brown, in a letter the same day, eloquently defines “ sustainability, ” one of Coody’s favorite terms, as including social justice. I believe that if the mayor treats city employees well, they will not need to unionize; the fact that two of the largest, most visible and most depended-upon groups of city employees, namely our firefighters and police, support Lioneld Jordan speaks volumes. As mayor, Lioneld will not throw away money on fancy consultants, when we have plenty of expertise here in town. How difficult can it be for the mayor to put the UAF chancellor on speed-dial ? Lioneld will not direct the city attorney to fight a private howeowner over a sewage mishap, when simply fixing the problem would cost less than 10 percent of the eventual legal bills and settlement. Lioneld has learned that illconceived real estate dealing, such as the Mountain Inn / TIF fiasco, the Wilson Springs purchase, and the Tyson Building saga, are budget drains and not economic salvations. Join with me to return our city to the citizens. Vote for Lioneld Jordan Nov. 25.
Rick Belt
Fayetteville
Regarding the runoff
Although two of Lioneld Jordan’s former mayoral opponents (Eilers, Fire Cat ) have now endorsed Jordan, his runoff opponent informs us that the “ dynamic of the campaign will change as mayoral forums allow more time for two candidates to answer questions than was possible with six. ” (Northwest Arkansas Times, Nov. 6 ) Jordan’s opponent asserts that the more “ in-depth ” answers provided in debates will allow voters to “ delve more deeply into issues and public records and history of leadership ” However, those of us who’ve long appreciated Lioneld Jordan’s leadership in Ward 4 and as vice mayor are sure that Lioneld has already outlined the best long-term approaches for Fayetteville’s future development. His mayoral platform and track record build on proven experience, hard work and accountability, rather than rhetoric. And his strong backing and endorsements by Fayetteville’s police and firemen and the Sierra Club, clearly affirm his competence and leadership skill, as well as his working knowledge of how the city operates. Thus we can agree that debates between the two candidates will allow Fayetteville voters to delve into the deeper needs of our community and to judge the two candidates’ respective track records over the past eight years. And we’re certain that voters will agree with us — and his former opponents — that Lioneld Jordan is our best “ in-depth ” candidate to lead the city staff and City Council toward a sustainable, economically-sound future for all of Fayetteville. His honesty and hard work have earned our trust and yours. Please join us in voting for Lioneld Jordan on Nov. 25 — or better yet, vote early, beginning Nov. 18.
Jim Bemis
Fayetteville
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/71174
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008
Jordan can be trusted
Early voting for the mayoral runoff election begins on Nov. 18, and Election Day is Nov. 25. I urge you to get out and vote and, when you do, to vote for Lioneld Jordan. Here are three of the many reasons why I will be voting for Lioneld: 1. We need a mayor who believes in balancing the city budget and living within our city income. Last year, it fell to Vice Mayor Jordan to lead the City Council through this difficult task while the mayor was off in Europe doing other things. This year, Jordan joined the Council in passing a resolution directing the mayor to submit a balanced budget, which the mayor refused to do. Lioneld will not need that kind of direction. 2. We need a mayor who believes in closely monitoring large multi-million dollar city projects right from the beginning, not after they have fallen years behind schedule and are running millions of dollars over budget. Contrast the initial mismanagement of the sewer and trails projects by the Streets Committee under Lioneld Jordan’s chairmanship. 3. We need a mayor who not only believes in regular two-way communication with the people, but actually practices it. Contrast Lioneld’s 110 face-to-face Ward 4 and other meetings with the number of such appearances by our mayor over the past eight years. Again, please get out and vote during this runoff, and when you do please remember: Lioneld Jordan — Experience You Can Trust !
William A. Moeller
Fayetteville
Incumbent’s campaign disappoints
The Sunday, Nov. 9, Northwest Arkansas Times illustrates strongly why Lioneld Jordan should be Fayetteville’s next mayor. In the article about the runoff race, incumbent Mayor Coody disappoints, but hardly surprises me, by resorting to the politics of fear to down Mr. Jordan. Coody uses the buzzwords “ union, ” the Wal-Mart bogeyman, and “ radical, ” which actually translates as from the roots, to frighten people worried about the city budget. Check the record. Mr. Jordan has certainly had a grassroots campaign, but he has never proposed unionizing city employees. It is Coody who defied the elected city council’s directive to present a balanced budget. Dr. Nick Brown, in a letter the same day, eloquently defines “ sustainability, ” one of Coody’s favorite terms, as including social justice. I believe that if the mayor treats city employees well, they will not need to unionize; the fact that two of the largest, most visible and most depended-upon groups of city employees, namely our firefighters and police, support Lioneld Jordan speaks volumes. As mayor, Lioneld will not throw away money on fancy consultants, when we have plenty of expertise here in town. How difficult can it be for the mayor to put the UAF chancellor on speed-dial ? Lioneld will not direct the city attorney to fight a private howeowner over a sewage mishap, when simply fixing the problem would cost less than 10 percent of the eventual legal bills and settlement. Lioneld has learned that illconceived real estate dealing, such as the Mountain Inn / TIF fiasco, the Wilson Springs purchase, and the Tyson Building saga, are budget drains and not economic salvations. Join with me to return our city to the citizens. Vote for Lioneld Jordan Nov. 25.
Rick Belt
Fayetteville
Regarding the runoff
Although two of Lioneld Jordan’s former mayoral opponents (Eilers, Fire Cat ) have now endorsed Jordan, his runoff opponent informs us that the “ dynamic of the campaign will change as mayoral forums allow more time for two candidates to answer questions than was possible with six. ” (Northwest Arkansas Times, Nov. 6 ) Jordan’s opponent asserts that the more “ in-depth ” answers provided in debates will allow voters to “ delve more deeply into issues and public records and history of leadership ” However, those of us who’ve long appreciated Lioneld Jordan’s leadership in Ward 4 and as vice mayor are sure that Lioneld has already outlined the best long-term approaches for Fayetteville’s future development. His mayoral platform and track record build on proven experience, hard work and accountability, rather than rhetoric. And his strong backing and endorsements by Fayetteville’s police and firemen and the Sierra Club, clearly affirm his competence and leadership skill, as well as his working knowledge of how the city operates. Thus we can agree that debates between the two candidates will allow Fayetteville voters to delve into the deeper needs of our community and to judge the two candidates’ respective track records over the past eight years. And we’re certain that voters will agree with us — and his former opponents — that Lioneld Jordan is our best “ in-depth ” candidate to lead the city staff and City Council toward a sustainable, economically-sound future for all of Fayetteville. His honesty and hard work have earned our trust and yours. Please join us in voting for Lioneld Jordan on Nov. 25 — or better yet, vote early, beginning Nov. 18.
Jim Bemis
Fayetteville
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Friday, November 14, 2008
EPA can no longer ignore pollution by coal-fired power plants
Welcome to the first day of our clean energy future.
The Sierra Club received word yesterday that we have won a major decision; the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will no longer be able to ignore global warming pollution caused by coal-fired power plants [1].
This victory can be the turning point in our fight for clean energy.
We've stopped virtually all new coal plants dead in their tracks.
This ruling means new and proposed coal plants (over 150 have been proposed in the last two years) must now go back to the drawing board to address their carbon dioxide emissions.
This victory would not have been possible without your support. Will you help keep the clean energy momentum going by donating to the Sierra Club today?
With coal as the single largest cause of our nation's global warming pollution, this is a critical step to ensuring a clean energy future.
And it's just the beginning. The ruling gives us the framework we need to make real progress on replacing coal with new clean energy solutions that will repower our economy and help fight climate change.
We need your help now more than ever. We can seize upon this decision and make it the turning point in our fight for clean energy. Please consider donating to the Sierra Club today.
This major breakthrough will strengthen the efforts of Sierra Club activists from all over the country who have been engaged in fighting new coal plants. Our mandate to put an end to dirty coal has just gotten that much stronger.
This ruling opens a number of new doors to our fight. From giving the Obama administration a clean slate to regulate carbon emissions to fighting for the retirement of the fleet of existing, old, dirty coal plants, there is a lot of work to get started on.
Bruce Nilles
National Director, Sierra Club Coal Campaign
1 Bryan Walsh, "Environmentalists Win Big EPA Ruling on Coal Emissions", TIME, Thursday November 13, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1859049,00.html
The Sierra Club received word yesterday that we have won a major decision; the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will no longer be able to ignore global warming pollution caused by coal-fired power plants [1].
This victory can be the turning point in our fight for clean energy.
We've stopped virtually all new coal plants dead in their tracks.
This ruling means new and proposed coal plants (over 150 have been proposed in the last two years) must now go back to the drawing board to address their carbon dioxide emissions.
This victory would not have been possible without your support. Will you help keep the clean energy momentum going by donating to the Sierra Club today?
With coal as the single largest cause of our nation's global warming pollution, this is a critical step to ensuring a clean energy future.
And it's just the beginning. The ruling gives us the framework we need to make real progress on replacing coal with new clean energy solutions that will repower our economy and help fight climate change.
We need your help now more than ever. We can seize upon this decision and make it the turning point in our fight for clean energy. Please consider donating to the Sierra Club today.
This major breakthrough will strengthen the efforts of Sierra Club activists from all over the country who have been engaged in fighting new coal plants. Our mandate to put an end to dirty coal has just gotten that much stronger.
This ruling opens a number of new doors to our fight. From giving the Obama administration a clean slate to regulate carbon emissions to fighting for the retirement of the fleet of existing, old, dirty coal plants, there is a lot of work to get started on.
Bruce Nilles
National Director, Sierra Club Coal Campaign
1 Bryan Walsh, "Environmentalists Win Big EPA Ruling on Coal Emissions", TIME, Thursday November 13, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1859049,00.html
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Melissa Terry explains why she supports Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Why I support Lioneld Jordan
In the 10 years I've know him, Lioneld Jordan has consistently been the kind of leader who lets the facts speak for themselves. When we organized the first Scull Creek Clean Up, Lioneld came and worked with us all day pulling tons of trash out of that creek, whereas others showed up only in time for press opportunities. Additionally, when the question came to the city council about ways we can improve our city's recycling program, Lioneld Jordan is the only elected person who ever came out and did a day's work with our awesome recycling crew to see what really needs to be done to improve our current waste reduction program. Lioneld's the kind of guy whose principles are his politics, rather than the other way around. He can bring diverse points of view to tough issues and not burn bridges along the way, as evidenced by the fact that he enjoys the same supporters today as when he ran for office eight years ago. This consistent support base is because Lioneld Jordan understands how to treat people with the respect of an individual and the professionalism of a leader.
Most importantly, Lioneld's a dad. In few other forums are your powers of diplomacy more tested or more tried. He's brought up four children on a state employee's salary for 26 years, so we know he understands about managing a budget.
As an example of making the most of a limited budget, Lioneld had a third the amount of his primary opposition's campaign budget, yet he still managed to wage a successful campaign. Additionally, he garnered the support of both the Fayetteville Police Department and the Fayetteville Fire Department. These are people we trust with making lifechanging decisions and their endorsements are a decisive call for new leadership. The Sierra Club's endorsement also shows that Lioneld can work with our vibrant conservation community to ensure that Fayetteville's local economy and ecology thrive together.
Lioneld can help lead Fayetteville toward being a training hub for the emerging green collar economy by working with technologies incubating at the Genesis Center and by forming a working partnership with John Brown University's Renewable Energy degree program. Building a bridge between these partnerships and service programs like CityYear, AmeriCorps and VISTA can help our community grow more sustainable - without draining our coffers.
And, most importantly, I support Lioneld Jordan because I like him. What he says to your face is what he says behind your back. When he tells you that he supports your program, cause or concern, he actually does. When he doesn't like your position, he tells you. As a downtown property owner, a transparent city government that stands on principles rather than politics sounds pretty good to me. I encourage you to support Lioneld Jordan.
Melissa Terry / Fayetteville
In the 10 years I've know him, Lioneld Jordan has consistently been the kind of leader who lets the facts speak for themselves. When we organized the first Scull Creek Clean Up, Lioneld came and worked with us all day pulling tons of trash out of that creek, whereas others showed up only in time for press opportunities. Additionally, when the question came to the city council about ways we can improve our city's recycling program, Lioneld Jordan is the only elected person who ever came out and did a day's work with our awesome recycling crew to see what really needs to be done to improve our current waste reduction program. Lioneld's the kind of guy whose principles are his politics, rather than the other way around. He can bring diverse points of view to tough issues and not burn bridges along the way, as evidenced by the fact that he enjoys the same supporters today as when he ran for office eight years ago. This consistent support base is because Lioneld Jordan understands how to treat people with the respect of an individual and the professionalism of a leader.
Most importantly, Lioneld's a dad. In few other forums are your powers of diplomacy more tested or more tried. He's brought up four children on a state employee's salary for 26 years, so we know he understands about managing a budget.
As an example of making the most of a limited budget, Lioneld had a third the amount of his primary opposition's campaign budget, yet he still managed to wage a successful campaign. Additionally, he garnered the support of both the Fayetteville Police Department and the Fayetteville Fire Department. These are people we trust with making lifechanging decisions and their endorsements are a decisive call for new leadership. The Sierra Club's endorsement also shows that Lioneld can work with our vibrant conservation community to ensure that Fayetteville's local economy and ecology thrive together.
Lioneld can help lead Fayetteville toward being a training hub for the emerging green collar economy by working with technologies incubating at the Genesis Center and by forming a working partnership with John Brown University's Renewable Energy degree program. Building a bridge between these partnerships and service programs like CityYear, AmeriCorps and VISTA can help our community grow more sustainable - without draining our coffers.
And, most importantly, I support Lioneld Jordan because I like him. What he says to your face is what he says behind your back. When he tells you that he supports your program, cause or concern, he actually does. When he doesn't like your position, he tells you. As a downtown property owner, a transparent city government that stands on principles rather than politics sounds pretty good to me. I encourage you to support Lioneld Jordan.
Melissa Terry / Fayetteville
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Climate Project announces grant to RepowerArkansas
RepowerArkansas NEWS RELEASE
The Statewide Coalition RepowerArkansas Receives The First Grant Awarded from
National Organization: The Climate Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 November 2008. ARKANSAS.
Robert McAfee, of Hackett, AR, one of the 1,000 trained by Al Gore, has been awarded the first ever grant from The Climate Project (TCP) (www.theclimateproject.org) to fund a statewide coalition Repower Arkansas. The coalition formed to promote awareness of the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating renewable power and green collar jobs. The strategy of the coalition is to develop a citizen alert network to inform the Arkansas General Assembly that the public wants the recommendations from the Arkansas Governor’s Commission to be adopted as law. By enacting these policy options many new green collar jobs can be created. This is a real opportunity for Arkansas to become a leader in repowering energy supplies with clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and others.
Robert is a climatologist and an environmental educator. Since December 2006 he has given over 50 presentations of Mr. Gore’s slide show. Four other Arkansas TCP presenters, Kevin Smith, of Helena, Brent Robinson, Fayetteville, Robert Huston, Van Buren, and Cindy Fribourgh of Little Rock will also work with the coalition. Robert and Kevin served on the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming. The final report of the commission was presented to Governor Beebe on October 31.
Over the next three months members of the coalition will travel to communities around the state to discuss the climate crisis with citizens and share the opportunity of green collar jobs for economic development. Green-collar jobs pay family wages and provide opportunities for advancement for a career with increasing skills and wages. While some green jobs require advanced technical skills, most are middle-skill jobs requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. Much of the work to green our economy involves transforming the places that we live and work, and the way we travel. Repower Arkansas will enlist the support of citizens to inform the General Assembly of the publics growing desire for clean energy and green jobs.
The first event will be November 18th at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, from 7-10pm. These presentations will incorporate the major themes of the Climate Project and The WE Can Solve It Campaign with Arkansas specific applications from the Global Warming Commission’s policy options.
Further information can be obtained at www.repowerarkansas.org.
CONTACTS: Robert McAfee Robert@repowerarkansas.org;
Joanna Pollock Planetworkscom@gmail.com;
Charlotte Wales walescharlotte@hotmail.com.
The Statewide Coalition RepowerArkansas Receives The First Grant Awarded from
National Organization: The Climate Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 November 2008. ARKANSAS.
Robert McAfee, of Hackett, AR, one of the 1,000 trained by Al Gore, has been awarded the first ever grant from The Climate Project (TCP) (www.theclimateproject.org) to fund a statewide coalition Repower Arkansas. The coalition formed to promote awareness of the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating renewable power and green collar jobs. The strategy of the coalition is to develop a citizen alert network to inform the Arkansas General Assembly that the public wants the recommendations from the Arkansas Governor’s Commission to be adopted as law. By enacting these policy options many new green collar jobs can be created. This is a real opportunity for Arkansas to become a leader in repowering energy supplies with clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and others.
Robert is a climatologist and an environmental educator. Since December 2006 he has given over 50 presentations of Mr. Gore’s slide show. Four other Arkansas TCP presenters, Kevin Smith, of Helena, Brent Robinson, Fayetteville, Robert Huston, Van Buren, and Cindy Fribourgh of Little Rock will also work with the coalition. Robert and Kevin served on the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming. The final report of the commission was presented to Governor Beebe on October 31.
Over the next three months members of the coalition will travel to communities around the state to discuss the climate crisis with citizens and share the opportunity of green collar jobs for economic development. Green-collar jobs pay family wages and provide opportunities for advancement for a career with increasing skills and wages. While some green jobs require advanced technical skills, most are middle-skill jobs requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. Much of the work to green our economy involves transforming the places that we live and work, and the way we travel. Repower Arkansas will enlist the support of citizens to inform the General Assembly of the publics growing desire for clean energy and green jobs.
The first event will be November 18th at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, from 7-10pm. These presentations will incorporate the major themes of the Climate Project and The WE Can Solve It Campaign with Arkansas specific applications from the Global Warming Commission’s policy options.
Further information can be obtained at www.repowerarkansas.org.
CONTACTS: Robert McAfee Robert@repowerarkansas.org;
Joanna Pollock Planetworkscom@gmail.com;
Charlotte Wales walescharlotte@hotmail.com.
Statewide coalition to promote recommendations of global-warming commission
RepowerArkansas NEWS RELEASE
Statewide Coalition Forms to Promote
Global Warming Commission Recommendations
RepowerArkansas: Green-collar Jobs in the Natural State to Provide Economic Solutions for the Climate Crisis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 November 2008. ARKANSAS.
Repower Arkansas is a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals committed to rallying the legislature to adopt the recommendations of Governor Beebe's Global Warming Commission. By enacting these policy options many new green collar jobs can be created. This is a real opportunity for Arkansas to become a leader in repowering energy supplies with clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and others.
The coalition, which is steadily growing, includes organizations, such as, the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, the Carbon Caps Task Force, Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO), Planet Works, Social Sustenance, Arkansas Climate Awareness Project (ARCAP), and the Thinking Like a Mountain Institute. These groups are working with the national organizations “The Climate Project” and “The WE Can Solve It Campaign” to inform the Arkansas public of the opportunities to simultaneously reduce global warming and create thousands of green collar jobs.
Over the next three months members of the coalition will travel to communities around the state to discuss the climate crisis with citizens and share the opportunity of green collar jobs for economic development. Green-collar jobs pay family wages and provide opportunities for advancement for a career with increasing skills and wages. While some green jobs require advanced technical skills, most are middle-skill jobs requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. Much of the work to green our economy involves transforming the places that we live and work, and the way we travel. Repower Arkansas will enlist the support of citizens to inform the General Assembly of the publics growing desire for clean energy and green jobs.
The first event will be November 18th at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, from 7-10pm. These presentations will incorporate the major themes of the Climate Project and The WE Can Solve It Campaign with Arkansas specific applications from the Global Warming Commission’s policy options.
The coalition believes that the best way to start an economic boom for Arkansas and address the climate crisis is for the 2009 legislative session to approve public policy that enacts the recommendations of Governor Beebe's Global Warming Commission. Further information can be obtained at www.repowerarkansas.org.
CONTACTS: Robert McAfee Robert@repowerarkansas.org;
Joanna Pollock Planetworkscom@gmail.com;
Charlotte Wales walescharlotte@hotmail.com
Statewide Coalition Forms to Promote
Global Warming Commission Recommendations
RepowerArkansas: Green-collar Jobs in the Natural State to Provide Economic Solutions for the Climate Crisis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 November 2008. ARKANSAS.
Repower Arkansas is a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals committed to rallying the legislature to adopt the recommendations of Governor Beebe's Global Warming Commission. By enacting these policy options many new green collar jobs can be created. This is a real opportunity for Arkansas to become a leader in repowering energy supplies with clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and others.
The coalition, which is steadily growing, includes organizations, such as, the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, the Carbon Caps Task Force, Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO), Planet Works, Social Sustenance, Arkansas Climate Awareness Project (ARCAP), and the Thinking Like a Mountain Institute. These groups are working with the national organizations “The Climate Project” and “The WE Can Solve It Campaign” to inform the Arkansas public of the opportunities to simultaneously reduce global warming and create thousands of green collar jobs.
Over the next three months members of the coalition will travel to communities around the state to discuss the climate crisis with citizens and share the opportunity of green collar jobs for economic development. Green-collar jobs pay family wages and provide opportunities for advancement for a career with increasing skills and wages. While some green jobs require advanced technical skills, most are middle-skill jobs requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. Much of the work to green our economy involves transforming the places that we live and work, and the way we travel. Repower Arkansas will enlist the support of citizens to inform the General Assembly of the publics growing desire for clean energy and green jobs.
The first event will be November 18th at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, from 7-10pm. These presentations will incorporate the major themes of the Climate Project and The WE Can Solve It Campaign with Arkansas specific applications from the Global Warming Commission’s policy options.
The coalition believes that the best way to start an economic boom for Arkansas and address the climate crisis is for the 2009 legislative session to approve public policy that enacts the recommendations of Governor Beebe's Global Warming Commission. Further information can be obtained at www.repowerarkansas.org.
CONTACTS: Robert McAfee Robert@repowerarkansas.org;
Joanna Pollock Planetworkscom@gmail.com;
Charlotte Wales walescharlotte@hotmail.com
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Walt Eilers endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Walt Eilers and Lioneld Jordan after Eilers threw his support to Lioneld Jordan in the runoff for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Walt Eilers to endorse Lioneld Jordan for mayor at 10 a.m.
Breaking news.....
Former mayoral candidate Walt Eilers will be publicly endorsing Lioneld Jordan at a press conference Saturday morning @ 10:00am at the Urban Table steps (Old Post Office). All are welcome to attend.
Former mayoral candidate Walt Eilers will be publicly endorsing Lioneld Jordan at a press conference Saturday morning @ 10:00am at the Urban Table steps (Old Post Office). All are welcome to attend.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Arkansas panel ignores environmental hazards and issues air permit for coal-fired power plant
Utility gets air permit for plant
BY BILL W. HORNADAY
Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/242726/
The final air permit for a $ 1. 6 billion coal-fired power plant to be built in Hempstead County was issued Wednesday by state environmental regulators.
Southwestern Electric Power Co. spokesman Scott McCloud said the company is “extremely pleased” to complete a two-year process that involved two public hearings and hundreds of comments from residents.
Yet any euphoria that plant supporters may experience could be short-lived, as opponents of the project 15 miles northeast of Texarkana plan to appeal the decision.
“I am confident there will be an appeal,” said Chuck Nestrud, a Little Rock attorney who represents private hunting clubs and owners of 18, 000 acres near the site. “But right now we’re not sure which parties would participate.”
McCloud said, “Of course, there is always the possibility of another appeal, and if that occurs, who knows what will happen ? But today is a good day.”
Such a move must be filed with the Arkansas Pollution Control Ecology Commission within 30 days, said Doug Szenher, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
If so, it would place a stay on the permit, he said. That would block SWEPCO’s plans to immediately start full-scale construction on the John W. Turk Jr. power plant, which is expected to take four years to complete.
It would also join two other appeals filed against the 600-megawatt facility.
One is before the 8 th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. It contests a federal judge’s July ruling that certain types of construction are allowed before obtaining an air permit.
The other is before the Arkansas Court of Appeals. It contends that the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s 2-1 approval of the plant in November 2007 was improper because it ruled on SWEPCO’s need to provide additional power and need for the Turk plant itself in separate hearings.
Once plant construction begins, it would create up to 1, 400 jobs at the height of the project and 110 permanent jobs once the plant is completed, SWEPCO said. The project would generate about $ 38 million in sales and property tax revenue and an annual payroll of $ 9 million to southwest Arkansas.
However, the plant site is near one of Arkansas’ most ecologically sensitive areas. This includes 2, 000-acre Grassy Lake, which is home to alligators, migratory birds and some of Arkansas’ last cypress swamps and stands of virgin timber.
Environmental activists decried Environmental Quality Department’s decision, noting that the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming recently recommended a moratorium on any new coal-fired power plants in Arkansas until 2020.
“This battle is not over,” said Glen Hooks, senior regional representative for the Sierra Club. “Expect that Sierra Club and our allies will use every tool in our arsenal and fight this plant until absolutely all avenues have been exhausted, up to and including legal challenges.”
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
BY BILL W. HORNADAY
Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/242726/
The final air permit for a $ 1. 6 billion coal-fired power plant to be built in Hempstead County was issued Wednesday by state environmental regulators.
Southwestern Electric Power Co. spokesman Scott McCloud said the company is “extremely pleased” to complete a two-year process that involved two public hearings and hundreds of comments from residents.
Yet any euphoria that plant supporters may experience could be short-lived, as opponents of the project 15 miles northeast of Texarkana plan to appeal the decision.
“I am confident there will be an appeal,” said Chuck Nestrud, a Little Rock attorney who represents private hunting clubs and owners of 18, 000 acres near the site. “But right now we’re not sure which parties would participate.”
McCloud said, “Of course, there is always the possibility of another appeal, and if that occurs, who knows what will happen ? But today is a good day.”
Such a move must be filed with the Arkansas Pollution Control Ecology Commission within 30 days, said Doug Szenher, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
If so, it would place a stay on the permit, he said. That would block SWEPCO’s plans to immediately start full-scale construction on the John W. Turk Jr. power plant, which is expected to take four years to complete.
It would also join two other appeals filed against the 600-megawatt facility.
One is before the 8 th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. It contests a federal judge’s July ruling that certain types of construction are allowed before obtaining an air permit.
The other is before the Arkansas Court of Appeals. It contends that the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s 2-1 approval of the plant in November 2007 was improper because it ruled on SWEPCO’s need to provide additional power and need for the Turk plant itself in separate hearings.
Once plant construction begins, it would create up to 1, 400 jobs at the height of the project and 110 permanent jobs once the plant is completed, SWEPCO said. The project would generate about $ 38 million in sales and property tax revenue and an annual payroll of $ 9 million to southwest Arkansas.
However, the plant site is near one of Arkansas’ most ecologically sensitive areas. This includes 2, 000-acre Grassy Lake, which is home to alligators, migratory birds and some of Arkansas’ last cypress swamps and stands of virgin timber.
Environmental activists decried Environmental Quality Department’s decision, noting that the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming recently recommended a moratorium on any new coal-fired power plants in Arkansas until 2020.
“This battle is not over,” said Glen Hooks, senior regional representative for the Sierra Club. “Expect that Sierra Club and our allies will use every tool in our arsenal and fight this plant until absolutely all avenues have been exhausted, up to and including legal challenges.”
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Fran Alexander supports Lioneld Jordan
Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of Fran Alexander with fire and police signs supporting Lioneld Jordan.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Please vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor
Lioneld Jordan has been my choice for mayor of Fayetteville since the beginning of discussion of the upcoming election more than a year ago.
There is no one in the race who can be expected to do more to protect the environment of our city, the people of our city or make better decisions for the future of our city.
Lioneld was born in Fayetteville. I wasn't. I have never been able to call any other place home even when I worked in Little Rock for a few years. But, if anyone loves Fayetteville more than I do, it is Lioneld.
And no one in public life since I first attended graduate school at the University of Arkansas in 1966 has more consistently earned my respect.
I have found him always willing to listen to the concerns of everyone. The fact that he understands and relates to working people in my Town Branch neighborhood in south Fayetteville has been very important to us in recent years.
He supported our effort to save a parcel of wetland prairie from an intense development as we raised money to make the land a city nature park. The project would have wedged 48 apartments into a beautiful and old single-family neighborhood with no concern for the sensitive environment.
He voted to protect the Wilson Spring property, a much bigger and more unusually delicate ecosystem than almost any place this side of the Buffalo River,
He earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club in part for those votes and for his support of parks and trails and the steep, timbered hillsides of our city.
He has earned the endorsement of the firefighters and police officers of our city. He has earned the endorsement of the union of members of the staff and faculty of the University of Arkansas, where he has worked for decades.
He has earned the respect and endorsement of the local Green Party.
Among people I know, he has strong support among those whose statewide and national votes will be for candidates of both Democratic and Republican parties. His record stands on its own. He is the kind of person that most members of both major parties want to see on their ticket.
And he has been endorsed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
As a member of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, I am only one of many who have voted for Lioneld, because he is strong in all the areas of OMNI's concern.
I am among the members of the Carbon Caps Task Force who support Lioneld.
I have friends who support the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Audubon Arkansas, the National Audubon Society, Quail Unlimited and many unaffiliated hunters and fishermen and bird-watchers and nature lovers who have expressed support for Lioneld.
Most important, however, are the working people of Fayetteville who know and respect Lioneld and believe that he will continue to give them a voice in city government, even as he works to create new jobs in the city and housing for low-income residents and to protect the environment while negotiating the best possible development plans as our city continues to grow.
Lioneld respects everyone and shows no prejudice toward anyone. He listens to all and learns and strives to make decisions fair to all. He is indeed the real deal.
Aubrey James Shepherd
Lioneld Jordan has been my choice for mayor of Fayetteville since the beginning of discussion of the upcoming election more than a year ago.
There is no one in the race who can be expected to do more to protect the environment of our city, the people of our city or make better decisions for the future of our city.
Lioneld was born in Fayetteville. I wasn't. I have never been able to call any other place home even when I worked in Little Rock for a few years. But, if anyone loves Fayetteville more than I do, it is Lioneld.
And no one in public life since I first attended graduate school at the University of Arkansas in 1966 has more consistently earned my respect.
I have found him always willing to listen to the concerns of everyone. The fact that he understands and relates to working people in my Town Branch neighborhood in south Fayetteville has been very important to us in recent years.
He supported our effort to save a parcel of wetland prairie from an intense development as we raised money to make the land a city nature park. The project would have wedged 48 apartments into a beautiful and old single-family neighborhood with no concern for the sensitive environment.
He voted to protect the Wilson Spring property, a much bigger and more unusually delicate ecosystem than almost any place this side of the Buffalo River,
He earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club in part for those votes and for his support of parks and trails and the steep, timbered hillsides of our city.
He has earned the endorsement of the firefighters and police officers of our city. He has earned the endorsement of the union of members of the staff and faculty of the University of Arkansas, where he has worked for decades.
He has earned the respect and endorsement of the local Green Party.
Among people I know, he has strong support among those whose statewide and national votes will be for candidates of both Democratic and Republican parties. His record stands on its own. He is the kind of person that most members of both major parties want to see on their ticket.
And he has been endorsed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
As a member of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, I am only one of many who have voted for Lioneld, because he is strong in all the areas of OMNI's concern.
I am among the members of the Carbon Caps Task Force who support Lioneld.
I have friends who support the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Audubon Arkansas, the National Audubon Society, Quail Unlimited and many unaffiliated hunters and fishermen and bird-watchers and nature lovers who have expressed support for Lioneld.
Most important, however, are the working people of Fayetteville who know and respect Lioneld and believe that he will continue to give them a voice in city government, even as he works to create new jobs in the city and housing for low-income residents and to protect the environment while negotiating the best possible development plans as our city continues to grow.
Lioneld respects everyone and shows no prejudice toward anyone. He listens to all and learns and strives to make decisions fair to all. He is indeed the real deal.
Aubrey James Shepherd
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Aubrey James Shepherd's fourth video short take on CAT 18 supporting Lioneld Jordan for mayor
The video works on this version. Click on the play arrow to view and hear the fourth video short take on Cable Access Television Cox channel 18 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Energy companies advocate state rules to keep pollution legal
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Group to advocate for energy, environment policies
By Jason Wiest
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- A new group comprised largely of energy companies announced Tuesday it will advocate for energy, environmental and economic development policies in the state, some of which could be contrary to those of the state's global warming panel.
Bob Lamb, chairman of the newly formed group Progress Arkansas, said recommendations made by the Governor's Commission on Global Warming would provide fodder for analysis and that the group will lobby its positions on the recommendations.
"I would think there would probably be some issues that would come out of this report that this group will support. There may be other issues that they may not support," Lamb said, declining to be more specific.
While the group has not yet discussed the commission's recent report to be submitted to the governor and Legislature, it is not likely to take a position on Southwestern Electric Power Co.'s proposed $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County, Lamb said.
By an 11-10 vote, the commission recommended a moratorium on coal-fired plants until technology to capture and store carbon emissions is fully developed.
"This group does not have any position on the SWEPCO coal plant at all, and I would not think they would take one," Lamb said. "They've already gone through a lot of process. This group's just getting started. We're not in a position to join the discussion."
Lamb formerly served as executive vice president of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce-Associated Industries of Arkansas, as well as an officer, director and vice president of community development for the Arkansas Western Gas Co. He also is a former lobbyist for Southwestern Energy Co. and its subsidiaries. Southwestern is the largest natural gas developer in the Fayetteville Shale play.
Lamb said Tuesday he is not currently acting as a lobbyist for Progress Arkansas but that he may serve in that capacity as the group lobbies the Arkansas Legislature and the U.S. Congress.
He said the group likely will advocate its position on a number of recently opened dockets at the state Public Service Commission regarding rule-making, rate-making and energy efficiency.
"Perhaps out of those dockets we'll develop some legislative initiatives that we might could support," he said.
The group will also work to create jobs in Arkansas, specifically service and manufacturing jobs to replace recent losses in those areas, he said.
Scooter Hardin, spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said the group would provide welcome assistance.
"As a state agency, we're certainly supportive of organizations such as Progress Arkansas and the goal that this organization is working toward," he said. "We'll cooperate and work with Progress Arkansas."
Lamb said that while the group will seek to assist economic growth and increase the quality of life in Arkansas, there are also many challenges in the energy field.
"We want to be supportive of ensuring that Arkansas continues to have a reliable source of energy, both electricity and natural gas at the retail level," he said.
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Group to advocate for energy, environment policies
By Jason Wiest
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- A new group comprised largely of energy companies announced Tuesday it will advocate for energy, environmental and economic development policies in the state, some of which could be contrary to those of the state's global warming panel.
Bob Lamb, chairman of the newly formed group Progress Arkansas, said recommendations made by the Governor's Commission on Global Warming would provide fodder for analysis and that the group will lobby its positions on the recommendations.
"I would think there would probably be some issues that would come out of this report that this group will support. There may be other issues that they may not support," Lamb said, declining to be more specific.
While the group has not yet discussed the commission's recent report to be submitted to the governor and Legislature, it is not likely to take a position on Southwestern Electric Power Co.'s proposed $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County, Lamb said.
By an 11-10 vote, the commission recommended a moratorium on coal-fired plants until technology to capture and store carbon emissions is fully developed.
"This group does not have any position on the SWEPCO coal plant at all, and I would not think they would take one," Lamb said. "They've already gone through a lot of process. This group's just getting started. We're not in a position to join the discussion."
Lamb formerly served as executive vice president of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce-Associated Industries of Arkansas, as well as an officer, director and vice president of community development for the Arkansas Western Gas Co. He also is a former lobbyist for Southwestern Energy Co. and its subsidiaries. Southwestern is the largest natural gas developer in the Fayetteville Shale play.
Lamb said Tuesday he is not currently acting as a lobbyist for Progress Arkansas but that he may serve in that capacity as the group lobbies the Arkansas Legislature and the U.S. Congress.
He said the group likely will advocate its position on a number of recently opened dockets at the state Public Service Commission regarding rule-making, rate-making and energy efficiency.
"Perhaps out of those dockets we'll develop some legislative initiatives that we might could support," he said.
The group will also work to create jobs in Arkansas, specifically service and manufacturing jobs to replace recent losses in those areas, he said.
Scooter Hardin, spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said the group would provide welcome assistance.
"As a state agency, we're certainly supportive of organizations such as Progress Arkansas and the goal that this organization is working toward," he said. "We'll cooperate and work with Progress Arkansas."
Lamb said that while the group will seek to assist economic growth and increase the quality of life in Arkansas, there are also many challenges in the energy field.
"We want to be supportive of ensuring that Arkansas continues to have a reliable source of energy, both electricity and natural gas at the retail level," he said.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor
For Lioneld Jordan
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition
Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/241825
LIONELD JORDAN has a reputation for working hard. He’s the city alderman in Fayetteville who’s never missed a city council meeting in his nearly eight years in office. Alderman Jordan has brought the same dedication to the monthly meetings he’s held in his ward.
He’s also known for his thorough knowledge of city government, for his ability to understand complicated city business, and his just plain love of his hometown.
One of the candidates Lioneld Jordan is running against is the incumbent, Dan Coody. Mayor Coody is winding up his eighth year as mayor with a mixed record. He’s certainly done some good things for Fayetteville. Like establishing the current system of trails in the city. And he talks up environmental issues, even if he hasn’t always lived up to his own standards.
But the Coody administration has had some notable shortcomings, too. There’s the $ 60-million-plus cost overrun for the expansion of the city’s wastewater system. The project came in three years late and had to be bailed out with an increase in the city sales tax. Then there’s the stalled development the mayor backed on the site of the old Mountain Inn. Instead of a big hotel, the city got a big hole, which is now to become a big parking lot. That’ll be an improvement, but not much of one.
The mayor’s also presided over a takeover of the city’s Government Channel. The biggest result has been an end to its forums, where issues were discussed openly and fairly. A fear of fair and open discussion is not a good sign in a mayor, especially a mayor of a town as freespirited and open to argument as Fayetteville. What a shame.
Mayor Coody, maybe reflecting what he learned in the military, says a city’s chief executive is responsible for what happens during his administration. We agree. The wastewater project, the downtown hole in the ground, the canceling of issue forums... he must take responsibility for all of them along with the city’s accomplishments during his tenure.
As an alderman, Lioneld Jordan hasn’t always been right. But he’s consistently shown a willingness to dig into issues and take every side into account. As his supporters have noticed, when he disagrees with anybody, he tells them why. And his explanations tend to be well thought-out. (It’s hard to imagine him shutting down any public forums. )
His long service on important committees, such as the Street, Water-and-Sewer, and Equipment committees have given him a thorough understanding of how the city works. He does his homework. And he’s served as vice mayor, which would be good experience for the top job.
If it’s time for a change in Fayetteville, and it is, its name is Lioneld Jordan. That’s why we’re endorsing him today.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition
Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/241825
LIONELD JORDAN has a reputation for working hard. He’s the city alderman in Fayetteville who’s never missed a city council meeting in his nearly eight years in office. Alderman Jordan has brought the same dedication to the monthly meetings he’s held in his ward.
He’s also known for his thorough knowledge of city government, for his ability to understand complicated city business, and his just plain love of his hometown.
One of the candidates Lioneld Jordan is running against is the incumbent, Dan Coody. Mayor Coody is winding up his eighth year as mayor with a mixed record. He’s certainly done some good things for Fayetteville. Like establishing the current system of trails in the city. And he talks up environmental issues, even if he hasn’t always lived up to his own standards.
But the Coody administration has had some notable shortcomings, too. There’s the $ 60-million-plus cost overrun for the expansion of the city’s wastewater system. The project came in three years late and had to be bailed out with an increase in the city sales tax. Then there’s the stalled development the mayor backed on the site of the old Mountain Inn. Instead of a big hotel, the city got a big hole, which is now to become a big parking lot. That’ll be an improvement, but not much of one.
The mayor’s also presided over a takeover of the city’s Government Channel. The biggest result has been an end to its forums, where issues were discussed openly and fairly. A fear of fair and open discussion is not a good sign in a mayor, especially a mayor of a town as freespirited and open to argument as Fayetteville. What a shame.
Mayor Coody, maybe reflecting what he learned in the military, says a city’s chief executive is responsible for what happens during his administration. We agree. The wastewater project, the downtown hole in the ground, the canceling of issue forums... he must take responsibility for all of them along with the city’s accomplishments during his tenure.
As an alderman, Lioneld Jordan hasn’t always been right. But he’s consistently shown a willingness to dig into issues and take every side into account. As his supporters have noticed, when he disagrees with anybody, he tells them why. And his explanations tend to be well thought-out. (It’s hard to imagine him shutting down any public forums. )
His long service on important committees, such as the Street, Water-and-Sewer, and Equipment committees have given him a thorough understanding of how the city works. He does his homework. And he’s served as vice mayor, which would be good experience for the top job.
If it’s time for a change in Fayetteville, and it is, its name is Lioneld Jordan. That’s why we’re endorsing him today.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Monday, October 27, 2008
Environmental workgroup meeting at 7 p.m. November 5 in room 2267 of the Bell Engineering Building of the University of Arkansas
We have a new location for Wed. Nov. 5 Environmental Working Group meeting.
NOV. 5: BELL ENGINEERING CENTER ON DICKSON ST. RM. 2267. (See Bob's
instructions to the classroom below)
Thank you, Bob!
Thanks to all the sub-committees for your intervening work prior to our
getting together again.
Please be sure and let Barbara Boland know if your sub-group needs any maps
for our meeting to be most productive.
See you all next Wed. Nov. 5 at 7 pm.
Delia Haak, working group chairman
NOV. 5: BELL ENGINEERING CENTER ON DICKSON ST. RM. 2267. (See Bob's
instructions to the classroom below)
Thank you, Bob!
Thanks to all the sub-committees for your intervening work prior to our
getting together again.
Please be sure and let Barbara Boland know if your sub-group needs any maps
for our meeting to be most productive.
See you all next Wed. Nov. 5 at 7 pm.
Delia Haak, working group chairman
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Mark Kinion the clear choice for Ward 2 seat on City Council. He has built a resume of actual service to this community.
Mark Kinion
AGE: 51
EDUCATION: University of Arkansas, BS, food science and technology
OCCUPATION: Retired senior executive for GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals
LENGTH OF RESIDENCY IN THE AREA YOU WISH TO SERVE: About 20 years
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Fayetteville Housing Authority, board of commissioners, past vice-chairperson;
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, member;
Partners for Better Housing, board of directors, founding board member;
Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods, past chairman; Wilson Park Neighborhood Association, past coordinator;
Humane Society of the Ozarks, past president, past finance committee chairman, lifetime member;
Ozark StageWorks, board of directors, financial development chairman; Planned Parenthood of Arkansas/Eastern Oklahoma, advisory board;
University of Arkansas Alumni Association, lifetime member;
United Way of Pulaski County, former vice president of campaigns;
No. 1 issues: Transparent government, open communication, mutual respect and trust.
No citizen should feel disenfranchised from local political activity. All residents should feel they have an avenue to be heard and know their opinion is respected and valued.
I will have regular Ward 2 meetings to let people know relevant information in a timely manner regarding issues facing our city. Additionally, I will encourage open and mutually respectful dialog between the constituency, other members of the City Council, city officials and city administrative divisions.
Trust will be built by promising transparent and measurable actions in regard to economic, environmental and social impact of city projects.
By open dialogue, transparent action, and measurable benchmarks accountability can be established.
This open communication model will be applied to every issue and concern.
AGE: 51
EDUCATION: University of Arkansas, BS, food science and technology
OCCUPATION: Retired senior executive for GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals
LENGTH OF RESIDENCY IN THE AREA YOU WISH TO SERVE: About 20 years
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Fayetteville Housing Authority, board of commissioners, past vice-chairperson;
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, member;
Partners for Better Housing, board of directors, founding board member;
Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods, past chairman; Wilson Park Neighborhood Association, past coordinator;
Humane Society of the Ozarks, past president, past finance committee chairman, lifetime member;
Ozark StageWorks, board of directors, financial development chairman; Planned Parenthood of Arkansas/Eastern Oklahoma, advisory board;
University of Arkansas Alumni Association, lifetime member;
United Way of Pulaski County, former vice president of campaigns;
No. 1 issues: Transparent government, open communication, mutual respect and trust.
No citizen should feel disenfranchised from local political activity. All residents should feel they have an avenue to be heard and know their opinion is respected and valued.
I will have regular Ward 2 meetings to let people know relevant information in a timely manner regarding issues facing our city. Additionally, I will encourage open and mutually respectful dialog between the constituency, other members of the City Council, city officials and city administrative divisions.
Trust will be built by promising transparent and measurable actions in regard to economic, environmental and social impact of city projects.
By open dialogue, transparent action, and measurable benchmarks accountability can be established.
This open communication model will be applied to every issue and concern.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Global Warming Commission approves revision of report
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Global Warming Commission approves final revisions to report
By John Lyon
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming on Thursday approved final revisions to its report containing 54 recommendations for reducing the state's contributions to climate change.
The 21-member commission was created by an act of the Legislature last year and is required to present its final report to Gov. Mike Beebe and legislators no later than Nov. 1.
The commission's report recommends that Arkansas adopt goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 2000 levels by 20 percent by 2020, 35 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2035.
The commission includes representatives of several fields, including conservation, industry, government and academia. The panel approved some recommendations unanimously, but it was divided on some votes, including an 11-10 decision to recommend a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the state until technology to capture and store carbon emissions becomes available.
The committee approved a final set of revisions to the report during a meeting Thursday held by conference call. Committee Chairman Rep. Kathy Webb, D-Little Rock, thanked the members for their work.
"I know people have very strong opinions about all of these issues," Webb said. "We did a really fine job. Thank you all for all the time that you've given in the last year on this."
In a period allowed for public comments, Ken Smith, executive director of Arkansas Audubon, told the commission, "Congratulations, all of you, for a great job."
Among the revisions the commission approved Thursday was a slight change to an assertion in the report that peer-reviewed literature is "unanimous" in concluding that human activity is causing climate change. The commission changed "unanimous" to "virtually unanimous."
Steve Cousins, vice president of refining for Lion Oil, said although no vote was taken on whether global warming has a human cause, he knew of "at least three commissioners that are agnostic" on the issue.
The report states that Arkansas' greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than those of the nation as a whole, according to research conducted for the commission by the nonprofit Center for Climate Strategies. From 1990 to 2005, gross emissions in the state increased by 30 percent while national gross emissions rose by 16 percent.
On a per-capita basis, the state's emissions increased by about 10 percent between 1990 and 2005, while national per-capita emissions decreased by 2 percent.
The report notes that Arkansas has large forests which negate some of its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, the state's gross emissions accounted for 1.2 percent of national gross emissions, while its net emissions accounted for 1 percent of national net emissions.
Electricity consumption and transportation were the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Arkansas in 2005, accounting for 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of the state's gross emissions.
The direct use of fuels such as natural gas, oil products, coal and wood in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors accounted for 18 percent of emissions. The agricultural and forest wildfire sectors together accounted for 14 percent of emissions.
Other sources of emissions included industrial processes, landfills and wastewater management facilities.
The commission analyzed the costs to implement 29 of its recommendations and estimated a net cost of $3.7 billion between 2009 and 2025.
Among other things, the commission recommends new nuclear power plants; a carbon tax program; a consortium to develop renewable energy production facilities and market renewable energy to consumers; and numerous measures to improve energy efficiency.
Web Watch
Governor's Commission On Global Warming
www.arclimatechange.us
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Global Warming Commission approves final revisions to report
By John Lyon
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming on Thursday approved final revisions to its report containing 54 recommendations for reducing the state's contributions to climate change.
The 21-member commission was created by an act of the Legislature last year and is required to present its final report to Gov. Mike Beebe and legislators no later than Nov. 1.
The commission's report recommends that Arkansas adopt goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 2000 levels by 20 percent by 2020, 35 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2035.
The commission includes representatives of several fields, including conservation, industry, government and academia. The panel approved some recommendations unanimously, but it was divided on some votes, including an 11-10 decision to recommend a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the state until technology to capture and store carbon emissions becomes available.
The committee approved a final set of revisions to the report during a meeting Thursday held by conference call. Committee Chairman Rep. Kathy Webb, D-Little Rock, thanked the members for their work.
"I know people have very strong opinions about all of these issues," Webb said. "We did a really fine job. Thank you all for all the time that you've given in the last year on this."
In a period allowed for public comments, Ken Smith, executive director of Arkansas Audubon, told the commission, "Congratulations, all of you, for a great job."
Among the revisions the commission approved Thursday was a slight change to an assertion in the report that peer-reviewed literature is "unanimous" in concluding that human activity is causing climate change. The commission changed "unanimous" to "virtually unanimous."
Steve Cousins, vice president of refining for Lion Oil, said although no vote was taken on whether global warming has a human cause, he knew of "at least three commissioners that are agnostic" on the issue.
The report states that Arkansas' greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than those of the nation as a whole, according to research conducted for the commission by the nonprofit Center for Climate Strategies. From 1990 to 2005, gross emissions in the state increased by 30 percent while national gross emissions rose by 16 percent.
On a per-capita basis, the state's emissions increased by about 10 percent between 1990 and 2005, while national per-capita emissions decreased by 2 percent.
The report notes that Arkansas has large forests which negate some of its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, the state's gross emissions accounted for 1.2 percent of national gross emissions, while its net emissions accounted for 1 percent of national net emissions.
Electricity consumption and transportation were the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Arkansas in 2005, accounting for 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of the state's gross emissions.
The direct use of fuels such as natural gas, oil products, coal and wood in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors accounted for 18 percent of emissions. The agricultural and forest wildfire sectors together accounted for 14 percent of emissions.
Other sources of emissions included industrial processes, landfills and wastewater management facilities.
The commission analyzed the costs to implement 29 of its recommendations and estimated a net cost of $3.7 billion between 2009 and 2025.
Among other things, the commission recommends new nuclear power plants; a carbon tax program; a consortium to develop renewable energy production facilities and market renewable energy to consumers; and numerous measures to improve energy efficiency.
Web Watch
Governor's Commission On Global Warming
www.arclimatechange.us
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Environmental conservationist's video clips support Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Please click on control below each video to play.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Nick Brown Clarifies relation of man and natural world
Guest writer : Conserve and protect
BY NICHOLAS R. BROWN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/240588/
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a unique, diverse collection of ecological systems and the home to caribou, muskoxen, sheep, foxes, moose, wolves, black bears, brown bears, polar bears, and over two dozen other species of mammals. It’s one of the largest, most ecologically intact wildlife refuges in the world.
Recently, columnist Bradley R. Gitz described ANWR as an “uninhabited, pestilence-ridden wasteland.” This thoroughly anthropocentric view of the world—that there are no important existing values if they are not of immediate economic benefit to humans—is the very kind of thinking that has led us to a wide range of environmental problems. As Albert Einstein said, we cannot solve our problems with the same type of thinking that created them.
Our planet, whether you think of it as the Creation, Gaia or simply the third rock, is driven by ecological processes that may or may not be observed and valued by our industrial culture. To assume that an ecosystem is “wasteland” just because there’s no perceived economic value is human arrogance of a very dangerous sort. Political and economic decisions should be made with a biocentric view, which serves human interests and conserves ecological values over a long term.
All ecological systems have values that relate to the continuing healthy existence of the planet, whether we understand the importance of those values or not. This is a general statement that may be discomforting to economists and industrial developers, but it’s just a paraphrase of the well-known and well-understood axiom, everything’s connected to everything else. Ecology, which is the study of interactions among species and between species and their environments, inescapably leads us to this conclusion, though as a science it is silent on its meaning and importance.
Ecological thinking dictates that we assume that there are connections of which we are oblivious and that we accordingly manage ecosystems with precaution. It embodies respect for nature.
ANWR’s selection as a location for a wildlife refuge isn’t accidental. It’s a unique and biodiverse boreal region. One hundred ninety-five species of birds, 36 species of fish and 36 species of land mammals are found in six ecological regions of ANWR.
Section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act provides for the possibility that 1. 5 million acres of ANWR could be opened for oil production, and that area is, therefore, known as the 1002 Area. A study of the 1002 Area reveals 16 land-cover classes or types of ecological systems. Grasses, sedges, shrubs, willows and other vegetation of riparian zones each offers critical ecological values to porcupine caribou, arctic caribou, muskoxen, grizzly bears, wolves, golden eagles, polar bears and snow geese that use the 1002 Area.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has written that the 1002 Area contains “an unusually diverse assemblage of large animals and smaller, less appreciated life forms tied to their physical environments and to each other by natural, undisturbed ecological and evolutionary processes.” Let’s not consider the home of wolves, grizzly bears, polar bears and golden eagles a wasteland.
It is not as though no petroleum exploration is allowed in Alaska under current rules. Twenty-three million acres of Alaskan land are currently in production in the National Petroleum Reserve there, which is located west of ANWR on the North Slope and Arctic Coastal Plain. Current production is about 750, 000 barrels of oil per day from about 300 gas and oil leases.
The most optimistic estimate of oil production from the 1002 Area is 900, 000 barrels per day, about 4 percent of our national demand and 1 percent of global demand. By comparison, we could save a million barrels per day if the efficiency of our national fleet improved by five miles per gallon or 2 million barrels per day if we all simply drove five miles per hour slower on our highways. The Energy Information Administration of the U. S. Department of Energy estimates that addition of ANWR’s oil to existing supplies would reduce the price of oil by 50 cents per barrel. It’s five to 10 years from flowing through pipelines if we started work tomorrow. The extent to which additional oil drilling is a necessary part of our bridge to a sustainable energy future can be debated. But it is clear that ANWR’s boreal ecosystems contain unique ecological values that we should conserve and protect.
—–––––•–––––—Nicholas R. Brown, a native of Helena, is the executive assistant for sustainability at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
BY NICHOLAS R. BROWN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/240588/
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a unique, diverse collection of ecological systems and the home to caribou, muskoxen, sheep, foxes, moose, wolves, black bears, brown bears, polar bears, and over two dozen other species of mammals. It’s one of the largest, most ecologically intact wildlife refuges in the world.
Recently, columnist Bradley R. Gitz described ANWR as an “uninhabited, pestilence-ridden wasteland.” This thoroughly anthropocentric view of the world—that there are no important existing values if they are not of immediate economic benefit to humans—is the very kind of thinking that has led us to a wide range of environmental problems. As Albert Einstein said, we cannot solve our problems with the same type of thinking that created them.
Our planet, whether you think of it as the Creation, Gaia or simply the third rock, is driven by ecological processes that may or may not be observed and valued by our industrial culture. To assume that an ecosystem is “wasteland” just because there’s no perceived economic value is human arrogance of a very dangerous sort. Political and economic decisions should be made with a biocentric view, which serves human interests and conserves ecological values over a long term.
All ecological systems have values that relate to the continuing healthy existence of the planet, whether we understand the importance of those values or not. This is a general statement that may be discomforting to economists and industrial developers, but it’s just a paraphrase of the well-known and well-understood axiom, everything’s connected to everything else. Ecology, which is the study of interactions among species and between species and their environments, inescapably leads us to this conclusion, though as a science it is silent on its meaning and importance.
Ecological thinking dictates that we assume that there are connections of which we are oblivious and that we accordingly manage ecosystems with precaution. It embodies respect for nature.
ANWR’s selection as a location for a wildlife refuge isn’t accidental. It’s a unique and biodiverse boreal region. One hundred ninety-five species of birds, 36 species of fish and 36 species of land mammals are found in six ecological regions of ANWR.
Section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act provides for the possibility that 1. 5 million acres of ANWR could be opened for oil production, and that area is, therefore, known as the 1002 Area. A study of the 1002 Area reveals 16 land-cover classes or types of ecological systems. Grasses, sedges, shrubs, willows and other vegetation of riparian zones each offers critical ecological values to porcupine caribou, arctic caribou, muskoxen, grizzly bears, wolves, golden eagles, polar bears and snow geese that use the 1002 Area.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has written that the 1002 Area contains “an unusually diverse assemblage of large animals and smaller, less appreciated life forms tied to their physical environments and to each other by natural, undisturbed ecological and evolutionary processes.” Let’s not consider the home of wolves, grizzly bears, polar bears and golden eagles a wasteland.
It is not as though no petroleum exploration is allowed in Alaska under current rules. Twenty-three million acres of Alaskan land are currently in production in the National Petroleum Reserve there, which is located west of ANWR on the North Slope and Arctic Coastal Plain. Current production is about 750, 000 barrels of oil per day from about 300 gas and oil leases.
The most optimistic estimate of oil production from the 1002 Area is 900, 000 barrels per day, about 4 percent of our national demand and 1 percent of global demand. By comparison, we could save a million barrels per day if the efficiency of our national fleet improved by five miles per gallon or 2 million barrels per day if we all simply drove five miles per hour slower on our highways. The Energy Information Administration of the U. S. Department of Energy estimates that addition of ANWR’s oil to existing supplies would reduce the price of oil by 50 cents per barrel. It’s five to 10 years from flowing through pipelines if we started work tomorrow. The extent to which additional oil drilling is a necessary part of our bridge to a sustainable energy future can be debated. But it is clear that ANWR’s boreal ecosystems contain unique ecological values that we should conserve and protect.
—–––––•–––––—Nicholas R. Brown, a native of Helena, is the executive assistant for sustainability at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Fayetteville police and firefighters join Sierra Club in urging people to vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor
Please click on image to ENLARGE Firefighters and Police officers' endorsement of Lioneld Jordan for mayor.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Fayetteville police organization endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor
Please click on image to ENLARGE for easy reading of the Fayetteville, Arkansas, chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police's endorsement of Lioneld Jordan for mayor.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Firefighters endorse Lioneld Jordan for mayor
Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association endorses Jordan
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/70088
The Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 2866 has endorsed Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville in the Nov. 4 general election.
Other endorsements by the association:
• Don Conner — Ward 1, Position 2
• Mark Kinion — Ward 2, Position 2
• Craig Honchell — Ward 4, Position 2
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/70088
The Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 2866 has endorsed Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville in the Nov. 4 general election.
Other endorsements by the association:
• Don Conner — Ward 1, Position 2
• Mark Kinion — Ward 2, Position 2
• Craig Honchell — Ward 4, Position 2
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Good idea only if using waste material from agriculture and timber production and without decreasing wildlife habitat. Clearing land pollutes air
Summit promotes growing high-energy plants
BY DUSTIN TRACY
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/69979/
Northwest Arkansas Times Fayetteville’s first ever Sustainability Summit brought more than 300 people to the city’s center to talk about ways organizations can become more environmentally friendly. One way discussed was a switch from conventional diesel fuel to the use of bioenergybased fuel. Jim Wimberly with BioEnergy System LLC in Fayetteville talked about the energy-efficient idea at a small breakout session during the summit. “ Agriculture and energy are so intertwined, ” Wimberly said.
He said the idea is to start promoting the growth of high-energy yielding plants that can be processed and manufactured into a full spectrum of energy projects, including fuel for automobiles.
“ In essence, plants are batteries, ” he said. “ They store energy through photosynthesis. ”
Arkansas provides a large amount of natural resources to make bioenergy manufacturing a reality, Wimberly said, and if the state takes an active interest in the concept, it could cut in half its yearly 1 billion gallons of petroleum used each year.
“ It would take just under a million acres of herbaceous energy crops (crops high in energy ) to displace half of that diesel used, ” he said.
Wimberly said a lot of research is being done on soybeans to create biodiesel, and that it’s a good fuel. However, he said fuel users need to broaden their horizons.
“ We need to quit being worried about planting a future around traditional approaches to biofuel, ” he said.
The state has the forest and farmland to support biofuel operations, which makes it already an attractive location to bioenergy companies, Wimberly said, but Arkansas and its cities need to work towards sealing the deal with the green fuel producers.
“ We are in competition with neighboring states, ” Wimberly said.
Financial incentives as well as getting state landowners and far mers on board with the idea could be the key, Wimberly said.
“ It’s not going to happen unless (farmers ) can make at least as much money as they do growing traditional crops, ” he said.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
BY DUSTIN TRACY
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/69979/
Northwest Arkansas Times Fayetteville’s first ever Sustainability Summit brought more than 300 people to the city’s center to talk about ways organizations can become more environmentally friendly. One way discussed was a switch from conventional diesel fuel to the use of bioenergybased fuel. Jim Wimberly with BioEnergy System LLC in Fayetteville talked about the energy-efficient idea at a small breakout session during the summit. “ Agriculture and energy are so intertwined, ” Wimberly said.
He said the idea is to start promoting the growth of high-energy yielding plants that can be processed and manufactured into a full spectrum of energy projects, including fuel for automobiles.
“ In essence, plants are batteries, ” he said. “ They store energy through photosynthesis. ”
Arkansas provides a large amount of natural resources to make bioenergy manufacturing a reality, Wimberly said, and if the state takes an active interest in the concept, it could cut in half its yearly 1 billion gallons of petroleum used each year.
“ It would take just under a million acres of herbaceous energy crops (crops high in energy ) to displace half of that diesel used, ” he said.
Wimberly said a lot of research is being done on soybeans to create biodiesel, and that it’s a good fuel. However, he said fuel users need to broaden their horizons.
“ We need to quit being worried about planting a future around traditional approaches to biofuel, ” he said.
The state has the forest and farmland to support biofuel operations, which makes it already an attractive location to bioenergy companies, Wimberly said, but Arkansas and its cities need to work towards sealing the deal with the green fuel producers.
“ We are in competition with neighboring states, ” Wimberly said.
Financial incentives as well as getting state landowners and far mers on board with the idea could be the key, Wimberly said.
“ It’s not going to happen unless (farmers ) can make at least as much money as they do growing traditional crops, ” he said.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Preview of citizen comments on Southpass plan discussion tonight at Fayetteville City Council meeting
Southpass comments: City Council, Oct. 6, 2008 Barbara Moorman
The city staff says in its recommendation for Southpass approval: .[the project] does not contribute to sprawl. Urban or suburban sprawl is “the spreading of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area”. It’s “elimination of rural land by urban development”.
What is the city calling this project if not sprawl? “Greenfield development.” Greenfield development is “urban fabric” replacing rural land on the outskirts of a city. ... In other words, sprawl. The houses may be packed together, but it’s still development taking over rural land and it still means people driving to it and driving from it. It’s not next to downtown, medical facilities, mall, court house, city hall, library, etc.
Even though the 2025 plan was written after the Southpass contract was signed, the 2025 plan claims not to approve of sprawl. So to resolve the contradiction, the city tries to redefine sprawl. Whatever name they put on it, this project will spread urban development over rural land on the outside edge of a city.
What’s wrong with sprawl? It’s not good for the community economically, socially, or environmentally. As for this project in particular....
1) It’s not economically sustainable especially in today’s chaos and uncertainty. It relies on speculation and on mortgage subsidies and lending . Sprawl is always expensive to the taxpayers . ... road costs, costs of police, fire, trash pickup, sewer, water, dealing with more car wrecks because more driving, illness from more pollution haze and more emotional pressure, etc. Do we know year by year or in 5 year increments, how much Southpass and the ballfields will cost? Do we know what each element will cost? Can we know cost estimates are accurate and based on reality? If they’re accurate, are they higher than the city can afford? Are there unforeseen economic problems that ought to be considered? There is no adequate, detailed economic study of the proposal.
2 It’s not environmentally sustainable. How many animals and birds will be driven into smaller and smaller habitats? How many plant communities will slowly disappear because of changes in the bluff and forest ecology? The people doing this project don’t have any notion what lives on those bluffs or in the woods. Animal life isn’t considered but there are many hundreds of species that live there now. How much more air pollution haze will this add (remember it’s a regional tournament venue plus 11,000 new inhabitants)? What temperature rise will result from more pavement. This land should not be zoned for dense development because of springs, shallow ground water, and creeks, and because of the environmental importance of the higher elevations. This is a massive project and will have massive impact but the city isn’t giving us a study of the impact. It should be our right to know.
3. It’s not socially sustainable. Will this subdivision make the city a healthier, tighter-knit community?
Will it further divide the wrong side of the tracks from the parts of town where people are probably breathing a sigh of relief that this thing isn’t going in near them? Whatever your answer is, it can’t be based on a study because there is no study. It can only be based on speculation. Is there a requirement for public transportation adequate to really reduce car traffic? Where’s the mandate for nearby medical facilities? Does the ordinance include demand for school, hospital, city hall and library annexes? There’s talk of police, fire, etc. but no promises, no requirements, no penalties if hopes aren’t fulfilled. How will a dog park, paved trails, and a noisy amphitheater help the stability and quality of life of this part of town ? Aren’t these features to visit but not to live near? How practical is this scheme really? The plan is for a huge athletic complex and a lot of other things that might be considered nuisances if they were on Mount Sequoyah. The “findings” by the staff claim that we rural residents will be adversely impacted by noise, pollution, lights, etc. Absolutely. But so will the 11,000 people they think will move in. Who on earth would move there in the first place or stay long enough to create a real community?
It’s too bad it’s gone this far, but I hope you’ll exercise your right to re-examine this plan now.
The city staff says in its recommendation for Southpass approval: .[the project] does not contribute to sprawl. Urban or suburban sprawl is “the spreading of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area”. It’s “elimination of rural land by urban development”.
What is the city calling this project if not sprawl? “Greenfield development.” Greenfield development is “urban fabric” replacing rural land on the outskirts of a city. ... In other words, sprawl. The houses may be packed together, but it’s still development taking over rural land and it still means people driving to it and driving from it. It’s not next to downtown, medical facilities, mall, court house, city hall, library, etc.
Even though the 2025 plan was written after the Southpass contract was signed, the 2025 plan claims not to approve of sprawl. So to resolve the contradiction, the city tries to redefine sprawl. Whatever name they put on it, this project will spread urban development over rural land on the outside edge of a city.
What’s wrong with sprawl? It’s not good for the community economically, socially, or environmentally. As for this project in particular....
1) It’s not economically sustainable especially in today’s chaos and uncertainty. It relies on speculation and on mortgage subsidies and lending . Sprawl is always expensive to the taxpayers . ... road costs, costs of police, fire, trash pickup, sewer, water, dealing with more car wrecks because more driving, illness from more pollution haze and more emotional pressure, etc. Do we know year by year or in 5 year increments, how much Southpass and the ballfields will cost? Do we know what each element will cost? Can we know cost estimates are accurate and based on reality? If they’re accurate, are they higher than the city can afford? Are there unforeseen economic problems that ought to be considered? There is no adequate, detailed economic study of the proposal.
2 It’s not environmentally sustainable. How many animals and birds will be driven into smaller and smaller habitats? How many plant communities will slowly disappear because of changes in the bluff and forest ecology? The people doing this project don’t have any notion what lives on those bluffs or in the woods. Animal life isn’t considered but there are many hundreds of species that live there now. How much more air pollution haze will this add (remember it’s a regional tournament venue plus 11,000 new inhabitants)? What temperature rise will result from more pavement. This land should not be zoned for dense development because of springs, shallow ground water, and creeks, and because of the environmental importance of the higher elevations. This is a massive project and will have massive impact but the city isn’t giving us a study of the impact. It should be our right to know.
3. It’s not socially sustainable. Will this subdivision make the city a healthier, tighter-knit community?
Will it further divide the wrong side of the tracks from the parts of town where people are probably breathing a sigh of relief that this thing isn’t going in near them? Whatever your answer is, it can’t be based on a study because there is no study. It can only be based on speculation. Is there a requirement for public transportation adequate to really reduce car traffic? Where’s the mandate for nearby medical facilities? Does the ordinance include demand for school, hospital, city hall and library annexes? There’s talk of police, fire, etc. but no promises, no requirements, no penalties if hopes aren’t fulfilled. How will a dog park, paved trails, and a noisy amphitheater help the stability and quality of life of this part of town ? Aren’t these features to visit but not to live near? How practical is this scheme really? The plan is for a huge athletic complex and a lot of other things that might be considered nuisances if they were on Mount Sequoyah. The “findings” by the staff claim that we rural residents will be adversely impacted by noise, pollution, lights, etc. Absolutely. But so will the 11,000 people they think will move in. Who on earth would move there in the first place or stay long enough to create a real community?
It’s too bad it’s gone this far, but I hope you’ll exercise your right to re-examine this plan now.
NOBODY has suggested turning the Government Channel into a community-access station. Read the policy document created by the Telecom policy committee
Policy document prepared during a series of meetings in July, August and September 2008 by the Telecom Board's policy committee
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Televised Forums Spark Debate
By Skip Descant
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE - It's still not clear if issue and candidate forums will make their way to the Fayetteville Government Channel's prime time.
But after months of study, the topic is expected to be hotly debated at tonight's Fayetteville City Council meeting. The item was briskly yanked from last week's council consent agenda session, when practically every council member pushed the issue to open debate.
Moderated public forums involving candidates and ballot issues would be recorded and broadcast by the government channel, according to the proposed new policy. The moderator must be a nonpartisan group such as the League of Women Voters, "and will be overseen by a public forum committee, responsible for considering the issue representation with regard to participants, content and format."
Nancy Allen, a council member from Ward 2 who is not seeking re-election, raised the question of having the government channel record and broadcast a Ward 2 candidate forum. The request came from a citizen group, Allen said.
The request was denied because the group did not fall under the umbrella of city government. Allen asked last week how this topic differed from some of the more innocuous programming she's seen on the channel.
In the past, Allen has requested that issue forums about the future of Fayetteville High School or the Walton Arts Center be broadcast. Those requests were denied by the city because the discussion was not directly related to the workings of the city.
"How does that differ from showing animals in need of adoption?" Allen said. "Anyone could make an argument that walking around looking at flowers, shaking hands, that's not 'government.'"
Without directly naming him, Allen was referencing news conferences and other events called by Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody, who has received much criticism alleging he's used the government channel as his own personal publicity agency.
"I see much more reason to debate those issues - Fayetteville High School and Walton Arts Center - than to show video of the mayor walking around the square," wrote Allen in an e-mail. "That borders on propaganda in my view."
Susan Thomas, public information officer for the city, and one of the architects of the proposed policy, has maintained that the channel can only be used by government and for government-related programming.
Thomas said a Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods mayoral debate aired because the council is comprised of city-appointed members, meets at city hall and has city staff assigned to the group, therefore, it operates under the umbrella of the city.
"Any other organization, they don't get city staff, and they're not covered on a regular basis," Thomas told the council.
Citizen groups like the one Allen mentioned would be better served by Community Access Television, say officials. Allen admitted she had not contacted CAT.
The mayor has said repeatedly that the city council has the discretion to create the government channel in nearly any image it wishes. It only needs to write the appropriate policy and carry it out.
"If you want to turn the government channel into a community access television station, then just do that," Coody told the board last week.
Policy document prepared during a series of meetings in July, August and September 2008 by the Telecom Board's policy committee
MEETING INFORMATION
Fayetteville City Council
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: Room 219, City Hall, 113 W. Mountain St.
Also on the agenda: Urban Design Associates, the Pittsburgh design firm responsible for the conceptual plan for SouthPass, will give a presentation.
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Televised Forums Spark Debate
By Skip Descant
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE - It's still not clear if issue and candidate forums will make their way to the Fayetteville Government Channel's prime time.
But after months of study, the topic is expected to be hotly debated at tonight's Fayetteville City Council meeting. The item was briskly yanked from last week's council consent agenda session, when practically every council member pushed the issue to open debate.
Moderated public forums involving candidates and ballot issues would be recorded and broadcast by the government channel, according to the proposed new policy. The moderator must be a nonpartisan group such as the League of Women Voters, "and will be overseen by a public forum committee, responsible for considering the issue representation with regard to participants, content and format."
Nancy Allen, a council member from Ward 2 who is not seeking re-election, raised the question of having the government channel record and broadcast a Ward 2 candidate forum. The request came from a citizen group, Allen said.
The request was denied because the group did not fall under the umbrella of city government. Allen asked last week how this topic differed from some of the more innocuous programming she's seen on the channel.
In the past, Allen has requested that issue forums about the future of Fayetteville High School or the Walton Arts Center be broadcast. Those requests were denied by the city because the discussion was not directly related to the workings of the city.
"How does that differ from showing animals in need of adoption?" Allen said. "Anyone could make an argument that walking around looking at flowers, shaking hands, that's not 'government.'"
Without directly naming him, Allen was referencing news conferences and other events called by Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody, who has received much criticism alleging he's used the government channel as his own personal publicity agency.
"I see much more reason to debate those issues - Fayetteville High School and Walton Arts Center - than to show video of the mayor walking around the square," wrote Allen in an e-mail. "That borders on propaganda in my view."
Susan Thomas, public information officer for the city, and one of the architects of the proposed policy, has maintained that the channel can only be used by government and for government-related programming.
Thomas said a Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods mayoral debate aired because the council is comprised of city-appointed members, meets at city hall and has city staff assigned to the group, therefore, it operates under the umbrella of the city.
"Any other organization, they don't get city staff, and they're not covered on a regular basis," Thomas told the council.
Citizen groups like the one Allen mentioned would be better served by Community Access Television, say officials. Allen admitted she had not contacted CAT.
The mayor has said repeatedly that the city council has the discretion to create the government channel in nearly any image it wishes. It only needs to write the appropriate policy and carry it out.
"If you want to turn the government channel into a community access television station, then just do that," Coody told the board last week.
Policy document prepared during a series of meetings in July, August and September 2008 by the Telecom Board's policy committee
MEETING INFORMATION
Fayetteville City Council
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: Room 219, City Hall, 113 W. Mountain St.
Also on the agenda: Urban Design Associates, the Pittsburgh design firm responsible for the conceptual plan for SouthPass, will give a presentation.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Ducks Unlimited dinner at 6 p.m. at Fair Grounds; Green Infrastructure meeting on Mount Sequoyah at 7 p.m. today
Please click on images to ENLARGE.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Pollinators on World Peace Wetland Prairie on September 30, 2008
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of pollinators on World Peace Wetland Prairie on September 30, 2008.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Governor's commission on global warming tentatively says NO to new coal-fired power plants
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Panel Tentatively Endorses Ban On New Plants
By Peggy Harris
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LITTLE ROCK -- An Arkansas commission studying ways to reduce global warming tentatively endorsed a ban Thursday on new coal-fired power plants, saying a proposed $1.5 billion facility in Hempstead County shouldn't open until at least 2020.
The preliminary proposal would allow the John W. Turk Jr. plant near Fulton to open eight years later than planned, when new "sequestration" technology presumably would be available to capture harmful carbon dioxide emissions and store them in the ground. The plant could open sooner if the technology becomes available.
Under the proposal, the $1.3 billion Plum Point plant being built near Osceola could open as planned in 2010 but operators would have to retrofit the plant with the new anti-pollution technology once it becomes available.
Any other new coal-fired power plants in Arkansas would have to have the new technology when they open.
Currently, sequestration is not in use at any commercial power plant in the country. But the new technology is among the many innovations being discussed nationally and worldwide to reverse global warming.
State Rep. Kathy Webb, who chairs the Governor's Commission on Global Warming, said the draft proposal was one of about 50 the group has analyzed over the last several months with the help of consultants. The panel expects to have its final recommendations in a report to Gov. Mike Beebe by Oct. 31. Legislators could consider the measures when they meet in regular session next year.
Webb, D-Little Rock, said the proposed ban has been among the most controversial of the draft recommendations.
Coal-fired power plants and automobiles are the leading producers of carbon dioxide, the chief culprit of global warming. They also are a primary generator of electricity in the U.S. and considered essential to economic growth.
Commission members from the energy industry Thursday voiced opposition to the proposed ban.
Gary Voight, chief executive of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, said scrapping plans for new plants would mean using "dirtier" inefficient plants that produce more pollution and fail to meet consumer demand.
He said a ban would effectively make it more difficult for utilities to produce electricity economically and free up more money to invest in energy-efficient technology. In addition, Voight said, the Arkansas Public Service Commission has already imposed conditions on Southwestern Electric Power Co. to address pollution at the planned 600-megawatt plant in Hempstead County.
"This is a bad plan. It's retroactive regulation," said Voight, whose cooperative plans partly own the SWEPCO plant. "The commission has already ruled that SWEPCO must evaluate all carbon sequestration and capture technologies as available in the future so this (proposal) is pointless. It's a waste of time, and we should all vote against it and get it off the table."
Other commissioners spoke of the seriousness of global warming and the need to take strong action.
"This is what Congress is talking about. This is what a lot, a lot of scientists are concerned about. New coal plants, we're talking about moratorium until sequestration," said Art Hobson, a physics professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Commissioner Kevin Smith, the former state senator from Stuttgart, said without a moratorium Arkansas could become "the new Pittsburgh -- not the Natural State." And commissioner Rob Fisher, executive director of The Ecological Conservation Organization, said the proposal was the most important recommendation the panel could make.
"If we don't pass this option, everything else we do is pointless," he said.
The commission endorsed the recommendation by a vote of 11-10.
Kacee Kirschvink, a spokeswoman for SWEPCO, said the Turk plant would be one of the cleanest coal plants in North America. She said it would use "ultra-supercritical" technology that requires less fuel and produces less carbon dioxide. In addition, she said, the plant could be retrofitted for newer technology once it becomes available.
"It would not be good public policy to change the rules now after much planning and investment has been done to meet the energy needs of SWEPCO's customers," she said.
Shreveport, La.-based SWEPCO wants to open the plant in 2012 and has begun site work, while awaiting an air-quality permit from state environmental regulators. SWEPCO is a part of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power Co.
David Byford, a spokesman for Plum Point developers Dynegy Inc., said the commission proposal was in the early stages and Dynegy might comment later after further study.
Web Watch:
Arkansas Governors Commission on Global Warming
www.arclimatechange.us
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Panel Tentatively Endorses Ban On New Plants
By Peggy Harris
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LITTLE ROCK -- An Arkansas commission studying ways to reduce global warming tentatively endorsed a ban Thursday on new coal-fired power plants, saying a proposed $1.5 billion facility in Hempstead County shouldn't open until at least 2020.
The preliminary proposal would allow the John W. Turk Jr. plant near Fulton to open eight years later than planned, when new "sequestration" technology presumably would be available to capture harmful carbon dioxide emissions and store them in the ground. The plant could open sooner if the technology becomes available.
Under the proposal, the $1.3 billion Plum Point plant being built near Osceola could open as planned in 2010 but operators would have to retrofit the plant with the new anti-pollution technology once it becomes available.
Any other new coal-fired power plants in Arkansas would have to have the new technology when they open.
Currently, sequestration is not in use at any commercial power plant in the country. But the new technology is among the many innovations being discussed nationally and worldwide to reverse global warming.
State Rep. Kathy Webb, who chairs the Governor's Commission on Global Warming, said the draft proposal was one of about 50 the group has analyzed over the last several months with the help of consultants. The panel expects to have its final recommendations in a report to Gov. Mike Beebe by Oct. 31. Legislators could consider the measures when they meet in regular session next year.
Webb, D-Little Rock, said the proposed ban has been among the most controversial of the draft recommendations.
Coal-fired power plants and automobiles are the leading producers of carbon dioxide, the chief culprit of global warming. They also are a primary generator of electricity in the U.S. and considered essential to economic growth.
Commission members from the energy industry Thursday voiced opposition to the proposed ban.
Gary Voight, chief executive of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, said scrapping plans for new plants would mean using "dirtier" inefficient plants that produce more pollution and fail to meet consumer demand.
He said a ban would effectively make it more difficult for utilities to produce electricity economically and free up more money to invest in energy-efficient technology. In addition, Voight said, the Arkansas Public Service Commission has already imposed conditions on Southwestern Electric Power Co. to address pollution at the planned 600-megawatt plant in Hempstead County.
"This is a bad plan. It's retroactive regulation," said Voight, whose cooperative plans partly own the SWEPCO plant. "The commission has already ruled that SWEPCO must evaluate all carbon sequestration and capture technologies as available in the future so this (proposal) is pointless. It's a waste of time, and we should all vote against it and get it off the table."
Other commissioners spoke of the seriousness of global warming and the need to take strong action.
"This is what Congress is talking about. This is what a lot, a lot of scientists are concerned about. New coal plants, we're talking about moratorium until sequestration," said Art Hobson, a physics professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Commissioner Kevin Smith, the former state senator from Stuttgart, said without a moratorium Arkansas could become "the new Pittsburgh -- not the Natural State." And commissioner Rob Fisher, executive director of The Ecological Conservation Organization, said the proposal was the most important recommendation the panel could make.
"If we don't pass this option, everything else we do is pointless," he said.
The commission endorsed the recommendation by a vote of 11-10.
Kacee Kirschvink, a spokeswoman for SWEPCO, said the Turk plant would be one of the cleanest coal plants in North America. She said it would use "ultra-supercritical" technology that requires less fuel and produces less carbon dioxide. In addition, she said, the plant could be retrofitted for newer technology once it becomes available.
"It would not be good public policy to change the rules now after much planning and investment has been done to meet the energy needs of SWEPCO's customers," she said.
Shreveport, La.-based SWEPCO wants to open the plant in 2012 and has begun site work, while awaiting an air-quality permit from state environmental regulators. SWEPCO is a part of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power Co.
David Byford, a spokesman for Plum Point developers Dynegy Inc., said the commission proposal was in the early stages and Dynegy might comment later after further study.
Web Watch:
Arkansas Governors Commission on Global Warming
www.arclimatechange.us
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Oil shale production threatens wildlife, human life
Help Stop a Grave New Threat to Wildlife, Public Lands and Water!
From: Dominique Burgunder-Johnson, National Wildlife Federation (alerts@nwf.org)
Sent: Fri 9/19/08 8:15 PM
Reply-to: Dominique Burgunder-Johnson, National Wildlife Federation (alerts@nwf.org)
Stop the Senate from Putting More Wildlife Habitat and
Natural Resources on the Chopping Block
Drilling for oil and natural gas, and mining for coal has already taken a dramatic toll on our country's public lands, wildlife habitat and natural resources.
Now, Congress is considering a proposal to develop a new dangerous energy source--oil shale-- for TWO MILLION acres of America's public lands!
Photo by Chris Evans, The Pembina Institute.
Oil shale extraction will yield impacts similiar to the syncrude oil sands mine in Alberta.
Please urge Congress to extend the moratorium on commercial oil shale development!
Oil shale production is 130% more carbon dioxide intensive than conventional drilling and gasoline production, which means it would continue to fuel global warming—the already single greatest threat to wildlife.
HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS AT STAKE:
OUR WATER: Oil shale production will require upwards of 315 million gallons of water a dayThis is scarce water we already need for drinking, agriculture, livestock and wildlife.
OUR WILDLIFE: Oil shale development would put at risk millions of acres of wildlife habitat, and continue to raise the harmful impacts of global warming pollution for wildlife and their habitats.
OUR WAY OF LIFE: Preserving America's public lands are an important part of our country's conservation tradition. Oil shale development threatens to dramatically change the face of some of our most treasured places.
Congress is moving in the wrong direction to break America's oil addiction.
Please ask your Members of Congress to be the difference that moves America's energy policies in a bold new direction.
Thanks so much for speaking up!
Sincerely,
Dominique Burgunder-Johnson
Online Grassroots Coordinator
National Wildlife Federation
alerts@nwf.org
Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
© 2008 National Wildlife Federation. All rights reserved.
11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston VA 20190 | 1-800-822-9919 | Contact us
From: Dominique Burgunder-Johnson, National Wildlife Federation (alerts@nwf.org)
Sent: Fri 9/19/08 8:15 PM
Reply-to: Dominique Burgunder-Johnson, National Wildlife Federation (alerts@nwf.org)
Stop the Senate from Putting More Wildlife Habitat and
Natural Resources on the Chopping Block
Drilling for oil and natural gas, and mining for coal has already taken a dramatic toll on our country's public lands, wildlife habitat and natural resources.
Now, Congress is considering a proposal to develop a new dangerous energy source--oil shale-- for TWO MILLION acres of America's public lands!
Photo by Chris Evans, The Pembina Institute.
Oil shale extraction will yield impacts similiar to the syncrude oil sands mine in Alberta.
Please urge Congress to extend the moratorium on commercial oil shale development!
Oil shale production is 130% more carbon dioxide intensive than conventional drilling and gasoline production, which means it would continue to fuel global warming—the already single greatest threat to wildlife.
HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS AT STAKE:
OUR WATER: Oil shale production will require upwards of 315 million gallons of water a dayThis is scarce water we already need for drinking, agriculture, livestock and wildlife.
OUR WILDLIFE: Oil shale development would put at risk millions of acres of wildlife habitat, and continue to raise the harmful impacts of global warming pollution for wildlife and their habitats.
OUR WAY OF LIFE: Preserving America's public lands are an important part of our country's conservation tradition. Oil shale development threatens to dramatically change the face of some of our most treasured places.
Congress is moving in the wrong direction to break America's oil addiction.
Please ask your Members of Congress to be the difference that moves America's energy policies in a bold new direction.
Thanks so much for speaking up!
Sincerely,
Dominique Burgunder-Johnson
Online Grassroots Coordinator
National Wildlife Federation
alerts@nwf.org
Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
© 2008 National Wildlife Federation. All rights reserved.
11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston VA 20190 | 1-800-822-9919 | Contact us
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Chance to testify against coal-fired power plant
Hello,
This is James with ECO. I want to thank you for your support with our grassroots campaign to stop the proposed coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County.
If you would like to learn more about this campaign or volunteer please contact me for more information as well as check out our website:
www.cleanairarkansas.org
Next Thursday September 18th at 6pm at the University of Arkansas Community College in Hope there will be a public hearing regarding SWEPCO’s air permit. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is reviewing the permit to determine if the plant meets the federal rules regarding mercury emissions.
This is a very important hearing and we need people to go down to Hope that evening to speak out against the plant. Even if you do not feel like speaking at the hearing just coming and holding a sign or wearing a NO COAL T-SHIRT will make a huge difference.
We have organized car pools so far in three cities across the state (Little Rock, Conway, and Fayetteville). Here are the contacts for each location if you are able to come or if you have family or friends in other parts of the state who would like to attend.
Little Rock: Conway: Fayetteville:
Departure Time: 2pm Departure Time: 2pm Departure Time: 11am
Joe Sundell Molly McGuire Maggie Bailey
501-416-4640 940-368-7183 479-225-8396
joesundell456@yahoo.com McGuireMF@hendrix.edu mtucker22@yahoo.com
We are planning a press event with all these groups as well as locals from Hempstead County at 5:30pm right before the hearing so it is essential that we get on the road on schedule.
Prior to the hearing we will be sending out talking points for those who are coming but if you are not able to join us you can send in your comments to ADEQ via email as well.
For more information about the status of the plant and the hearing please view this article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSN1547251720080815
Thanks for your support. Please contact us to find out how you can help with this important event!
James
burke@ecoconservation.org
www.ecoconservation.org
336-455-1065
501-372-7895
"All great questions must be raised by great
voices, and the greatest voice is the voice of
the people - speaking out - in prose, or painting
or poetry or music; speaking out - in homes and
halls, streets and farms, courts and cafes - let
that voice speak and the stillness you hear will
be the gratitude of mankind."
Robert F. Kennedy
This is James with ECO. I want to thank you for your support with our grassroots campaign to stop the proposed coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County.
If you would like to learn more about this campaign or volunteer please contact me for more information as well as check out our website:
www.cleanairarkansas.org
Next Thursday September 18th at 6pm at the University of Arkansas Community College in Hope there will be a public hearing regarding SWEPCO’s air permit. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is reviewing the permit to determine if the plant meets the federal rules regarding mercury emissions.
This is a very important hearing and we need people to go down to Hope that evening to speak out against the plant. Even if you do not feel like speaking at the hearing just coming and holding a sign or wearing a NO COAL T-SHIRT will make a huge difference.
We have organized car pools so far in three cities across the state (Little Rock, Conway, and Fayetteville). Here are the contacts for each location if you are able to come or if you have family or friends in other parts of the state who would like to attend.
Little Rock: Conway: Fayetteville:
Departure Time: 2pm Departure Time: 2pm Departure Time: 11am
Joe Sundell Molly McGuire Maggie Bailey
501-416-4640 940-368-7183 479-225-8396
joesundell456@yahoo.com McGuireMF@hendrix.edu mtucker22@yahoo.com
We are planning a press event with all these groups as well as locals from Hempstead County at 5:30pm right before the hearing so it is essential that we get on the road on schedule.
Prior to the hearing we will be sending out talking points for those who are coming but if you are not able to join us you can send in your comments to ADEQ via email as well.
For more information about the status of the plant and the hearing please view this article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSN1547251720080815
Thanks for your support. Please contact us to find out how you can help with this important event!
James
burke@ecoconservation.org
www.ecoconservation.org
336-455-1065
501-372-7895
"All great questions must be raised by great
voices, and the greatest voice is the voice of
the people - speaking out - in prose, or painting
or poetry or music; speaking out - in homes and
halls, streets and farms, courts and cafes - let
that voice speak and the stillness you hear will
be the gratitude of mankind."
Robert F. Kennedy
Friday, September 5, 2008
EPA stops the destruction of wetland in the Yazoo River watershed of Mississippi
September 5, 2008
Outdoorsmen and environmentalists win a major battle. Now, how about some help with the equally bad project in Arkansas that would pump water from the lower White River basin to farms on the Grand Prairie. The late Wayne Hampton of Stuttgart, a former legislator, highway commissioner and Game and Fish Commissoner and a farmer who protected the environment by "keeping the water where it fell" and storing it for irrigation and to flood the hardwoods for waterfowl in tanks or ponds on his own 4,000-acre farm near Lodge Corner. He fought hard all the way to congress to stop that project and another environmentally destructive navigation lock and dam where the White River enters the Mississippi on the north side of Big Island.
For more on the Yazoo drainage project, please see http://www.americanrivers.org
Wayne would have applauded this victory for the wild things and I hope it is now dropped from all planning.
Dear Aubrey,
I am thrilled to report that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Clean Water Act veto for the Yazoo Pumps, putting an end to this outrageously destructive project once and for all. This historic victory would not have been possible without your help in speaking out against this project.
I hope you will help us again and thank the EPA for its historic and environmentally responsible decision.
The EPA’s decision is a victory for clean water, natural flood protection and taxpayers and it proves that the actions of individuals like you make a difference. The EPA received more than 47,600 emails and comments and more than 99.9 percent urged the EPA to stop the Yazoo Pumps. This outpouring of public support was critical in the face of the tremendous pressure placed on the EPA to approve this wasteful project.
The Yazoo Pumps would have used $220 million of your federal tax dollars to drain and damage up to 200,000 acres of some of the richest wetlands in the nation, an area larger than all 5 boroughs of New York City, that have the capacity to store roughly 200 billion gallons of floodwaters.
Eliminating this free natural flood protection would have been unconscionable, especially when we know that climate change is causing more frequent and intense storms and floods.
Please let the EPA know that you support their decision and appreciate their leadership in protecting these wetlands.
Sincerely,
Rebecca R. Wodder
President
To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org.
To update your profile or change your preferences click here.
To unsubscribe click here.
American Rivers ©2008
Outdoorsmen and environmentalists win a major battle. Now, how about some help with the equally bad project in Arkansas that would pump water from the lower White River basin to farms on the Grand Prairie. The late Wayne Hampton of Stuttgart, a former legislator, highway commissioner and Game and Fish Commissoner and a farmer who protected the environment by "keeping the water where it fell" and storing it for irrigation and to flood the hardwoods for waterfowl in tanks or ponds on his own 4,000-acre farm near Lodge Corner. He fought hard all the way to congress to stop that project and another environmentally destructive navigation lock and dam where the White River enters the Mississippi on the north side of Big Island.
For more on the Yazoo drainage project, please see http://www.americanrivers.org
Wayne would have applauded this victory for the wild things and I hope it is now dropped from all planning.
Dear Aubrey,
I am thrilled to report that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Clean Water Act veto for the Yazoo Pumps, putting an end to this outrageously destructive project once and for all. This historic victory would not have been possible without your help in speaking out against this project.
I hope you will help us again and thank the EPA for its historic and environmentally responsible decision.
The EPA’s decision is a victory for clean water, natural flood protection and taxpayers and it proves that the actions of individuals like you make a difference. The EPA received more than 47,600 emails and comments and more than 99.9 percent urged the EPA to stop the Yazoo Pumps. This outpouring of public support was critical in the face of the tremendous pressure placed on the EPA to approve this wasteful project.
The Yazoo Pumps would have used $220 million of your federal tax dollars to drain and damage up to 200,000 acres of some of the richest wetlands in the nation, an area larger than all 5 boroughs of New York City, that have the capacity to store roughly 200 billion gallons of floodwaters.
Eliminating this free natural flood protection would have been unconscionable, especially when we know that climate change is causing more frequent and intense storms and floods.
Please let the EPA know that you support their decision and appreciate their leadership in protecting these wetlands.
Sincerely,
Rebecca R. Wodder
President
To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org.
To update your profile or change your preferences click here.
To unsubscribe click here.
American Rivers ©2008
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