NEWS ROUNDUP

UN issues desertification warning Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a report says. The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times". If action is not taken, the report warns that some 50 million people could be displaced within the next 10 years. The study was produced by more than 200 experts from 25 countries. This report does not pull any punches, says BBC environment reporter Matt McGrath. One third of the Earth's population - home to about two billion people - are potential victims of its creeping effect, it says....
House Democrats at Odds Over Energy Bill Provisions Just before the July 4 deadline she set for coming up with an "energy independence" package of legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to pull together the pieces of an energy bill from 10 committees and warring Democratic leaders. As committees raced to wrap up bills yesterday before Monday's recess, the Democratic strategy remained unclear. The energy bill under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, for example, omitted any mention of vehicle fuel efficiency standards or mandates for massive biofuels production, major elements of the Senate bill adopted last week. That will make negotiating a final bill with the Senate tricky. Furthermore, Democratic leaders said yesterday that they would push for a climate change bill later this year, raising further uncertainty about what items would be added to an energy bill now and which ones might be left for the climate change bill....
Corn Ethanol Mandates Don't Make Sense No better example of nonsensical energy policy is the federal indulgence with corn ethanol fuel, a heavily subsidized product that is a net loser for the economy, the environment, and for our energy security. In 2005, in the name of “energy independence,” Congress and President Bush mandated a doubling of the national use of ethanol as an additive in gasoline, specifically requiring the consumption of 8 billion gallons of ethanol in the U.S. by 2012. Ethanol production also receives a federal tax credit of 51 cents per gallon, which will expand with the new mandate, costing U.S. taxpayers over $4 billion a year by 2012. Several Midwestern states offer similar state subsidies for ethanol production. Thanks to protectionist barriers and other restrictions, the U.S. will meet the expanded mandate through the inefficient milling of domestic corn into ethanol. The result is a massive new subsidy for corn growers—who already receive generous cash subsidies and other benefits from the traditional USDA corn commodity program, which paid corn growers $51.3 billion in the period from 1995-2005. Yet, in spite of this extraordinary federal support, the planting, harvesting, milling, refining, and transporting of corn-based ethanol consumes more energy inputs than the final energy value of a gallon of ethanol. Cornell professor David Pimentel and his colleagues found that converting corn to ethanol consumes 29 percent more fossil energy than is produced. Put another way, because corn ethanol is a net energy loser, America is probably using more traditional fossil fuels because of the ethanol mandate than we would without any mandate at all....
Regulating to Infinity and Beyond Gridlock over climate-change policy has dominated the headlines for the last few years, but workaday environmental regulation has continued steamrolling along, mostly under the radar. That changed last week when the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new federal standard for ozone air pollution — one that will turn most of the nation into a Clean Air Act “non-attainment” area, in many cases permanently. The Clean Air Act already pervades Americans’ work and personal lives in ways both obvious and subtle. But the current system will seem a libertarian paradise compared to the brave new world we’re about to enter. The EPA’s new standard will greatly increase regulatory burdens in areas that already violate the ozone standard, and will expand the Byzantine Clean Air Act planning system into large areas of the country that have never been subject to them. Due to relatively low ozone levels during the last few years, only 19 percent of the nation’s metropolitan areas violate EPA’s current eight-hour ozone standard of 85 parts per billion, down from 40 percent just a few years ago. Non-metropolitan counties — those that include only rural areas or smaller cities — are in even better shape, with only a four-percent violation rate. Absent a tougher standard, this would have meant that many areas would shortly be getting out from under some of the Clean Air Act’s most odious requirements. With the new standard, however, non-attainment will become the norm, rather than the exception. EPA is proposing a standard somewhere in the range of 70–75 ppb. Based on current ozone levels, this would put 67–87 percent of metropolitan areas in violation, and 39–72 percent of non-metropolitan counties. In a press conference this morning, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson stressed repeatedly that the science demonstrates the need for a tougher ozone standard to protect public health. But if anything, what has become clear over the last several years is that ozone at current levels is having, at worst, a miniscule effect on Americans’ health and that the current standard provides safe air with plenty of room to spare. Estimates by EPA’s own scientists indicate that going from current ozone levels to full national attainment of the proposed 70 ppb standard would reduce hospital visits for asthma and other respiratory diseases by only a few tenths of a percent. You won’t find this tiny benefit explicitly mentioned or calculated in any government reports, but you can calculate it from the data they do provide....
Violent crime rare on public land National parks and forests in Colorado are generally safe, with few violent crimes occurring there, according to local sheriff offices. "We have a lot of trespass, illegal campfires, transients, illegal camping, minor vandalism," said Lt. Phil West of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, referring to crimes committed on public lands. "The most significant events we are involved in are rescues of lost skiers, fallen climbers, and so forth. It (violent crime) is not a major issue." The slaying of a Colorado Geological Survey intern in a remote part of San Isabel National Forest on Tuesday was considered unusual....
Reckless off-roaders called scourge A new group of retired land managers and forest rangers said Thursday that reckless off-road vehicle recreation was the No. 1 threat to public lands in the West. The 13-member Rangers for Responsible Recreation said it was voicing the concerns of many federal land management employees in the West, including in California, who report that an increasing number of riders and the growing power of the vehicles are endangering natural resources and public safety. Spokesmen for the group were participating in a teleconference from Tucson that was arranged by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. PEER, which describes itself as an "alliance of local, state and federal resource professionals," helped found the new organization. Damage from off-road vehicles is worst when riders leave designated routes and head into sensitive areas such as fragile desert and riparian zones, members of the new group said. Jim Baca, who headed the Bureau of Land Management under President Clinton, said the cumulative effect was serious for watersheds....
Groups urge Lincoln not be sprayed Two groups are seeking to block a proposal to spray sections of the Lincoln National Forest. In a news release issued Thursday, the Forest Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity said they have requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant emergency federal protection to the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly on Thursday. The Forest Service announced earlier this week that it will go ahead with plans to spray the forest in an effort to eliminate the threat posed by two insects that are destroying and damaging trees. Forest Service officials said Monday that a bacterial agent will be used, but won't be sprayed until the checkerspot butterfly begins hibernating. This is expected to occur some time in October or November. The insects have affected several thousand acres in the Lincoln. Cloudcroft residents have already begun to spray, and the Forest Service intends to remove dead trees from areas around Cloudcroft. According to the news release, "ongoing insecticide spraying in the village of Cloudcroft and proposed spraying on adjacent Lincoln National Forest land prompted the request" from the two groups....
Flat country complicated fire response Sometimes, in flat country, a fire can be a hard thing to find. That's the story that emerged regarding the early hours of the Madison Arm fire two miles north of here, a blaze now charted at more than 3,000 acres. The flames were first reported to West Yellowstone police and U.S. Forest Service dispatch centers about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, police and forest service officials said Thursday in a public meeting and in interviews. It wasn't until about 4 p.m. that a tanker plane dumped its first load of retardant on the blaze, and that frustrated some local residents here. “Man, did it have to get to 3,000 acres in less than 24 hours?” one man asked at the public meeting here. The fire got its start - probably from human activity, according to fire management officer Fred Jones - in a broad expanse of flat ground south of the Madison Arm of Hebgen Lake and west of this town's airport. Firefighters responded immediately, District Ranger Fred Queen said, but they had a hard time pinpointing the flames in the flat terrain, which is covered with lodgepole pines and regenerating clearcuts and is crisscrossed with abandoned logging roads....
No Permit for Rainbow Family Event The U.S. Forest Service said it won't require members of the Rainbow Family to get a permit for their annual gathering in a national forest, and have worked with members to come up with a plan to protect the forest. The mix of eccentrics, young people and hippie types from around the country has been meeting for decades each year in a national forest somewhere in the U.S. to pray for peace and to celebrate love. About 3,000 people had arrived in the Ozark National Forest in northwest Arkansas for the July 1-7 gathering as of Thursday, Newton County Sheriff Keith Slape said. Instead of requiring a permit for the group to use the land, a team drafted a plan that includes requirements on distances between campsites and water sources, as well as sensitive areas to avoid. Rainbow Family members say they have a constitutional right to assemble where they choose without a permit, but the Forest Service requires a federal permit for any gathering of more than 74 people. "The Rainbow Family is making an effort to comply with our Forest Service regulations and trying not to make an impact on the land," said Denise Ottaviano, an information officer with the agency team. "For the most part, they are complying and there's not too much confrontation."....Got to wonder if 3,000 ranchers were to gather and pray that commonsense would overtake the Federal land managers, do you think they would require a permit?
Tree thinning policy criticized in wake of fire Less than 48 hours after he soaked himself with a garden hose and ran around the neighborhood stomping out "raining, flaming golf balls," Ricky Kirkhuff sounded the angry chorus that is echoing in the Tahoe Basin. Kirkuff and others say a powerful, first-of-its-kind regulatory agency made the Angora fire's devastation worse by discouraging property owners for years from thinning the forest around their homes. The ire directed at Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is palpable and at least partly the result of decades of pent-up frustration over all sorts of regulations here. "It's legislation without representation. This is what the Boston Tea Party was all about," said Kirkuff. With estimates so far that more than 200 homes and 75 businesses worth $141 million were destroyed in the fire, the criticism has stung the TRPA badly. The agency, which was formed in 1969 to slow or halt growth in a rapidly developing but environmentally sensitive basin, says its policies have been misunderstood....
Governor won't discuss tree removal restrictions Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the Angora fire destruction just south of Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, lauding fire crews while dodging a fuming controversy over how tough regional clamps on tree removal and forest thinning may have worsened the blaze. Schwarzenegger, just back from a three-day trip to Europe, was briefed by fire officials at the base of Heavenly Mountain Resort before touring some of the 2,229 destroyed homes in the Tahoe Mountain area. He was joined by Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and other elected officials from both sides of the state line to hear about the fire, which so far has burned 3,100 acres and brought more than $140 million in estimated loss to structures alone. He encouraged visits to Lake Tahoe during the heart of the summer season, saying fire officials assured him it was safe. But he ducked questions about whether the fire showed that changes were needed to tough homeowner restrictions on tree cutting, as well as an environmental collar on forest thinning -- policies designed to protect the clarity of Lake Tahoe....
ERC partners with Forest Service to help reduce dog waste on trails Ketchum will start the “Poop, Scoop, Bag and Boogie” outreach campaign. Dog poop on all trails in the Wood River Valley has gotten to the point where hiking the trails is a hazard for people, other pets and the quality of the environment. The Ketchum Ranger District and Environmental Resource Center (ERC) are hoping to build awareness of this situation through ‘Poop, Scoop, Bag, and Boogie’ public outreach notices, media and one on one with trail users. ‘Poop, Scoop, Bag and Boogie’ aims to turn over a new leaf in regards to dog waste in the valley. This new leaf will be one in which dog owners are asked to deposit one full poop bag at the trailhead as they and their dog’s ‘trail pass’. The Forest Service warns that this is a trial period and if improvement is not seen in the amount of poop on the ground, they may have to look at removing dogs from trails as National Forests in California and Utah have already had to do....I'm surprised they didn't blame the increase in dog poop on global warming.
Farm Bill’s Funding Squeeze Could Mean Long-Term Trouble for Democrats The farm bill’s funding squeeze has divided the typically bipartisan House Agriculture Committee and is threatening to drive a wedge through the Democratic Caucus. Party leaders are concerned the money crunch will incite an intraparty squabble on the House floor because the bill is not likely to satisfy many Democrats outside of the Agriculture panel, aides say. Many of those lawmakers say their top priorities are land conservation, nutrition, energy and rural development — accounts for which there is little extra money in the current version of the bill. The legislation, as approved by all six Agriculture subcommittees, would simply extend current farm subsidies instead of trimming those programs — as many Democrats had hoped — to pay for new priorities. “It will all depend on whether people on the Agriculture Committee can listen to and accommodate the call for reform,” said Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., on whether there will be a floor fight. “If they don’t, there’s a strong likelihood they will lose control of their bill.” Funding challenges have been the theme of this year’s farm bill debate. Crop prices have remained high since the last farm bill was written in 2002 (PL 107-171), so the Congressional Budget Office gave lawmakers a tight funding baseline to work with this year — about $226 billion total. Democratic leaders will allow the panel to spend $20 billion more than that as long as offsets are found....
Elida, a small town in eastern New Mexico, celebrates 100 years Leaning against a pickup truck in front of the Old Methodist Church building, the man in the wide-brimmed cowboy hat watched a kid spinning a lariat. When a stranger drove past, Cowboy Hat waved and grinned as if he were greeting a lifelong pal. Over on North Church Street, near the schools complex, two pickups idled as the drivers visited. It was near supper time in Elida, a Roosevelt County ranching and farming town that celebrates the 100th anniversary of its incorporation on July 1. Back in the early 1900s, Elida was a thumping town with two banks, a couple of hotels, several bars, two newspapers and a doctor's office. Homesteaders started settling the Elida area several years before the town was incorporated. Lela Jo "Red" Halliday's father's family came from Texas in a covered wagon in 1904 when her dad, J. Embry Wall, was 2. Her mother's family traveled by train from Oklahoma in 1905, the year before her mom, Doris Blanch Tuscha, was born. Halliday, 68, and her late husband, Bill, once operated a rodeo stock business. She now owns and operates the family ranch northwest of Elida and has served the last couple of years as chairwoman of Elida's centennial celebration. On july 1, Elida marks 100 years of being here with tours, art and car exhibits, a vintage fashion show, games for kids, and barbecue brisket on the town square....
Oklahoma Kid hits Hulbert Since the late 1800s, wild west shows have captivated audiences across the U.S. and Europe, and trick roping has been a part of the action since the beginning. In years past, being handy with a rope was a necessary skill for many American cowboys and ranchers to have. It is likely that, at some point, a few of these cowboys wanted to show off their mastery of the lasso to their buddies. Eventually, what began as a simple pastime developed into a source of entertainment, and even competition, for turn-of-the-century Americans across the country. On a wet Wednesday in Hulbert, many kids and adults were able to catch a glimpse of this increasingly rare art form when Marty Tipton, aka the Oklahoma Kid, rode into town....