WUI in the News
Here you can find current news articles about wildland-urban interface issues in the U.S. and abroad. Please note that while Interface South maintains news archives for reference, the links may no longer be active. You may need to contact the source or host website for more information.
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Oct 2004 contains 67 News Articles.
Spreading wealth: A canopy of green
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 30 Oct 2004
This was the spirit that a tiny band of urban planners had hoped to kindle as they began what will eventually be dozens of plantings in older communities. Trees do a lot of good besides giving pleasure to the senses.
Warming Trend in Arctic Is Linked to Emissions
New York Times, NY - 29 Oct 2004
A comprehensive four-year study of warming in the Arctic shows that heat-trapping gases from tailpipes and smokestacks around the world are contributing to profound environmental changes, including sharp retreats of glaciers and sea ice, thawing of permafrost and shifts in the weather, the oceans and the atmosphere.
Study Finds Sustainability a 'High Priority' for Employees
GreenBiz.com - 29 Oct 2004
Through this survey of over 675 office workers in the United States, Steelcase, a global office environments manufacturer whose offerings help individuals to work more effectively and organizations to use space more efficiently, revealed that issues surrounding environmental sustainability are of great importance to workers and companies alike. However, the study also found a conflict of thought: the incentive motivating companies into action is the same barrier keeping them from doing so.
Lower speeds could reduce air pollution
Bristol Herald Courier & Virginia Tennessean, TN - 29 Oct 2004
Local officials across the state are asking for lower speed limits for trucks. Some also want laws to confine trucks to the right lanes. They say the changes would fight air pollution.
California Waste Board Launches Green Hotels Program
GreenBiz.com - 28 Oct 2004
Next time you take a trip for business or leisure, think about more than whether or not your hotel has a workout room and a breakfast buffet; choose a lodging that puts a priority on taking good care of you and the environment. That’s the message of a new California Integrated Waste Management Board initiative designed to encourage travelers to stay at “green hotels” -- hospitality establishments that save energy, water, and resources, and divert waste from landfill disposal through environmentally friendly business practices.
Now, invasive species stream in online
Christian Science Monitor - 28 Oct 2004
Indeed, online sales of such noxious weeds - some of them illegal - have flourished so much in the past few years that the federal government is preparing a high-tech crackdown.
A greenhouse gas goes underground
Christian Science Monitor - 28 Oct 2004
It may seem like sweeping the problem under the rug. But at a partially depleted oil reservoir in the flatlands of southeastern Saskatchewan, Canadian researchers have found a cheap solution to global warming: burial. By injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into the underground oil field, the researchers are not only cutting emissions of the greenhouse gas, they're also boosting oil production. The extra oil generates enough revenue to substantially offset the cost of burying the CO2.
Forest Service Announces National Strategy to Combat Invasive Species
USDA Forest Service News Release - 28 Oct 2004
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service today unveiled a national strategy to prevent and control the threat of invasive species and non-native plants in the United States. This action is part of the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative to restore forest and rangeland health and protect communities from wildland fire and supports the President’s Executive Order promoting cooperative conservation.
New Report Documents Profitable Corporate Actions To Slow Global Warming
GreenBiz.com - 27 Oct 2004
A new report from the World Resources Institute highlights corporate actions to slow global warming at today's Consolidated Edison's Environmental Excellence Forum. Today's event marked the release of WRI's findings -- featuring case studies from 9 companies.
Calif. offers climate credit to protect trees
MSNBC - 25 Oct 2004
California has become the first state to reward landowners for leaving forests standing to help control global warming, under a program adopted last week by the California Climate Action Registry.
Demand rising for hybrids as gas prices soar
San Mateo Daily Journal, CA - 25 Oct 2004
As gas prices climb closer to the $3 a gallon mark, some drivers are turning to hybrid vehicles to save money.
Gone fishin': Scientists plan to discuss state of streams
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA - 25 Oct 2004
Studies have shown that only about 50 percent of Virginia's mountain streams support native trout, down from about 80 percent before the start of the Industrial Age in the mid-1800s. The streams are expected to continue to decline. Virginia scientists and officials will gather next Saturday at the University of Virginia to focus on the problem and seek solutions.
Landfill oozes toxic mess
The Oregonian, OR - 25 Oct 2004
A decade after the Santosh Landfill was covered in dirt, a dark, tarry substance began oozing from the ground. Santosh is like thousands of closed landfills across Oregon and the nation. Now considered major pollution problems, they were built in the days before plastic liners and liquid collection systems, in soils that sometimes allowed water to run right through.
Drugs in water may harm aquatic life
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TX - 25 Oct 2004
Baylor University researchers continue to find evidence that prescription drugs found in waterways may alter the behavioral and sexual characteristics of fish, clams and other aquatic life.
Beach brouhaha: As coastlines erode, who pays for new sand?
Christian Science Monitor - 25 Oct 2004
Today Kure Beach and hundreds of other coastal communities from the Jersey Shore to the tip of Florida are at the center of a renewed debate: Should US taxpayers in Kansas and Idaho be paying to safeguard coastal residents from the ocean's will - or should beach towns have to shovel the sand themselves?
Smart buildings save energy
CBS.com - 25 Oct 2004
Structures use sunlight, sea water to save energy. Buildings are getting smarter -- and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.
Life-giving dead wood 'at risk'
BBC News, United Kingdom - 25 Oct 2004
Many forest species are in deep trouble because of the removal of the dead and dying trees they need, campaigners say.
BT Secures World's Biggest Green Energy Deal
GreenBiz.com - 25 Oct 2004
The world's largest green energy contract has been announced by BT in a move that was welcomed by Government and described by nonprofit organization the Climate Group as "globally significant." Negotiated with npower and British Gas, the three-year contract, worth several hundred million pounds, will see almost all BT's electricity needs supplied by environmentally friendly energy.
Antibiotics Used For Growth In Food Animals Making Their Way Into Waterways
Science Daily - 25 Oct 2004
A Colorado State University study is the first to show that antibiotic drugs used specifically for enhancing growth, preventing diseases and increasing feed efficiency in food animals, such as cattle, are making their way into public waterways.
Veneman Announces the Availability of Nearly $500 Million in Disaster Assistance to Restore Farmland, Forests
USDA News Release - 25 Oct 2004
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced the availability of nearly $500 million in disaster assistance to restore farmland and forests. The funds are part of the $13 billion hurricane relief package signed by President Bush on Oct. 13, 2004.
Drought forcing some farmers to try new methods
USA Today - 24 Oct 2004
A drought that has lasted more than five years and increasing water demand from growing metropolitan areas are forcing farmers in the West and Midwest into trying new farming methods that use less water, such as no-till.
Study: If we build it, they will walk
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA - 24 Oct 2004
A new Georgia Tech study indicates to no one's surprise — that compact, smart-growth development would reduce car trips and improve air quality. The study further validates the push by metro Atlanta planners to encourage mixed-use development near transportation hubs as a way to solve the region's air quality woes. The analysis uses data from the land-use and travel behavior study of metro Atlanta called SMARTRAQ.
Florida birds in decline
Gainesville Sun, FL - 22 Oct 2004
In its first accounting of the health and abundance of North America's birds, a national conservation group has concluded that nearly 30 percent of the country's avian species, many of which reside in Florida, are in significant decline.
Moscow lauded for ratifying Kyoto
BBC News, United Kingdom - 22 Oct 2004
Environmentalists have hailed the Russian parliament's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change as a huge step forward.
Exotic frog invades Georgia
CNN.com - 21 Oct 2004
The exotic amphibian invaded the Florida Keys nearly 80 years ago and slowly spread throughout the state, devouring native frogs and insects in its path. But Butler's catch marks the first time the species has been documented in Georgia.
The 'Green' Side Of Pumpkins — Purging Pollution From Contaminated Soils
Science Daily - 20 Oct 2004
While parents and youngsters are busy carving jack-o-lanterns in preparation for Halloween, Canadian scientists are hard at work on another way to use the popular yellow-orange plant. New research shows that pumpkins can clean up soil contaminated with DDT and other pollutants.
Globetrotting Pollutants Turn Up On Toronto Street
Science Daily - 20 Oct 2004
Researchers at the University of Toronto have detected migratory pollutants from a forest fire in Quebec and even particles from a sandstorm in the Sahara in Toronto air, findings that could someday give regulatory agencies an idea of who is contributing to the pollutants found in urban air.
FedEx to Build California's Largest Corporate Solar Power System
GreenBiz.com - 19 Oct 2004
FedEx Corporation and the City of Oakland have announced that FedEx Express will construct California's largest corporate solar electric system atop its hub at Oakland International Airport. The 904-kilowatt solar array will provide approximately 80% of the peak load demand for the company's Oakland facility, which employs 1,700 people. Completion is expected in May 2005.
Nuts for Chestnut Trees
Christian Science Monitor - 19 Oct 2004
The Eastern woodlands lost a mainstay of its ecology and beauty a century ago when the American chestnut tree became nearly extinct from an Asian blight. But last week, the US Forest Service signed a deal to reintroduce a blight-resistant species that's being bred by the nonprofit American Chestnut Foundation.
Standoff in Congress Blocks Action on Environmental Bills
Washington Post, DC - 18 Oct 2004
For another year, the confluence of partisan tensions, ideological differences, regional conflicts and interest group politics has blocked action on key environmental legislation including reducing air pollution and protecting endangered species, according to lawmakers, advocates and academics.
Gulf may see change due to runoff in hurricanes' wake
Naples Daily News, FL - 18 Oct 2004
Stormwater pollution that has degraded Gulf of Mexico waters for decades flowed to Florida's shoreline this summer like it rarely has as four major hurricanes dumped several feet of rain and churned up sediments in lakes, rivers and streams.
A fertile debate in Thrall
Austin American-Statesman - 18 Oct 2004
Some residents raise a stink over proposal to treat farmland with sewage sludge. Most people don't want to think about what happens after they flush the toilet. The pipes and vats that keep raw sewage out of their homes are underground, out of sight. But the 110 million gallons of raw sewage produced by the City of Austin every day has to go somewhere.
Anglers hooked on NYC
New York Times, NY - 18 Oct 2004
For many years, New York City's rivers were so polluted that the state warned people against eating local fish. But three decades after the 1972 Clean Water Act, conditions have improved dramatically in the East and Hudson Rivers, and now most people - except children and women of childbearing age - can eat New York-area fish about once a week. State limits on catches also have helped fish thrive.
Frogs on the verge of extinction
Baltimore Sun, MD - 18 Oct 2004
They predate the dinosaurs, but they appear to be nearing the same fate: Amphibians, which include frogs, toads and salamanders, are declining worldwide in alarming numbers.There could be many reasons: climate change, habitat loss, man-made pollutants, and recently discovered diseases. But researchers acknowledge that they have no clear answers as to why so many extinctions are occurring worldwide - and at such alarming rates.
Hold the phone - or it will pollute the planet
New Zealand Herarld, New Zealand - 18 Oct 2004
An international convention in Geneva will try to tackle the latest toxic waste crisis - mobile phones. The phones - a billion are in use around the world - are packed with chemicals and metals that can endanger people and the environment once they are thrown away.
Watershed residents peeved by plan
Poughkeepsie Journal, NY - 18 Oct 2004
If you want to hike or hunt on New York City's upstate watershed property, you need an access permit. The recreation rules have been enforced for years. But now that New York City is close to formalizing those regulations, complaints from people living among the mountains and farms of the city's upstate watershed are coming to a head.
Biologists Concerned About Bobwhite Quail
Times Daily, AL - 18 Oct 2004
The bobwhite quail, which is disappearing in the Southeast, can make a comeback and add millions of dollars to the rural economy if landowners are willing to make changes in the way they manage their crops and timber to protect the birds' habitat, biologists say.
Trees often at heart of pithy disputes between neighbors
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 18 Oct 2004
One person's nuisance, of course, is another's mighty oak, and the emotions run high on both sides.
'Out of whack' forests require year-round work to avoid wildfire
Durango Herald, CO - 17 Oct 2004
Snow dusts the San Juan Mountains, hunting season is in full swing, and fire season is over with hardly a whimper. So why are there 18 thinning projects and prescribed burns either planned or under way - right now - in the forests surrounding Pagosa Springs, Durango and Dolores, covering some 5,000 acres?
Imported timber, exported future
The Oregonian, OR - 17 Oct 2004
Almost two-thirds of America's forests are in private ownership. About 80 percent of Oregon's timber harvest now comes from these valuable private lands. But with all the cheap foreign wood competition, what if private owners can't make a profit from their timber? What if they're forced to convert their land to farms, vacation villas or vineyards? Or even sell to investors keen on a quick profit? That's already happening.
Forest service chief wants limits on ATVs
Lexington Herald-Leader, KY - 16 Oct 2004
Dale Bosworth said that unmanaged recreation, including unchecked use of all-terrain vehicles, is one of four threats to national forests. He said the other threats include dangerous buildups of woody materials which can fuel large fires; invasive species, from tree-killing insects to invading plants; and loss of open-space buffer zones next to national forests.
Great White Sharks, Others Win Global Protection
National Geographic News - 15 Oct 2004
Big fish loomed large at the 13th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which closed this week in Bangkok, Thailand. The annual global wildlife summit, which agreed to new controls to prevent illegal trafficking in endangered species, paid special attention this year to marine fish and commercially prized trees.
Indiana University, EPA To Study Airborne PCBs
Science Daily - 13 Oct 2004
The elevated PCB levels in U.S. lakes and rivers that led to hundreds of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fish consumption advisories in 2003 may be the result of not only the toxin's persistence underground but also its diffusion through the air.
Market tries to bring agri-tourism to Clayton
Henry Herald, GA - 12 Oct 2004
An assembly of state and local government representatives cut the ribbon on the Georgia Grown Visitors Center at the State Farmer's Market in Forest Park Friday to showcase the facility's opportunity to increase agri-tourism in Clayton County.
Lake O left bruised and muddied by Jeanne's blow
Palm Beach Post, FL - 12 Oct 2004
Two weeks after the storm, on a recent Thursday, Gornak is getting his first full dose of the damage. He doesn't like what he sees. About half of the bulrushes in the Kings Bar area are gone.
High-mileage hybrids change driving environment
Sacramento Bee, CA - 12 Oct 2004
California led the country with 11,425 new hybrid registrations in 2003. Second was Virginia - with 3,376 - the first state to allow hybrids in car-pool lanes with only one occupant, rather than the two or three required for other vehicles.
Firm pays premium to be on green fringe
Toronto Globe and Mail, Canada - 12 Oct 2004
There was a price to pay for staying downtown, and for incorporating a number of "green building" bells and whistles. SAS Canada president Carl Farrell says the company could have bought a conventional, comparable-sized building for about half the $30-million it is spending on acquiring the parking lot site at King Street East and Ontario Street, construction and incorporation of highly specialized energy-efficiency features and indoor-air-quality systems.
Hospital project may be one of the greenest
Boston Globe, MA - 12 Oct 2004
The $315 million expansion proposed at Brigham and Women's Hospital will not only be the hospital's biggest construction project in decades, it could also be one of the most environmentally-friendly medical facilities in the country. Brigham and Women's administrators say they are applying to the US Green Building Council to become only the second US hospital to win the private group's environmental seal of approval.
Study: States too underfunded to prevent water pollution
San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA - 12 Oct 2004
More than 30 years after passage of the federal Clean Water Act, many states lack the money to provide enough regulation, according to a study released Monday.
World's pollution hotspots revealed from space
New Scientist, United Kingdom - 12 Oct 2004
A global map of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere has revealed the most precise view yet of pollution hotspots around the world. The map, based on 18 months’ worth of satellite data, shows very high levels of NO2 above major European and North American cities and across much of north-east China. South-east Asia and Africa also have raised concentrations of the gas due to their burning of vegetation.
Mazes bring families to farms, greenbacks to farmers
CNN.com - 11 Oct 2004
This time of year, farms around the country advertise hayrides, pumpkin- and apple-picking, and mazes made from corn grown as high as an elephant's eye.
Swamp revives amid ashes
Tallahassee Democrat, FL - 11 Oct 2004
Three years after the swamp burned, state and federal officials are helping heal the landscape. They say the dangerous fire also has been a force for ecological restoration in a publicly owned section of the swamp.
Wine Industry Uncorks First Sustainability Report
GreenBiz.com - 11 Oct 2004
http://www.wineinstitute.org/communications/Executive%20Summary.pdf
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance has presented its first report measuring the level of sustainable practices among vintners and growers on a statewide basis. The report is the first time an entire industry sector has used a common assessment tool to document the adoption of sustainable practices among its members and reported the results publicly.
Policing wildlife cheaters no easy task
CNN.com - 11 Oct 2004
Faced with the daunting task of protecting wildlife across the remote reaches of the West, game wardens are using professional savvy, a gift of gab and a bit of technology to snare big game cheaters who commit fraud and even identity theft to illegally obtain coveted wildlife licenses.
Urban and Suburban Residents Dogged by Coyote Problems
AgNews, TX - 8 Oct 2004
Which came first: the coyote or the subdivision? For centuries, coyotes have been venturing onto Texas farms and ranches in search of food. But from time to time the search takes them into otherwise quiet urban or suburban neighborhoods where they may cause damage, injure or kill pets, and alarm residents.
Shaw and Siemens Launch First U.S. Waste Carpet-to-Energy Project
GreenBiz.com - 8 Oct 2004
Customers of Shaw Industries, as well as citizens of Dalton, Ga., will soon benefit from the nation's first waste carpet-to-energy project. Shaw Industries and Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., have developed a process for converting carpet and wood manufacturing waste into steam energy and, as a result, will lower plant emissions, greatly reduce the amount of post-manufacturing carpet waste in landfills, and save Shaw's Dalton plant up to $2.5 million per year.
Deer are Mississippi's newest urban neighbors
Monterey Herald, CA - 8 Oct 2004
Contact with wildlife is a common occurrence in the metro area and other towns throughout Mississippi, a state that has almost as many deer - biologists estimate around 2 million, and increasing - as it does humans. With deer hunting season here, Mississippians can expect more such encounters as hunting pressure often forces deer from the woods and into our lives.
Pollution, heart disease link to be forum's focus
Courier-Journal, KY - 7 Oct 2004
Some of the nation's leading researchers exploring the relationship between air pollution and heart disease will visit the University of Louisville for a two-day symposium and public forum. The events, which will be held on Oct. 16-17, will focus mainly on fine-particle pollution, which has been documented as a health problem in Louisville and numerous other communities across the country.
United Technologies Corp. Launches Sustainable Cities Initiative
GreenBiz.com - 7 Oct 2004
United Technologies Corp. has unveiled its Sustainable Cities initiative aiming to support the development and use of green building practices in urban centers, create new programs to educate the public about the need for healthier environments, and protect natural resources nationwide.
Neighbors protesting as tall trees get the ax
The Oregonian, OR - 7 Oct 2004
Residents of the River Forest area in Oak Grove say the clearing of sites for homes destroys blue heron and osprey nesting sites.
Ground water report raises some concerns
Union Democrat, NV - 6 Oct 2004
A comprehensive report on Calaveras County's ground water quality, quantity and availability shows that the area of the county being developed the most is also the area with the least ground water.
Studying The Chemistry Of Drugs In Wastewater
Science Daily - 6 Oct 2004
Scientists around the world often find drugs in water samples taken from streams and other waterways, but little is known about byproducts of those drugs created during chlorine treatment or time spent in the environment.
Tyson, Wal-Mart Sign on for Emissions Reduction Program
Environmental News Network - 4 Oct 2004
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. on Monday agreed to participate in an emissions reduction program through the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA-sponsored SmartWay Transport Partnership asks members of the freight industry to voluntarily adjust their shipping operations to improve air quality and help the companies save money on fuel and shipping costs.
Gender-bending fish found near plants
CNN.com - 4 Oct 2004
Fish with both male and female sex tissue have been discovered near Colorado wastewater treatment plants on the South Platte River and Boulder Creek. Scientists are trying to determine if chemicals that disrupt hormones, such as estrogen, are responsible for the gender-bending phenomenon.
Don't Lose Sight of Urban Forest With Small Trees
UC Davis News, CA - 4 Oct 2004
Dutch elm disease wiped out the stately urban canopies of American elms that once graced communities throughout the United States. Many new housing projects have drifted away from planting large trees such as ash or sycamore in favor of smaller, faster growing species such as crape myrtle. Greg McPherson, who heads up the Center for Urban Forest Research, believes the trend away from large trees is a costly mistake.
Effective smart growth depends on regional harmony
Roanoke Times, VA - 4 Oct 2004
Increased cooperation will be needed to make the most of what is left of developable land as growth spreads toward political boundary lines.
Groups seek government help to control sprawl
Roanoke Times, VA - 4 Oct 2004
Such citizen groups are one way smart growth proponents are trying to sway local governments to hold back sprawl and relieve pressures on infrastructure. But in Virginia, local governments are limited as to what they can do to encourage developers to follow smart growth tenets and prevent infrastructure from being overrun by development.
