On My Radar 3.4.12

Recent News. Happenings. Discoveries…Here are some of the items on my radar.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

Judge Rules “For” Monsanto, “Against” CT NOFA (and 80+ other plaintiffs). On the very day that I blogged about why I’d joined CT NOFA, Judge Naomi Buchwald dismissed the case of Organic Seed Growers et al. vs Monsanto. Dan Ravicher, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “While I have great respect for Judge Buchwald, her decision to deny farmers the right to seek legal protection from one of the world's foremost patent bullies is gravely disappointing." The plaintiffs plan to appeal. Check out CT NOFA’s blog for an excellent summary of the proceedings and more comments from Ravicher and some of the plaintiffs. If you are interested, you can read the judge’s ruling here.

Winter Tornadoes. A wide band of early season tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest on February 29, killing 6 in Harrisburg, Illinois, and causing extensive damage in tourist mecca Branson, Missouri. A story in the Aledo Times Record  reported the Harrisburg tornado as an EF-4 (a measurement used to measure its windspeed by the level of its destruction), with winds up to 170 miles per hour. The article stated, “Before Harrisburg, the only other EF-4 tornado to strike Illinois in February was on February 25, 1956 when one passed south of St. Louis and into St. Clair County Illinois, causing 6 deaths in those two states … Southern Illinois is home to the worst tornado disaster in U.S. history. On March 18, 1925, the infamous Tri-State Tornado caused 695 deaths as it moved through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.” A second devastating outbreak on March 2 brought destruction to a dozen states from Alabama to Indiana. The Weather Channel reported the preliminary count for tornado sightings as 74.  The Weather Channel posted an interactive map of all the reports.  On Sunday CNN listed the death toll as 37. You can see a photo gallery here. 

Sunflowers in Fukushima. It’s coming up to one year since a tsunami struck Japan and triggered a nuclear disaster at Fukushima. In April, 2011, Buddhist monks and scientists planted sunflowers as phytoremediators for the radioactive element cesium, restoring beauty to the area and bringing hope to citizens. Unfortunately, however, it seems the sunflowers did little to reduce the cesium levels. 

Late last month, a VERY large lobster (40” and 27 lbs), was caught near Cushing, Maine and brought to the Maine State Aquarium. He was photographed, given a name (Rocky) and released. Large as Rocky is, he is 17 pounds shy of the Nova Scotia lobster listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Bottled Water Banned at the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service has approved a a plan which will eliminate the sale of bottled water by park concessionaires. It will take effect in just a few days. Ten filling stations, where visitors can refill their own water bottles, have been set up inside the park. Officials had estimated that water bottles accounted for 20% of the park’s waste and 30% of its recyclables. Similar bans are in place at two other national parks — Zion and Hawaii Volcanoes. Last March, New Haven’s Board of Aldermen prohibited the use of any public funds to purchase bottled water for the City of New Haven. 

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Claire Criscuolo has a new cookbook, Welcome to Claire’s, illustrated with color photos. She has been on a mini book signing tour in the area. Stop by Claire’s to purchase a copy if you are nearby. Otherwise, check it out online. [Check back soon for a review.]

There’s a relatively new 66,000 pound resident on lower Orange Street — a fuel cell, the City’s 3rd. The cell, being rented from United Technologies,  occupies the little-used Millenium Plaza behind City Hall, between the Federal Building and the Hall of Records. The cell is not much to look at, but it is expected to free the City from a contract for power from the adjacent Connecticut Financial Center which expires in 2013. It is estimated that by switching to the cell, in one decade the City will reap a net savings between $500,000 and $1 million in heating and cooling costs. The cell will become operational as soon as possible, with some of the energy coming from the Financial Center until the contract runs out.

The storm sewer separation work continues on Trumbull Street. It is noisy. It is inconveniencing drivers and annoying residents. But it is truly a wonder to behold the pipe jacking being used to minimize the impact on the well established trees which line the street. Here is the latest update. 

The number of owner/members in the Elm City Market continues to grow. When the store opened its doors on November 2, membership was at 750. There were 1431 members when the store’s site was last updated.

DISCOVERIES:

Deer have been ravaging backyards in New Haven’s East Shore, as well as those on the west side of town where they’ve been residing for years. At Master Gardening I learned that stringing pieces of Irish Spring around the periphery of your property is an effective deterrent. Downside? Mice are said to be attracted by the scent. You will have to choose your pest.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 7th

6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Pint Night

Co-sponsored by Trailblazer and Box 63 

in the Broadway District of New Haven

In support of CitySeed. 

More details. 

March 10th

4:00 - 6:00 pm

CT Slow Food Shoreline's Slow Food Swap

Woodland Coffee

The second of what is planned to be a monthly event.

For more info, check here. I hope to trade this time around.

CALLING ALL RIDERS

March 23rd

5:00 pm - 8:00 pm 

Mitchell’s Ride

It’s been almost a year since the passing of popular Devil’s Gear mechanic and musician Mitchell Dubey. Devil’s Gear owner Matt Feiner and Mitch’s many other friends are holding a ride in his honor,  leaving from the shop and ending with a party back at the shop, which will “celebrate Mitch’s love of good things to eat and music.” And they really want you all to be there.

April 21st

Rock to Rock 

Kicks off from Common Ground High School after a hearty breakfast

Hundreds of riders raise money for local environmental groups while exploring New Haven by bicycle (an 8-Mile ride). Hard-core riders have the option of signing on for a 20 or 60 mile route. Last year over 500 riders raised more than $50,000. I had a blast on the short route last year and am looking forward to this year’s ride. I’m thinking of going for the 20 mile route. If you want to ride with me or pledge for my team, let me know.

BLOG NEWS:

I finally put a closing date on my petition asking Stop & Shop to stop sourcing their organic green beans from China. I did gather 290 signatures and raised some awareness of the problem among my readers. And, the next time I want to start a petition, I’ll  know exactly how to do it.

My page views continue to rise. Thanks for all the tweets, +1s and forwards. Together we can make a difference.

Please “visit” again soon. And, for those who live in New Haven, I hope to see you out and about as the days get longer. There’s a lot to do in The Have.

The Ayes Have It: New Haven Alders Say “No” to Bottled Water

In a roll call vote on March 7, 2011, the New Haven Board of Alderman granted their overwhelming approval to an order prohibiting the use of any public funds to purchase bottled water for the City of New Haven, including bottled water for the New Haven Public Schools, except in cases when no municipal water or other alternative source of healthful drinking water is accessible or when necessary to address health requirements or emergencies. This order was originally introduced by Alderman Justin Elicker at a public hearing before the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee on February 15.

Last night’s vote was preceded by brief testimony by Alderman Elicker who cited reports that #7 plastic (of which large water drums are made) are endocrine disruptors. He also referenced a story on NPR this past weekend which reported that all plastics (including those of which small serving bottles are made) leach chemicals that act like the sex hormone estrogen. He also emphasized his points about the safety and purity of our municipal water supply and how we should be reinforcing this message in our schools instead of giving students cause to think that our water is somehow not good enough for them to drink.

The only publicly dissenting voice was that of Alderman Darnell Goldson who supported the order “with concerns.” He approved the ban on the purchase of bottled water but wished the order had been presented as part of a larger package during the budget process. He particularly expressed concerns over the high cost of the City’s cell phones and voice mail system and asked why we do “the easy stuff first.” Alderman Elicker countered, “This was not easy to do.”

When the vote was called, 26 of 30 alders were present. There were 23 ayes, 2 abstentions, and one pass. 

One question remains: Will the Board of Ed follow the order? The Board of Aldermen can not dictate how the Board of Education can spend the money allocated to them. The Board of Ed made that point clear at the previous public hearing (via messenger). 

Some may see the projected $32,000 savings from this measure as a mere “Drop in the bucket.” It may not do much to close the $57 million budget shortfall the City currently faces, but it is a cut that needed to be made by a city who wants to be known as “Green.” We owe a thanks to Alderman Elicker and to all the effort he put into this order. [Justin Elicker was recently named to CT Magazine's 40 under 40 List.]

Missing last night were the legions of supporters who had come out for the public hearing in February. Yale students are on spring break, and the hard core activists must have heard how the vote was going to go. No one told me, but I was happy to attend the meeting, my first full board meeting ever. I was impressed by the civility of everyone in the room, how seriously each alder took his/her responsibilities, and how much they seemed to care for one another. I stayed until the end when the personal items not on the agenda were introduced. I observed a moment of silence,  applauded an honor, joined in on the singing of “Happy Birthday” and walked out the door with my alderwoman when the meeting was over. Now that’s participatory democracy.  

  

New Haven Starts to Think Outside the Bottle

The Aldermanic Chambers of New Haven’s City Hall came alive last night as dozens of supporters turned out for a hearing before the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee on a proposal to end the purchase of bottled water by the City of New Haven.

The bill, introduced by Alderman Justin Elicker, would prohibit the use of public funds to purchase bottled water — both the drums of water used in municipal buildings and the bottles of water currently being purchased for resale to New Haven schoolchildren. According to Elicker, the water currently purchased for use in public buildings is “purified water” from the municipal water supply of Worcester, Massachusetts, which is then bottled and trucked some 100 miles to New Haven.

Alderman Elicker made a thoughtful and detailed presentation replete with props (a sample water cooler jug, a bag of squashed empty water bottles, and refreshments for the alders in attendance — jars of water he had collected from fountains at city schools), expert witnesses from the Regional Water Authority (with handouts), facts, and even a little humor. Elicker had traveled around New Haven sampling water, and vouched for the cleanliness of the school water fountains and the coolness of the water (except in one instance where the cooling mechanism was faulty and he duly reported the problem). His passionate plea left few with any doubts that this idea was a good one. A point that Justin made, that the RWA representatives also stated, and that would be repeated by supporters throughout the evening, was that tap water is much more highly regulated than bottled water. Tap water must be deemed safe from source to tap, while bottled water has no source protection. 

Many spoke in support of the proposal. They included a regional director from the Think Outside the Bottle campaign; Justin Haaheim, environmental organizer for Act New Haven; Yale undergraduates working on a campus campaign to Think Outside the Bottle, some of whom had conducted a “Tap Water Challenge” taste test before the meeting; Yale Recycling Coordinator C.J. May who had a couple of magic tricks up his sleeve; and Yale faculty who offered both scientific and spiritual/ethical reasons to support such a ban. A group of Glastonbury high school students in matching tie-dyed t-shirts were perhaps the biggest crowd pleasers. Members of a group called PeaceJam, which works to create positive change through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates, they spoke of the “fill station” they had succeeded in getting installed at their school, congratulated the board for “considering” this action, and urged everyone to “Be the change.”

One of the last to testify was community activist Aaron Goode, who promised to supply a reusable water bottle “with your name on it” for any City official who had a problem with the cooler ban. 

No one from the Board of Education, which has concerns over implementation of the plan, was able to attend last night’s meeting. Instead, board members sent a request to delay the vote, conveyed through Rob Smuts, the City’s Chief Administrative Officer and a supporter of the proposal, along with a message that the Board of Aldermen could not tell the Board of Education how to spend its money. This request did nothing to sway the opinion of Aldermen Elicker who had been unhappy with the Board of Ed’s general lack of support. The motion as presented by Elicker passed unanimously, without amendments, and will go before the full Board of Aldermen for a vote at its March 7th meeting.

If voted in to law, the ban on bottled water would yield some savings in the range of $31,000-$32,000 in savings, equivalent to the cost of 3,000 textbooks, according to Elicker. It may not do much to close the $57 million budget shortfall the City currently faces, but it is a cut that should have been made a long time ago. New Haven wants to be known as a Green city. What easier way to continue to Walk the Walk than by taking this simple step? 

[You can read more on the February 16th meeting at the sites of the New Haven Independent, the New Haven Register (where there are also videos), and the Yale Daily News.]