• Yucca Mountain Shipments Called Mobile Chernobyl
  
• Cheetah Supercomputer Improves Climate Modeling
  
• Chilean Sea Bass Seizures Make Small Dent
  
• Planting Clover Among the Cotton Helps Birds
  
• New Coal Burners May Reduce Pollution
  
• USFWS: Cutthroat Trout Population is Safe
  
• Seal Skin Shipment Seized in New Jersey
  
• Students Help Measure Air Pollution
  

Yucca Mountain Shipments Called Mobile Chernobyl

A report by U.S. PIRG, "Radioactive Roads and Rails: Hauling Nuclear Waste Through our Neighborhoods," details the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposal to ship more than 77,000 tons of radioactive waste from across the country to Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The report shows that 44 states could see 105,985 truck shipments or 18,243 rail shipments of highly radioactive waste over the course of 38 years.

Shipments of nuclear waste would travel on interstate and local highways as well as mainline rail routes. Other waste shipments could be carried by barge over waterways like Lake Michigan, the Mississippi River and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

"Commuters on our highways could find themselves stuck in traffic behind three and a half tons of nuclear waste," said U.S. PIRG staff attorney Pierre Sadik. "Tens of thousands of shipments of highly radioactive waste over four decades is going to put too many people in harm's way."

The DOE intends to ship the waste in transportation casks, but size and weight limitations make it impossible to build a transportation cask that does not leak some radiation, U.S. PIRG charges. The DOE acknowledges that a truck carrying a nuclear waste cask will emit the equivalent of one chest x-ray per hour of radiation to those who are caught in traffic nearby, the group says.

"In the best case scenario, these shipments are rolling x-ray machines," said Sadik. "In the worst case scenario, these shipments are mobile Chernobyls."

One DOE estimate found that there could be as many as 310 accidents in the course of transporting the radioactive waste across the country. There have been at least eight reported nuclear waste transportation accidents in the U.S. involving radioactive contamination of transport vehicles, roads and rails.

"The Bush Administration still doesn't know if the casks used to ship this waste are even safe," said Kevin Curtis, vice president of the National Environmental Trust. "Not one of these casks has been certified in a physical test, but only analyzed by computer simulation. The Bush Administration admits that there will be accidents in shipping this waste, and that those accidents could generate forces 'capable of damaging the cask'."

Local emergency officials say they do not have the training or equipment to respond to a severe nuclear waste accident. The DOE has not adjusted its transportation plans to compensate for the potential of terrorist attacks after the September 11 attacks, U.S. PIRG says.

The Yucca Mountain project involves the movement of nuclear waste from 131 locations, over thousands of miles of roadway and rail lines that cannot be secured from attacks, creating an opportunity for sabotage in communities across America.

"At the end of the road, under this ill conceived plan, the waste will be dumped at Yucca Mountain - a volcano on an aquifer in an earthquake zone," said Sadik. "It's time for the Senate to say no to this dangerous transportation scheme and to stop the Yucca Mountain project."

"Radioactive Roads and Rails" is available at: http://uspirg.org/

Cheetah Supercomputer Improves Climate Modeling

The model runs on the ORNL's Cheetah supercomputer, which can make 4.5 trillion calculations per second - 4.5 teraflops of computing power. The Cheetah has been listed as number eight on the top 500 list of the world's fastest computers.

"The kind of science that ORNL's Cheetah enables is already apparent," said Warren Washington, NCAR senior scientist. "The tremendous computing power this machine provides has allowed us to perform simulations that will allow for better regional detail, which important for understanding the local impacts of global climate change."

While the first test computation at higher resolution shows improvements in several areas, there are still some shortcomings not related to resolution, Washington said. Tony Craig and Tom Bettge of NCAR and Trey White of ORNL were able to configure a new climate model that is optimized for Cheetah, the nickname for ORNL's IBM Power4 System based computer.

Jim Hack of NCAR provided improvements in the atmospheric parameters at the new higher resolution and testing will continue for several more months.

"As more computational power is unleashed on the problem of climate change," Washington said, "there will be more regional climate detail in this version of the model. Subsequently, this model will be used for studies of the multiple feedbacks between increased carbon loading of the atmosphere, dynamic ecosystems and air quality."

The new model improves resolution from 2.8 degrees to 1.4 degrees.

The new higher resolution simulation is a first look at the newest United States coupled climate model, the Community Climate System Model 2. In this model, mathematical equations are solved representing the fluid circulation of the oceans, atmosphere and sea ice as well as interactions with land and vegetation systems.

All these components of the Earth climate system interact with a complexity still only partially understood, creating El Nino and other cyclic patterns.

"Having the capability to more accurately simulate these interactions allows climate researchers to predict what changes are in store for us in coming decades and centuries," ORNL's White said.

Chilean Sea Bass Seizures Make Small Dent

NOAA agents say the confiscated shipment, valued at about $275,000, was seized after the Australian government informed the agency that the fish were illegally harvested from Antarctic waters by the Arvisa I, an Uruguayan flagged commercial fishing vessel. Following a federal investigation, the violators may face civil penalties and criminal fines.

Chilean sea bass, also known as Patagonian toothfish, is a high value fish harvested from the waters surrounding Antarctica. The fishery is managed under the international Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

"This seizure is another example of our commitment to ensuring that Chilean sea bass marketed, sold and consumed in the U.S. is legal product and not contributing to the depletion of this valuable resource," said Bill Hogarth, director of NOAA Fisheries. "I want to send a message to all those attempting to import illegal Chilean sea bass into the United States that we will catch you and confiscate your shipment."

The seizure follows the April confiscation of about 32 tons of Chilean sea bass landed in New Bedford, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, California. Last July, two similar shipments totaling 23 tons were seized in Newark, New Jersey.

But conservation groups say the U.S. is not doing enough to stem the flow of illegally caught fish entering the country.

"NOAA deserves congratulations for seizing this illegally caught Chilean sea bass, but this is just a drop in the bucket in the sea of illegal toothfish that enters this country every year," said Andrea Kavanagh, campaign manager for the Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass campaign. "This 33 ton seizure is less than one-third of one percent of the 10,000 tons of toothfish that the U.S. alone consumes annually, and the U.S. is just one-fifth of the world market."

The Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass campaign urges restaurants to stop serving Patagonian toothfish, and consumers to stop buying the fish.

"According to NOAA, only 16,000 tons is legally caught for the world market each year. Clearly, there is an enormous amount of illegal toothfish for sale in the United States and around the world," Kavanagh added.

More information on the Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass campaign is available at: http://environet.policy.net/marine/csb/

Planting Clover Among the Cotton Helps Birds

Cotton farming, on the rise across the southern United States, relies on pesticides, herbicides and plowing or disking every three weeks. The spread of cotton crops contributes to the decline of grassland birds like the Eastern meadowlark, bobwhite quail and grasshopper sparrow.

Wildlife scientists in the University of Georgia's (UGA) Warnell School of Forest Resources have found that clover, planted in rows between the cotton, offers the birds ready cover from predators, insects for food, and enough time to nest and fledge young between field operations. This is the first study to compare the effects on birds of conventional and alternative farming practices in cotton.

"Other studies have looked at alternative farming systems in terms of cost savings, erosion control and soil fertility," said UGA wildlife researcher Bob Cooper, "but we're the first to look at clover strip cropping and conservation tillage systems in cotton with regard to wildlife."

Much of the songbird decline is linked to the loss of rural land, both here and in South America where many birds migrate for winter. Thousands of rural acres have been converted to apartment complexes, shopping areas, suburban housing or pine tree plantations.

In South America, forests are being bulldozed to make way for cattle farms and sun grown coffee plantations. None of these habitats provide the diverse combination of natural woodlands, open grasslands and shrubby areas the birds need to feed and raise young.

The UGA researchers conducted the study with the cooperation of several farmers in Georgia who are concerned about songbirds. Their research, presented at the American Ornithologists' Union meeting last August, was funded by grants from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Quail Unlimited, Monsanto Company, the National Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Lab in Tifton, Georgia and state McIntire-Stennis funds to UGA through the Warnell School of Forest Resources.

"Our idea wasn't to try to come up with something new but to look at existing cropping systems from a wildlife standpoint," said graduate student Sandy Cederbaum, who monitored the fields through the seasons. "We were really surprised by the extent to which the birds responded to the clover fields. Before this, I hadn't appreciated the extent to which agriculture could provide beneficial habitat for birds."

Researchers found that birds flocked to the fields mixed with clover, feeding on insects attracted to the blooming clover. The barren landscape beneath the conventional cotton crop supported few insects and offered no cover.

"Many people fail to realize that cotton fields are wildlife habitat," said UGA wildlife researcher John Carroll. "The key now is understanding how we can integrate the needs of wildlife into existing crop production systems."

New Coal Burners May Reduce Pollution

The DOE says the improvements available from the new combustion systems could rival the emissions reductions achieved by more complex devices now being installed on many coal burning plants. The systems, introduced at a DOE technology conference, could reduce pollution from the nation's existing coal fired power plants through cheaper and less complex means, the DOE said.

"These high tech burners will help achieve President's [George W.] Bush's goal to grow the economy through use of cutting edge technologies that are more efficient," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "They will help us meet the challenge of reducing emissions even while we're striving to increase energy production."

Alstom Power Inc. and Praxair Inc., both participants in the Energy Department's so called "clean coal" research program, developed the new combustion systems in independent projects.

The advanced technologies could cut pollution control costs by at least 25 percent - an economic benefit that could make them key tools in meeting the goals of the president's Clear Skies Initiative, which proposes to reduce power plant emissions using the most cost effective technologies possible.

"These new technologies reduce pollution and cost - a powerful combination," said Mike Smith, the DOE's assistant secretary for fossil energy. "They illustrate a basic premise of the President's environmental policy, namely that technological advances can give the American people cleaner air without sacrificing economic growth."

Both Alstom Power Inc. and Praxair Inc. developed improvements to low nitrogen oxides (NOx) burner technology. Low NOx burners, which reduce NOx emissions, became standard technology for many coal burning utilities in the 1990s.

As emission limits became more stringent, many utilities have been required to install more expensive pollution controls to cut emissions even more. For most power plants, the only technological choice has been a process that scrubs NOx from a power plant's exhaust gases using chemical catalysts. The technology can meet the emission reduction targets but adds a complex chemical plant to the power station.

The technologies developed by Alstom and Praxair reduce NOx pollutants inside the combustor - not in a separate chemical plant - resulting in a power plant that is less complex and less expensive.

"Abundant, affordable coal is one of the reasons U.S. consumers benefit from some of the lowest cost electricity of any free market economy," Smith said. "President Bush has set the nation on the path toward cleaner air, but that doesn't mean we have to abandon coal. Because of new technologies like these high tech combustion systems, we can continue to benefit from the low cost power supplied by coal while we continue to clean our air."

More information is available at: http://www.fossil.energy.gov

USFWS: Cutthroat Trout Population is Safe

In a decision released Wednesday, the agency said that newly gathered and reanalyzed data on the species' abundance, combined with improved protections for the fish and its habitat, combine to make it unnecessary to list the population.

"The system worked," said Anne Badgley, director of the USFWS Pacific region. "We are grateful to our partners at the federal, state and local levels in Oregon and Washington who have worked to conserve this native fish."

While numbers of trout in some parts of this population segment are lower than historic levels, recent changes in land management regulations, including new Habitat Conservation Plans and changes in Washington State Forest Practices Regulations, have reduced threats to this population.

The latest information shows that overall populations in a large portion of the southwestern Washington/Columbia River area are robust.

The agency also concluded that the offspring of freshwater populations living above barriers such as dams or waterfalls are still expected to become anadromous - living in both the sea and freshwater streams.

"After this population was proposed for listing, we gathered more data and discovered that the fish are doing better than we thought," Badgley said.

The USFWS and National Marine Fisheries Service published a proposal to list this coastal cutthroat trout population as threatened on April 5, 1999. Since then the USFWS assumed sole responsibility for this species because it spends most of its life cycle in fresh water.

The original proposal was based on suspected declines in anadromous cutthroat abundance, habitat loss and the effects of hatchery reared coastal cutthroat trout on wild cutthroat.

Seal Skin Shipment Seized in New Jersey

The Cape Fur seal skins were en route from Namibia to Canada via the United States for processing before their final destination in markets in Europe and China. The skins, seized in Port Elizabeth, had an estimated market value of $50,000.

Law enforcement agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are still investigating the case, so more details have not been made available.

Imports of marine mammal parts into the United States are illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, unless prior approval and a permit is granted by NMFS.

"It is illegal to import seal skins and other marine mammal parts into the country without a certain NOAA permit granted under rule of the Marine Mammal Protection Act," said special agent Jeff Ray of the NMFS office of law enforcement for the Northeast. "Illegal trade in endangered or threatened wildlife continues to be a problem that NOAA Fisheries takes seriously. Seizures like this should be a warning sign to others who traffic in marine mammal parts."

Namibia hunts the Cape Fur seal, also known as the South African Fur seal. Its population on the African continent is thought to number around two million.

The Cape Fur seal is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Appendix II listed species may not be threatened with extinction, but trade in their parts is controlled to avoid depletion of their numbers.

Students Help Measure Air Pollution

The students are helping scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and doctors and researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, to better understand the causes of pediatric asthma in Baltimore City. The students will be gathering data on aerosol particles that will help experts track particulate pollution and its relation to asthma cases.

"Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses that cause children to miss school, and Baltimore City school children suffer from some of the highest asthma rates in the country," said Carol Blaisdell, chief of pediatric pulmonology and allergy at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children.

Severe asthma events leading to hospitalization occur at much higher rates for children under the age of 18 in the fall more than during the rest of the year. Scientists believe this may, in part, be triggered by tiny airborne particles called aerosols.

The student's portion of the research is called the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN). Each student participating in BSSN will go outside of their school daily and point a hand held instrument, known as a "Sun Photometer," toward the sun.

These devices can determine the concentration and size of aerosols - particles in the air - by using light from the electromagnetic spectrum. Smaller particles appear in the blue end of the spectrum, while the larger particles are seen in the red end of the spectrum.

The students began taking daily measurements of aerosols around Baltimore City this spring and continue to collect data over the course of this calendar year.

"The data will be included as part of a larger study to identify the environmental triggers of pediatric asthma in Baltimore," said Elissa Levine, the lead scientist on the project, who works in the Biospheric Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "This cooperative effort is not only beneficial to our research, but will also benefit the students. It will enhance their science, math, and technology skills and improve their understanding of their local environment."

The BSSN will be the first city wide network ever established to monitor small scale changes in the quantity of aerosol particles in a layer of atmosphere over a metropolitan area. The network is supported by a full scale Sun Photometer located on the roof of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore that is part of NASA's AERONET (AEosol RObotic NETwork) program.

"We are excited about participating because collection of authentic data is an important part of modern science instruction," said Andrea Bowden, supervisor of science and health education for the Baltimore City Public School System.

More information is available at: http://healthyplanet.gsfc.nasa.gov/