• Half World's Plants Threatened with Extinction
  
• No Significant Rise in Three Mile Island Cancer Deaths
  
• Massive Solar Development Underway in Arizona
  
• Veterans Sue Over Secret Biological, Chemical Tests
  
• Petition Asks Return of Wolves to Washington
  
• Florida Manatee Fatalities Hit All Time High
  
• Pacific Salmon Benefit from New Organic Eco-Label
  
• Community Farm Preserved in Rhode Island
  

Half World's Plants Threatened with Extinction

Published in the today's issue of the journal "Science," the article by Nigel Pitman of the Center for Tropical Conservation at Duke University and Peter Jorgensen of the Missouri Botanical Garden says that comprehensive IUCN Red Lists for plants are available for few tropical countries, making it "difficult to assess the true scale of the global conservation crisis for plants."

The researchers approximated the missing data by counting the number of plant species endemic, or native, to a country as a "reasonable proxy" for the number of threatened plant species in that country.

Species endemic to a single country represent 46 to 62 percent of the world's plants, the researchers said. But that is "likely an overestimate of the global proportion of threatened species," they said. Many temperate countries have accurate tallies of their threatened plants, numbers of which are in some cases substantially smaller than their native plants.

Endemic plants in "biodiversity hot spots" are more likely to qualify as threatened than those elsewhere, the researchers said, citing work done by Conservation International president Russell Mittermeier who pioneered the definition of biodiversity hot spots as places with many and varied species that are threatened with extinction.

Plant species native to small countries are more likely to be threatened than those native to large countries, Pitman and Jorgensen said.

Their research fulfills the mission of the Missouri Botanical Garden which acknowledges that in every country on Earth today, "species are becoming extinct at an unprecedented rate" and "organisms are being lost forever, before we can determine their uses or their role in the balance of nature."

The Missouri Botanical Garden says its scientists are "driven by this urgent imperative," to conduct "the most active and geographically widespread botanical research program in the world."

No Significant Rise in Three Mile Island Cancer Deaths

In a 20 year study of mortality data on nearby residents, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) found the overall number of cancer deaths among men and women in the Three Mile Island (TMI) population was not significantly different from the general population.

But they did find a "slight increase" in the number of deaths from lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers in women in the TMI population "related to everyday background radiation exposure," and a "slight increase in the risk of lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers among males, which was related to radiation exposure from the accident."

The findings were published Friday, Nov. 1, on the website of "Environmental Health Perspectives," a journal of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The paper will appear in the March 2003 issue of the journal.

Evelyn Talbott, a doctor of public health and professor of epidemiology at GSPH is the principal investigator on the study. "This survey of data, which covers the normal latency period for most cancers, confirms our earlier analysis that radioactivity released during the nuclear accident at TMI does not appear to have caused an overall increase in cancer deaths among residents of that area over the follow-up period, l979 to l998," she said.

Dr. Talbott's previous study, published in the June 2000 issue of "Environmental Health Perspectives," analyzed 13 years of mortality data. "While our 13 year follow up indicated a significant upward trend in breast cancer risk related to radiation exposure the day of the accident, this relationship was no longer significant in our current study," she said.

The TMI incident occurred at a nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on March 29, 1979, when a reactor leaked small amounts of radioactive gases.

Scientists have calculated that the average person present in the area during the 10 days following the incident was exposed to considerably less radiation than the annual dose an individual receives from the everyday environment in the United States. However, little is known about the long-term health effects of low-level radiation.

Using information collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in interviews conducted with 32,135 TMI residents within two months of the accident, researchers examined causes of death that included heart disease and malignancies as well as specific cancers known to be sensitive to radioactivity - bronchus, trachea and lung, breast, lymphatic and blood forming tissue, and the central nervous system.

Thyroid cancer was considered, but only one death was reported during the study period.

Comparisons of mortality risks also were performed to assess the impact of the radiation related exposures on the cancer rates in the cohort. After adjusting for background radiation, educational level and smoking, no significant differences were noted.

"While these findings overall convey good news for TMI residents, the slight increased risk of death from lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers may warrant further investigation," Dr. Talbott said.

Massive Solar Development Underway in Arizona

The completed Prescott Airport Solar Power Plant will distribute 450 kilowatts (kW) of solar generated electricity onto the grid of APS, Arizona's largest electricity utility. By March 2003, Phase 1 will be complete with 1.5 megawatts (1,500 kW) available to APS customers.

Within the next three to five years, APS plans to expand the facility's capacity to five megawatts, providing enough power for more than 2,000 homes.

Workers put the finishing touches on the first phase of what eventually will become one of the largest solar photovoltaic power plants in the world. (Photo courtesy APS)

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the largest existing photovoltaic solar power plant is a 3.3 megawatt facility in Italy. Other such facilities may come on line before the scheduled completion of the Prescott Airport facility, but Hamer said he is not aware of any planned with this scope.

The plant will occupy about 50 acres near the Prescott Municipal Airport. The Prescott site was selected based on its high elevation, clear skies and cool temperatures, which allow the photovoltaic panels to operate efficiently.

Construction of the plant began in July. It features photovoltaic technology that tracks the sun's movement for maximum efficiency.

In addition to this project, APS has constructed solar facilities in Flagstaff, Tempe, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Yuma, Glendale and at Prescott's Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. APS plans to have three megawatts (3,000 kilowatts) of solar capacity installed by the end of 2003.

The dedication of the Prescott Airport site comes at the end of Solar Energy Month, as proclaimed by Arizona Governor Jane Hull.

"The sun is Arizona's most abundant natural resource, and we need to find new ways to harness its energy," Governor Hull said. "I applaud APS for being among the leaders in this effort and I urge the industry to continue exploring opportunities to realize solar energy's full potential. The Prescott Airport Solar Power Plant will help put Arizona at the forefront of solar technology."

Electricity generated by the plant will feed directly into the electrical grid system that serves APS' 874,000 customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. It is financed in part by APS and participating customers who, as APS Solar Partners, pay $2.64 per month to have 15 kW hours of their electricity needs generated by solar power. There are about 3,000 Solar Partners in Arizona.

Veterans Sue Over Secret Biological, Chemical Tests

Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense), part of a much larger weapons testing program called "Project 112," involved the intentional exposure of military personnel to biological and chemical, and perhaps radioactive, agents to determine the vulnerability of naval vessels to such attacks. Similar tests were conducted on land.

These tests, which took place during the 1960s and 1970s, have resulted in illness and disability to which the government is only beginning to respond, the lawsuit charges.

The class action is based upon government officials' alleged attempts to conceal relevant records, many of which are the veterans' personal medical records that would allow them to seek health care and compensation for the adverse health effects of being test subjects.

The complaint seeks monetary damages for the violation of the affected veterans' constitutional rights, and court ordered disclosure of information that will assist them in obtaining Veterans Administration (VA) health care and benefits for the consequences of exposure to hazardous agents during their participation in the SHAD and Project 112 testing programs.

While the class action is not designed to seek individual VA compensation benefits, the proceedings should help to facilitate access to records that would allow these veterans and their service representatives to do so.

"America's veterans deserve proper health care for illnesses that may be due to exposure to harmful agents as a result of their military service," said VVA national president Thomas Corey. "Veterans deserve to be told the truth about their military service, as well as accountability from senior bureaucrats and other government officials. Justice for our nation's veterans is at the heart of VVA's mission. This class action will help veterans obtain the justice to which they have long been entitled."

The class of veterans that are eligible to join the lawsuit might number in the thousands. The named defendants include former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who first ordered the testing program in the early 1960s under President John F. Kennedy, as well as current and former employees of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

"The problem has been that certain individuals have been acting in their own interests, rather than serving the military personnel and veterans to whom this country owes so much," Corey said. "VVA will continue to work with appointed officials, leaders in Congress and through the courts until justice is accorded these veterans."

VVA hopes that by holding these officials accountable for their actions, the situation will not repeat itself as troops prepare for possible biological and chemical exposure on the battlefield.

Petition Asks Return of Wolves to Washington

Defenders of Wildlife and the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance filed a "distinct population segment" petition under the Endangered Species Act, which could require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to restore and protect gray wolves in their remaining natural habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

"Gray wolves have an important role to play in the ecological health and character of the Pacific Northwest, and the federal government should start getting serious about restoring the species here," said Defenders of Wildlife president Rodger Schlickeisen. "It's time to hear the call of the wild again in these beautiful forests."

The petition urges the USFWS to establish what is known under the Endangered Species Act as a distinct population segment for gray wolves in Washington state. This designation would require the agency to develop and implement a plan for restoration and protection of gray wolves in suitable habitat in nine million acres of federally managed lands - including four million acres of designated wilderness areas.

"The wolf and the Pacific Northwest co-evolved. It is as much a thread in the fabric of our ecosystems as the salmon and the grizzly," said Joe Scott, conservation director of the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance. "We must seek to recover wolves wherever suitable habitat exists for the sake of the species and these ecosystems."

The gray wolf is now listed as endangered in all of the lower 48 states except Minnesota, where it is listed as threatened. The species has been reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and reestablished in the Northern Rockies. The Mexican wolf has been reintroduced in the area of the U.S./Mexico border.

In November 2000, Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the USFWS to restore the gray wolf to the southern Rockies, and petitioned in April 2001 for restoration in California. These petitions are still pending.

The gray wolf has been returned to less than four percent of its historic range in the lower 48 states.

The Endangered Species Act requires the federal government to work for the recovery of an endangered species in suitable habitats throughout its historic range, where appropriate habitat remains. Habitat surveys have confirmed that the Blue Mountains of eastern Washington, the Cascades Mountains, and the Olympic Peninsula are ideal places for wolves, with large numbers of wild prey species and substantial expanses of remote public land.

"Wolves belong in this region," said Nancy Weiss, western director of species conservation for Defenders of Wildlife. "There was a time when the federal government waged war on the wolf, and pushed it to the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states. That time is over. Now the federal government must live up to its obligation under the Endangered Species Act and the wishes of the vast majority of Americans and restore the wolf to this key part of its former habitat."

Florida Manatee Fatalities Hit All Time High

Researchers at the Florida Marine Research Institute say the latest death occurred on October 3, when a manatee died at Orlando's Sea World of Florida rehabilitation facility after undergoing treatment for watercraft related injuries sustained in Brevard County. This death ties an all-time record high of 14 watercraft deaths in Brevard County, which leads the state in total manatee mortalities.

"Human related threats to manatees continue to increase and show no sign of abatement," said Patti Thompson, director of science and conservation at Save the Manatee Club. "So far this year, 33 percent of manatee deaths are from collisions with boats, and there are still two months left. This is unacceptably high mortality attributed to just one cause which is largely preventable."

Since the early 1990s, boat registration in Florida has more than doubled. There are over 940,000 boats registered in Florida and some 400,000 boats registered in other states using Florida's waterways.

"With more and more boats on Florida's waterways, we can expect increased manatee mortalities, and that trend will continue if we don't have effective regulations, law enforcement and voluntary compliance," Thompson said.

Statistics from the Florida Marine Research Institute show that 55 percent of watercraft related manatee deaths are attributed to internal injuries from impact with the boat hull or lower unit of the motor, and 45 percent of deaths result from propeller cuts.

Manatees are slow moving mammals, traveling about three to five mph on average and must surface to breathe. Because they feed on aquatic vegetation, Thompson explained. They prefer shallow waters where there is often not enough clearance for a boat hull to pass safely over a manatee's back, so any fast moving boat can injure or kill a manatee.

Special interest groups such as marine industries claim that more manatees are being killed because there are more manatees. But at the Manatee Population Workshop in Gainesville in April a panel of population experts, manatee scientists and managers agreed that there is no life history model to determine whether the population is growing or not.

"It is callous and inhumane to suggest if there are more manatees, then it is okay for more of them to be injured or killed by watercraft," said Judith Vallee, executive director at Save the Manatee Club.

Manatee conservationists ask that boaters wear polarized sunglasses that help them see below the water's surface, and avoid boating over shallow seagrass beds where manatees might be feeding. The safe distance from a manatee is about 50 feet.

If you spot an injured, dead, tagged or orphaned manatee, or if you see a manatee that is being harassed, please call 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on a cellular phone or use VHF Channel 16 on the marine radio.

Pacific Salmon Benefit from New Organic Eco-Label

For organic crops to earn the Salmon-Safe logo, they must be produced according to rigorous conservation guidelines that protect salmon habitat. Farmers must use cover crops to minimize erosion into streams, promote natural methods to control weeds and pests, plant trees near streams to keep them cool enough for fish to thrive, and improve irrigation practices.

Oregon Tilth and Salmon-Safe will offer the program to Tilth's entire 220 farm West Coast grower base.

Three organic farms in southern Oregon's Applegate River basin are the first to receive certification under the joint guidelines. Certified farms include Herb Pharm, an 85 acre grower of medicinal herbs and the nation's leading herbal extract company, as well as two smaller organic operators.

"Organic farmers have led the way to a better, healthier agriculture," said Dan Kent, Salmon-Safe managing director. "By incorporating organic practices as the foundation for a farming system that is anchored in the conservation of our salmon watersheds, we hope to advance ecologically sustainable agriculture nationally."

"We think it's a great complement to the new National Organic Program," said Pete Gonzalves, executive director of Oregon Tilth. "Working with Salmon-Safe is a way for us to bring additional value to family scale organic farmers in the Northwest that are devoted to protecting our watersheds but still have to compete with industrial farming from outside our region."

Salmon-Safe has worked cooperatively with more than 70 private landowners and certified approximately 30,000 acres of farmland in critical salmon watersheds, primarily in Oregon.

A new streamlined Salmon-Safe organic "overlay" standard was jointly developed by Oregon Tilth and Salmon-Safe by comparing Salmon-Safe's certification program with the national organic standard.

The overlay standard includes additional riparian area management and irrigation water use requirements that are either not covered, or are covered only indirectly, under organic certification.

"While organic farmers tend to be among the best farmers in their watersheds, we've worked with organic farms that have a ways to go to meet our habitat protection guidelines because of casual irrigation practices or inadequate riparian buffer protection," said Kent.

Since 1997, Salmon-Safe has worked with both organic and conventional growers with the objective of minimizing ecological impacts from agriculture. Organic operators such as the Organic Valley cooperative of dairies and Lundberg Family Farms have received Salmon-Safe certification for their pioneering efforts to farm in an ecologically sustainable manner.

Community Farm Preserved in Rhode Island

The preservation of Ringrose Farm will provide an opportunity for farming near Cranston and Providence, in one of the first such ventures in the nation.

"Today we take another step forward to preserve our state's rich natural heritage," said Governor Lincoln Almond. "This fine example of cooperation among government agencies and the private sector will not only protect open space, but will provide for community farming and educational opportunities."

The purchase was made with input from city, state and federal government officials and the efforts of private land trusts. The state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has entered into a management agreement with the Southside Community Land Trust for the operation of a community farm on the property.

The project has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a community food system. The farm will also provide volunteer and educational opportunities for students, and the West Bay Land Trust will be provided with office space on the farm.

"It has taken the vision and cooperative efforts of many people and groups to bring this unique project to fruition," said DEM director Jan Reitsma. "It is my hope that it will serve as a model for other community farm opportunities in Rhode Island."

The farm, located on Pippin Orchard Road near the intersection of Plainfield Pike on the Cranston/Johnston border, was purchased by DEM from the estate of George Ringrose. The Agricultural Land Preservation Commission and the city of Cranston will hold a perpetual development rights easement on the property.

The total purchase price for the property is $508,000, with $210,500 coming from the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, $197,500 from The Nature Conservancy through a grant from the Champlin Foundations, and $100,000 from the city of Cranston.

The farm is located in an area where land preservation began over 50 years ago in order to save important natural resources. The 267 acre Curran State Park was acquired by the Kent County Water Authority in the 1950s to provide a public drinking water supply. The undeveloped park was transferred to DEM in 1967 and became the cornerstone of open space preservation in the area, followed in the 1980s and 1990s by the preservation of almost 500 acres of farm lands.

The 50 acres of the Ringrose Farm and the recent development rights acquisition of the nearby Holscher Farm add to the acreage preserved, and final negotiations are underway by DEM, the city of Cranston and the West Bay Land Trust to preserve the 250 acre Knight Farm.