AmeriScan: September 19, 2001
NEW WEBSITE GUIDES NATIONWIDE RELIEF EFFORTS
WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - In a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, President George W. Bush unveiled the American Liberty Project, an Internet initiative bringing online support to those organizations that have been serving the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and their families.
The charities highlighted on the American Liberty Project (http://www.libertyunites.org) were selected in collaboration with the state of New York, city of New York, office of the Governor of New York, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Virginia Emergency Response Team. Partners in the American Liberty Project include Amazon.com, AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, eBay, Microsoft and Yahoo!
"This will help Americans find out how to help," said President Bush. "If a concerned American wants to help a neighbor in need, even though the neighborhood might not be right next to each other, they can get on libertyunites.org, and find out how to help. And I urge my fellow Americans to do so."
Besides making cash donations, at the American Liberty Project, visitors can find out where to send food, where to donate blood, and where to give clothes. They can also find out how best to donate their time.
Charities listed at the site include established organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Catholic Charities USA and the Salvation Army, and groups created to aid the victims of the terrorist attacks, including the Survivors' Fund of the National Capital Region, the September 11th Fund, and the Twin Towers Fund, among others.
All donations made through the American Liberty Project Giving System are tax deductible. The American Liberty Partnership is covering all of the transaction costs associated with collecting and distributing the contributions, including the fees charged by the credit card companies, so that the maximum amount can be applied to the relief efforts.
UN URGES TALIBAN TO GIVE UP BIN LADEN
NEW YORK, New York, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - The United Nations Security Council has sent a message to the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan urging the immediate expulsion of Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding last year's terrorist attacks.
Members of the Security Council said Tuesday that the Taliban must "immediately comply" with Council resolutions, particularly those calling on the group to hand over indicted terrorist Usama bin Laden.
Speaking to the press following closed door consultations on the situation in Afghanistan, Council president Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France offered a succinct account of the Council's demands.
"Today there is one, and only one, message the Security Council has for the Taliban: implement the resolutions of the Security Council, in particular resolution 1333, immediately and unconditionally," said Levitte.
Resolution 1333, adopted on December 19, 2000, tightened sanctions imposed by the Council against the Taliban after bin Laden was indicted in the U.S. for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. It is the latest in a series of resolutions passed by the council condemning the Taliban for sheltering and training terrorists and planning terrorist acts.
The text demands that the Taliban comply with the Security Council's 1999 demand that it hand over bin Laden "to appropriate authorities in a country where he has been indicted or to appropriate authorities in a country where he will be returned to such a country, or to appropriate authorities in a country where he will be arrested and effectively brought to justice."
The Council resolution also demanded that the Taliban "act swiftly" to close all terrorist training camps in territory under the group's control, and confirm such closures through the United Nations.
The council's resolutions also impose a series of economic and military sanctions on the Taliban including closing all Taliban offices and offices of the Taliban's Ariana Airlines, freezing the assets of bin Laden, and banning all flights to Afghanistan except for humanitarian purposes.
At a press conference at UN headquarters on Tuesday, Afghanistan's ambassador to the UN said that the Islamic State of Afghanistan is ready to cooperate with the U.S. to find bin Laden.
"Our side is ready for cooperation," said Ambassador A.G. Ravan Farhadi. "We know the land and we know the country and we know the people and we know where Mr. bin Laden can hide."
Farhadi represents the Islamic State of Afghanistan, the northern alliance that controls a small portion of territory in Afghanistan and continues to oppose the Taliban government in Kabul. The UN recognizes the Islamic State and it holds the Afghanistan seat in the General Assembly.
COMPUTER MODEL PREDICTS DUST STORMS
GREENBELT, Maryland, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - A new computer model of the atmosphere can now actually pinpoint where global dust events come from, and can project where they are going.
The model may help scientists better evaluate the impact of dust on human health, climate, ocean carbon cycles, ecosystems and atmospheric chemistry.
Also, by seeing where dust originates and where it blows, people with respiratory problems can get advanced warning of approaching dust clouds.
"The model is physically more realistic than previous ones," said Mian Chin, a coauthor of the study and an Earth and atmospheric scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). "It is able to reproduce the short term day to day variations and long term inter-annual variations of dust concentrations and distributions that are measured from field experiments and observed from satellites."
Paul Ginoux, of Georgia Institute of Technology, is the lead author of the study that appears in the September 16 issue of the "Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres."
The new model determines sources of global dust by looking for areas with low elevations that also have bare soil surfaces. The researchers found that during periods of high rainfall over the years, sediments accumulated in these low areas, such as valleys or deserts, and these loose particles of dust can be lifted into the atmosphere by winds.
The model, called the Georgia Tech/Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model, has been designed to trace many kinds of atmospheric gasses and particles. Along with dust, the model can simulate the paths of atmospheric sulfate, black carbon, organic carbon, sea salt, radon, lead and carbon monoxide.
When it comes to dust, GOCART processes the paths of seven different particle sizes; noting that the smaller ones stay airborne and travel farther than the larger ones.
The model has identified the main source locations and strengths of dust, including the Sahara, the semi-desert southern fringe of the Sahara called the Sahel that extends from Mauritania to Chad, the Indus Valley in India, the Taklimakan north of the Himalaya, the Gobi desert in Mongolia, the Lake Eyre basin in Australia, the Salton sea in southern California, the Altiplano and Patagonia in the Andes, and the Namibian source in southwest Africa.
The new computer simulations have already provided five day dust forecasts, and will enable people with respiratory ailments to know when air quality might be affected by global dust and when to avoid outdoor activity.
JAPANESE BEEF BANNED IN MAD COW SCARE
WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it has imposed import restrictions on Japanese cattle and beef products due to a suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The restrictions apply to prohibited products arriving in ports on or after September 10.
Japan reported the suspected case of BSE to the Office International Des Epizooties (OIE), a world organization for animal health, on September 10. The disease is suspected in a five year old Holstein cow kept on a dairy farm in the Chiba prefecture.
Initial tests have provided some positive results. The Japanese authorities have submitted samples to international reference laboratories for confirmatory testing.
BSE, also known as "mad cow disease," is a chronic, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. Affected animals may display changes in temperament, such as nervousness or aggression; abnormal posture; uncoordination and difficulty in rising; decreased milk production; or loss of body condition despite continued appetite. There is no treatment, and affected cattle die.
The USDA has restricted the importation of live cattle and cattle products from Japan since March of 2000 due to foot and mouth disease.
No case of BSE has ever been diagnosed in the United States. The ban on Japanese beef is necessary to safeguard American agriculture against the import of the neurological disease.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and other federal agencies, has taken aggressive measures in BSE surveillance, prevention, education and preparation for response.
Since 1989, APHIS has prohibited the importation of live cattle from all countries where BSE is known to exist in native cattle. Other products derived from ruminants also are restricted entry into the United States except under special conditions or under permit for scientific or research purposes.
NATURAL GAS ENGINE RESEARCH WINS GRANTS
WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected six leading universities for cost shared grants covering seven natural gas engine projects.
Funded by the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the projects focus on improving medium speed (between 1,200 and 1,800 revolutions per minute) reciprocating natural gas engines for distributed energy applications. DOE is investing $3.6 million of the projects' combined value of $4.6 million.
"This project will produce cleaner, more energy efficient and less expensive natural gas reciprocating engines for use by industry," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "Cleaner burning engines will reduce air pollution and contribute to a healthier environment."
University researchers will test engines and produce analytical computer models to upgrade designs of engines, pistons, piston rings and cylinder liners as well as improve ignition systems and reduce friction. In addition, researchers will seek a more comprehensive understanding of ignition systems, especially at the point of ignition and the beginning of the power cycle.
The goals of the Advanced Reciprocating Engines Project are to increase energy efficiency of medium size natural gas engines from the current 34 percent to 38 percent up to 50 percent, reduce nitrogen oxides emissions from one gram per horsepower hour to 0.1 of a gram per horsepower hour, and reduce operating and maintenance costs by 10 percent below today's costs for modern engines.
The winning projects will be located at:
30TH WOLF PACK COULD HASTEN DELISTING
MCCALL, Idaho, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - A new pack of wolves has been discovered in Idaho, including the 30th known wolf pair to raise cubs in 2000.
The wolf population in the northern Rocky Mountains will be considered recovered when there are 30 breeding pairs of wolves distributed throughout western Montana, central Idaho, and the Greater Yellowstone area for three successive years.
The existence of the so called Gold Fork wolf pack, living south of McCall, Idaho, was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the Nez Perce Tribe. The agencies captured, radio collared, and released the previously undocumented pack's alpha male and a yearling male earlier this month.
Just last week Tribal biologists confirmed the pack contained at least another yearling wolf in addition to this year's pups, meaning it can be counted as a official wolf breeding pair in 2000. Because wolf pups stay with their pack until they are almost two years old, it is possible to determine if a pack successfully raised pups in a previous year by finding yearlings in the subsequent year.
Because the pack puts the number of breeding pairs of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains over 30, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has now begun its three year countdown to declaring the wolf population recovered. In fact, the agency declared Tuesday that the countdown will be considered to have begun in the year 2000, meaning that the agency could propose delisting the gray wolf in 2003.
After the wolf population reaches recovery levels, and the USFWS is assured that state wolf management practices would conserve the wolf population, the USFWS will propose that wolves be removed from the protections of the Endangered Species Act.
Further information and maps showing the location of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains can be obtained at: http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/wolf/annualrpt00/
EL NIŅO, LA NIŅA REARRANGE SOUTH POLE SEA ICE
GREENBELT, Maryland, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - Scientists have been mystified by observations that when sea ice on one side of the South Pole recedes, it advances farther out on the other side.
New findings from NASA's Office of Polar Programs suggests for the first time that this is the result of El Niņos and La Niņas driving changes in the subtropical jet stream, which then alter the path of storms that move sea ice around the South Pole.
The results have important implications for understanding global climate change better because sea ice contributes to the Earth's energy balance. The presence of sea ice, which is generated around each pole when the water gets cold enough to freeze, reflects solar energy back out to space, cooling the planet.
When there is less sea ice, the ocean absorbs the sun's heat and that amplifies climate warming.
By looking at the relationship between temperature changes in the ocean, atmospheric winds, storms, and sea ice, the new study pinpoints causes for retreating and advancing ice in the Atlantic and Pacific ocean basins on either side of the South Pole, called the Antarctic dipole.
"El Niņos and La Niņas appear to be the originating agents for helping generate the sea ice dipole observed in the ocean basins around the Antarctic," said David Rind, lead author of the study and a senior climate researcher at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The study appears in the September 17 issue of the "Journal of Geophysical Research."
During El Niņo years, when the waters of the Eastern Pacific heat up, warm air rises, strengthening the subtropical jet stream. The jet stream diverts storms away from the Pacific side of the South Pole, and the ice stays close to that shore.
During La Niņa years, when the Eastern and central Pacific waters cool, there is an opposite effect, where sea ice subsides on the Atlantic side, and advances on the Pacific side.
Scientists may use these findings in global climate models to gauge past, present and future climate changes.
"Understanding how changes in the temperature in the different ocean basins will affect sea ice is an important part of the puzzle in understanding climate sensitivity," Rind said.
PENN STATE TO REDUCE POLLUTION AND SAVE ENERGY
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - Penn State University has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a major step forward to prevent pollution.
In a ceremony at PSU's Alumni Lounge in the Old Main building on Tuesday, Penn State president Dr. Graham Spanier and EPA regional administrator Donald Welsh signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the university's commitment to energy efficiency. Penn State is the seventh and largest campus in Pennsylvania to become an Energy Star partner, dedicating 24 million square feet of building space to energy efficient upgrades.
"Penn State's support of one of EPA's premier partnership programs shows how much the University cares about protecting our environment. We welcome Penn State as our newest Energy Star Buildings partner," said Welsh.
As a partner in this voluntary federal program, the University has agreed to measure, track, and benchmark its energy performance as well as develop and implement plans for improvement. The program complements Penn State's many existing energy conservation initiatives, such as using a central control system to track energy usage and to monitor and control the heating and cooling of buildings.
Some of the university's other successful energy initiatives include:
Penn State's improvements will preventing about 90 million pounds of carbon dioxide, 300 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 100 tons of nitrogen oxides from being emitted into the atmosphere. This pollution reduction is the equivalent of removing 20,000 cars from area roads and planting 50,000 acres of trees.
The signing ceremony coincided with Pennsylvania's first statewide pollution prevention roundtable for business and industry, held at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel Tuesday and Wednesday as part of Pollution Prevention Week in Pennsylvania.
ENERGY CONSERVING CALIFORNIANS EARN REBATES
SAN FRANCISCO, California, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - Through their aggressive conservation efforts, Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers made a significant contribution in staving off rotating outages this summer, the company says.
Preliminary numbers for bills in August showed that 38 percent of Pacific Gas and Electric Company residential customers curbed their electrical usage by at least 20 percent, and in doing so, qualified for a 20 percent rebate on their monthly electric bill.
August bills reveal that about 1.5 million of Pacific Gas and Electric Company's four million residential customers conserved at least 20 percent or more compared to the same billing period last summer, and qualified for 20/20 rebates totaling about $19 million. In addition, almost 160,000 commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers (26 percent) conserved by 20 percent, qualifying for just over $18 million in 20/20 rebates.
In total, more than 1.6 million Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers (36 percent) qualified for the 20/20 program, earning more than $37 million in state rebates on their August bills.
Customers earn the 20 percent credit through the state of California's program called "Flex Your Power," intended as an incentive for customers to reduce their electric usage. Since the program started on June 1, 2001, almost three million rebates have been issued to customers, totaling close to $64 million.
The program helps demonstrate that Americans can conserve energy without sacrificing comfort and convenience, says the nonprofit Center for a New American Dream.
A survey by the group showed that 81 percent of Californians who took personal action to conserve energy during the recent power crunch report that it has not had a significant negative impact on their quality of life. The poll, conducted in late July, found that 89 percent of Californians acted to reduce their energy consumption.
"We don't have to shiver in the dark or droop in the heat in order to protect the environment," said Center executive director Betsy Taylor. "This is a dramatic rebuke to the myth that Americans have to suffer if they want to conserve resources. Our findings also show that not only can Americans reduce their energy usage without sacrifice - they are in fact more than willing to do so."
LEADING SNAKE EXPERT KILLED BY VENOMOUS BITE
SAN FRANCISCO, California, September 19, 2001 (ENS) - Dr. Joseph Slowinski, a leading snake expert, died on the morning of September 12 in Myanmar, Burma, after suffering a bite from a highly venomous snake while conducting scientific research.
"We are profoundly shocked and saddened by this loss," said Dr. Patrick Kociolek, curator and executive director of the California Academy of Sciences. "Joe was one of the world's leading experts on venomous snakes and his commitment and zeal for his work never wavered despite the risks he faced. I am comforted only by the fact that he was doing what he loved most. This is a huge loss to the entire scientific community."
Dr. Slowinski was born on November 15, 1962. He joined the California Academy of Sciences as an assistant curator in the Department of Herpetology in 1997, and became an associate curator in 2000.
He was the recipient of numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society.
In 1997, Dr. Slowinski began a long term, comprehensive survey of the reptiles and amphibians (herpetofauna) of Myanmar, a project supported by the National Science Foundation. As part of the project, Dr. Slowinski created a training program to provide Burmese biologists with the skills needed to conduct their own biodiversity surveys so that baseline data necessary for informing conservation decisions could be collected on an ongoing basis.
Burmese students were scheduled to study under the guidance of Dr. Slowinski at the Academy of Sciences in November for training in DNA, systematics, and museum curation techniques.
Myanmar is the largest country in southeast Asia and is isolated from neighboring countries by an arc of jungle clad mountains. The herpetofauna of this country is one of the least studied in all of Asia and is home to many species of venomous snakes.
Dr. Slowinski had discovered about 18 new species of amphibians and reptiles in Myanmar since 1997. For more than 10 years, he studied snakes in the family Elapidae which includes venomous species such as cobras, coral snakes, taipans and sea snakes.