COLORADO CHRISTENS NEW NATIONAL PARK, PRESERVES WATER RIGHTS
Interior Secretary Gale Norton formally made Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes the nation’s 58th national park and relieved local fears that water rights would be sold to Front Range cities. Denver Post; Sept. 14 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2399606,00.html>
COLORADO TRUST HELPS KEEP WATER IN BLUE RIVER
A Colorado nonprofit trust has donated 800 acre-feet of water to the state to maintain minimum flows in Summit County’s Blue River, an increasingly popular approach across the region. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Sept. 15 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3182931,00.html>
KANSAS v COLORADO/ARKANSAS RIVER COMPACT
On October 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the amount of damages Colorado owes Kansas for reducing the flow of the Arkansas River by allowing unregulated ground water pumping from 1950 to 1994. Kansas sued Colorado over this issue in 1985. In 1995, the Court held Colorado had violated the compact with unregulated well pumping of 248,000 acre feet from the river between 1950 and 1994. In 2001, the Court ruled Kansas was entitled to monetary damages. The upcoming hearing will deal not only with the amount of monetary damages, but also with the sufficiency of Colorado’s current compact administration. WSWC, 9/10
UPPER COLORADO STATES WANT GLEN CANYON RELEASES TO BETTER REFLECT SNOWPACK
Upper Colorado River Basin states want Bureau of Reclamation officials to annually re-analyze the next year’s plan for releases from Glen Canyon Dam once the winter’s snowpack figures are in. Grand Junction Sentinel; Sept. 8 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/epaper/editions/sunday/9_5_1a_Compact_BuRec_Request.html;COXnetJSessionID=B1xpmmBH1O1R8zDFfCLzger8Y946rbguaxWDgNk1LcYuoq3ZKp6v!1976750241?urac=n&urvf=10946932890490.5215940229175782>
COLORADO’S WATER WATCHDOGS RUNNING ON EMPTY
Colorado’s 115-member Water Quality Control Division needs 80 more staffers and millions more in funding, and the EPA may step in if it determines the state isn’t doing enough to protect water quality. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Sept. 7 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3163753,00.html>
MINUTES OF SECRET MEETING ON FOUR CORNERS WATER PROJECT RELEASED
The recently released transcript of a 2003 meeting of Four Corners tribes, water districts and lawyers on the Animas-La Plata project showed them venting their frustrations over the Bureau of Reclamation’s attempts to blame all of the $162 million in cost overruns on Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Denver Post; Sept. 7 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E2383018,00.html>
NEVADA, COLORADO BANK ON MANMADE RAPIDS
– Critics say creating manmade whitewater parks for kayakers to play in in the arid West is a waste of water but cities like Reno, Nev., Ogden, Utah, and Boulder, Vail and Denver, Colo., like the money that flows from kayakers to city coffers. Los Angeles Times; Sept. 13 [The Gunnison whitewater park’s water right is on appeal at the CO Supreme Court.] <http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-kayakpark13sep13,1,1322568.story?coll=la-home-headlines>
DROUGHT RAISES COAL SEAM FIRE CONCERNS IN COLORADO
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has spent millions of dollars fighting a coal-seam fire that started on their land in 1998, and coalbed methane production is drying out seams of coal in Colorado and New Mexico, making areas more susceptible to fires. Durango Herald; Sept. 7 <http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/04/news040906_2.htm>
CRITICS CALL FOR OUTSIDE LOOK INTO NAVAJO WATER RIGHTS PROPOSAL
A coalition of Navajo Nation members called for an independent analysis of the tribe’s proposed settlement of water rights in the San Juan Basin. Farmington Daily Times; Sept. 9 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=502&num=13888>
NEW MEXICO NEEDS THE POWER TO SAY NO TO NEW DOMESTIC WATER WELLS
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson wants to give the State Engineer’s office the power to deny permits for domestic wells, a necessary measure that lawmakers have refused to address. Santa Fe New Mexican; Sept. 14 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/4219.html>
NEW MEXICO TO HOST SECOND DROUGHT SUMMIT
New Mexico’s second annual drought summit will bring together about 400 experts, managers and users for discussions of drought monitoring and effects on wildlife, farms and ranches and economic development. Albuquerque Tribune; Sept. 23
DROUGHT WRECKS ECONOMIES ACROSS THE WEST, SPEAKERS SAY
At least 18 businesses in Elephant Butte, N.M., have gone bankrupt as the adjacent reservoir dwindled to 5 percent of its capacity, a tiny part of the economic impact of drought, according to speakers at a New Mexico drought summit. Farmington Daily Times; Sept. 28 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_14303.shtml> <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/092904_news_drought.shtml>
TOURISM DRIES UP AS DROUGHT SHRINKS WEST’S RESERVOIRS
Five years of drought have shrunk reservoir levels across Idaho, Utah and Nevada, and federal officials have spent $5 million extending boat ramps on Arizona’s Lake Powell to save tourism. USA Today; Sept. 30 <http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20040930/a_lakes30.art.htm>
GROUPS PROMISE SUIT TO LIST UTAH TROUT
Four environmental groups said they will sue to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Bonneville cutthroat trout, Utah’s state fish, as endangered. Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Sept. 9 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/09/09/news/wyoming/bc7000d5f639c66d87256f0a00098bc9.txt>
THREE UTAH RIVERWAYS GET FEDERAL PROTECTION
Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that more than 200 miles of riverways in southeastern Utah will be protected from mining exploration for the next 20 years. Denver Post; 9/12 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E53%7E2396410,00.html>
GREENS: DRILLING THREATENS UTAH RIVERS MORE THAN MINING
Three days before Interior Secretary Gale Norton signed an order prohibiting hard-rock mining along three rivers in southeastern Utah, the BLM auctioned off oil and gas leases on roughly 5,000 acres along the river. Salt Lake Tribune; Oct. 1 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2421198>
UTAH FARMERS, POWER COMPANY IN DUSTUP OVER IRRIGATION WATER
A Utah water official said the 90 Cache Valley farmers in northern Utah forced to stop irrigating in July should take up their beef up with irrigators along the Bear River Canal who have senior water rights. Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 13 <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2412002>
FEDS SAY CHANGING UTAH DAM RELEASES WILL SAVE ENDANGERED FISH
Bureau of Reclamation officials plan to alter releases from Utah’s Flaming Gorge Dam to help restore four endangered fish species, a technique environmentalists say has failed elsewhere. Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 23 <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2417663>
GRAND CANYON MANAGEMENT
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to revise the Colorado River Management Plan has been released for public review. A 90 day comment period will begin October 8, 2004, and end January 7, 2005. You can send your comments in writing to CRMP Project, Grand Canyon National Park, PO Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, or comment on. Public meetings will be held at the following locations: Las Vegas, Nevada; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C; and Flagstaff, Arizona. Exact meeting locations and dates will be announced in early October. The document along with information on the public review process can be found at: <>www.nps.gov/grca/crmp
ARIZONA’S DROUGHT PLAN FOCUSES ON BEING PREPARED
An Arizona drought task force’s plan would appoint a state drought coordinator and would require all water suppliers to report consistent water-supply problems. Arizona Republic; Sept. 6 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0905drought-plan05.html> <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0930drought-plan30.html>
TIME TO STOP BASING ARIZONA WATER POLICY ON PIPE DREAMS
Arizona has endured its fifth year of drought and residents have heard a lot of “maybes” espoused by water officials, but it’s time for northern Arizona to establish a regional water district and inject some reality into water management. Arizona Daily Sun; Sept. 10 <http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=93929>
RURAL ARIZONA’S GLASS OF WATER DEFINITELY HALF EMPTY
The Arizona Policy Forum’s recommendations, such as requiring 100-year water supplies before new homes can be built, are a first step in addressing rural Arizona’s water future. Arizona Republic; Sept. 26 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0926sun1-26.html>
SENATE PANEL OKS LANDMARK ARIZONA TRIBES’ WATER DEAL
A U.S. Senate committee approved the largest tribal water settlement in U.S. history, an agreement that would give tribes control over nearly half the water in the Central Arizona Project, most of the surface water still available for future growth. Arizona Republic; 9/16 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0916water-tribes16.html>
CONGRESS SHOULD SETTLE LANDMARK WATER CASE WITH ARIZONA TRIBES
Settling Arizona tribes’ claim to enough water to sustain 3 million people would be a huge achievement, and the last-minute lobbying of the San Carlos Apaches shouldn’t be allowed to interfere. Arizona Republic; Sept. 28 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0928tue1-28.html>
DROUGHT PUTS AZ WATER CONSERVATION INTO OVERDRIVE
Arizona’s Salt River Project is proposing water rationing for an unprecedented third year to protect its water supplies decimated by lingering drought. Arizona Republic; Sept. 13 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0913drought-srp13.html>
REPORT SAYS WATER CRISIS LOOMS IN ARIZONA RURAL COMMUNITIES
A nonpartisan policy group’s study said Arizona should not allow developers to build in fast-growing areas without proving long-term sources of water, or rural parts of the state may soon face the same water crises as cities. Arizona Republic; Sept. 23 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0923water-ruralcrisis23.html>
DROPPING WATER LEVELS PUT ARIZONA HYDROELECTRIC POWER AT RISK
Environmentalists said the $20 million proposed to drill tunnels deep in Arizona’s Lake Powell to keep water flowing to the Navajo Generating Station and electricity flowing to Phoenix and Tucson would be better spent on developing renewable energy sources. Arizona Republic; Sept. 10 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0910drought-power10.html>
FEDS, STATES RELEASE PLAN TO BAIL OUT COLORADO RIVER
California, Nevada and Arizona joined with the Bush administration to launch a 50-year, $620-million plan to restore wildlife habitat along a 342-mile stretch of the Colorado River, a plan based largely on a proposal under President Clinton. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the project to protect endangered species, restore habitat, create new marshes, and pools is “the largest river habitat project ever proposed under the Endangered Species Act.” Environmental groups say the plan does not go far enough. “The federal government and the states are trying to apply a Band-Aid approach over a 50-year period, and I fear the Band-Aid won’t last that long,” said Jennifer Pitt, with Environmental Defense. Washington Post; 9/15 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21674-2004Sep14.html>
SAN PEDRO CONSUMER COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST ADWR
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has filed a complaint with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard (602.542.5025) to stop the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ (ADWR) false representation of the adequacy of the Sierra Vista area’s water supply to consumers and lenders. ADWR (602.417.2410) issues water supply adequacy certifications to Sierra Vista area developers when an adequate supply of water does not exist. The Arizona Attorney General believes that concern regarding dishonest certification of water adequacy by ADWR for Sierra Vista area developers is “a consumer disclosure issue.” CBD agrees. ADWR’s false statements to consumers violate Arizona’s consumer fraud statutes. CBD’s consumer fraud complaint and the AG’s opinion result directly from ADWR’s decision to continue former Governor Fife Symington’s practice of allowing Sierra Vista developers to misrepresent the adequacy of the local water supply to prospective consumers and lenders. A 100-year supply of water does not physically exist in the Sierra Vista area without loss of the San Pedro River. A 100-year supply of water does not exist legally owing to protection of the River by the laws protecting Federal water rights, endangered species, and Public Trust environmental treasures. <http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/sanpedro9-7-04.html>
NEVADA LAND SWAP WOULD PROVIDE WILDERNESS, WATER FOR LAS VEGAS
Nevada’s congressional delegation pushed for the sale of 100,000 acres of public land north of Las Vegas that would set aside some wilderness and allow a utility to tap eastern Nevada groundwater for the city. Twin Falls Times-News 9/16 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/worldnation/index.asp?StoryID=10605>
BUSINESSES URGED TO CURB THIRST FOR WATER
The largest, least expensive, and most environmentally sound source of water to meet California’s future needs is the water currently being wasted in every sector of our economy. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-09-09/s_26720.asp>
CALIFORNIA TRIBE PROTESTS FLOODING OF MORE ANCESTRAL LAND
A California tribe displaced by the reservoir behind Shasta Dam is protesting plans to raise the dam height and drown more land the tribe considers sacred. Arizona Daily Star (AP); Sept. 14 <http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/38767.php>
ENVIRONMENTALISTS’ STUDY CALLS FOR REMOVING YOSEMITE DAM
An environmental group said northern California supplies of drinking water and electricity could be maintained, and a precious piece of Yosemite National Park restored, if the dam on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir were removed. Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Sept. 29 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/09/29/news/regional/c3a85251f4d2245a87256f1d00559b93.txt>
MONTANA PARK OFFICIALS HOPE BARRIER WILL BROOK NON-NATIVE FISH MIGRATION
Quartz Creek in Montana’s Glacier National Park is the last drainage in the park that hasn’t been invaded by non-native fish, and barriers are planned to stop the spread of lake trout that prey on native bull trout and cutthroat trout. Missoulian; 9/7 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/miss.fishdam090704.html>
FEDS SEE NO NEED TO DESIGNATE CRITICAL BULL TROUT HABITAT IN MONTANA
Montana officials’ plans for bull trout recovery will preclude the need for any federal designation of critical habitat, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials ruled, a decision environmentalists promised to challenge. Missoulian; Sept. 23 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/miss.fedtrout.html>
DRAFT EPA REPORT SAYS WATER TREATMENT DOABLE FOR CBM PRODUCERS
A preliminary EPA report said coalbed methane producers in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin could afford to treat their wastewater if natural gas prices were at $1.75 per cubic foot; prices are at least $1 higher than that. Farmington Daily Times (AP); Sept. 6 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_13834.shtml>
REPORT EXPLAINS BPA’S DESPERATE WATER APPEAL
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission analyzed the summer spill situation on the Columbia River correctly. On Aug. 13, the 9th Circuit Court upheld the Redden decision, and the salmon got a second ‘yes.’ Water to flush juvenile fish out to sea continues to spill over the dams. Even so, Bonneville Power Administration didn’t give up. Head of the agency, Steve Wright, told local papers that that he hadn’t really expected a resolution this year given what he terms: The controversy on both sides. But the salmon v. hydropower scenario on the Columbia is more than a simple controversy. It’s true that salmon and hydropower interests want to see Columbia River water put to different uses. But the problem goes beyond the Northwest and the allocation of its resources. <http://www.indiancountry.com/?1094220178>
FEDS SAY COLUMBIA BASIN DAMS DON’T THREATEN SALMON
The agency responsible for restoring dwindling salmon runs in the Northwest said $6 billion in improvements to Columbia Basin dams over the next 10 years will allow the dams to continue to operate without harming salmon populations. [This reflects the triumph of politics over science.] Seattle Times; Sept. 10 The administration’s new draft Federal Salmon Plan was denounced by conservation groups and fishing businesses as a major step backwards for salmon recovery in the Columbia and Snake River Basin.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002031790_salmondams10m.html <http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=899>
FEDERAL JUDGE QUESTIONS ADMINISTRATION RULING THAT DAMS DON’T HAMPER SALMON
A federal judge warned the Bush administration’s dismissal of breaching four Snake River dams as an option to help salmon survival might derail federal officials’ plans. Seattle Times; Sept. 29 <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002049108_salmon29m.html>
IDAHO POWER OPENS DISCUSSIONS ON HELLS CANYON DAMS
Idaho Power Co. officials said they’re ready to resolve contentious issues around its Hells Canyon dams, including how the dams affect steelhead and salmon. Idaho Statesman; Sept. 10 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040910/NEWS02/409100302/1029>
HELLS CANYON: SALMON RESTORATION WILL ONLY COST $1 A MONTH TO AVERAGE RESIDENCE
According to a new Nez Perce Tribe study, Idaho Power Company’s profits are more than enough to cover the addition of fish passage and temperature control structure at their three-dam Hells Canyon Complex. And if state regulators allow them to pass the full costs of the mitigation on to ratepayers, the average residential customer will pay only $1 more on their bill each month. Although Idaho Power claims that rates will skyrocket as much as 30-40% if they are forced to allow salmon to pass their dams and construct a temperature control device, the economic analysis released August 16th refutes that claim. <http://www.restorehellscanyon.org/economics.asp>
IDAHO SALMON PROGRAM HOOKS MORE FEDERAL FUNDS
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said Senate budget writers increased Idaho’s share of salmon recovery funds to $6 million, and he said the measure puts Idaho on equal footing with Oregon, Washington, California and Alaska in salmon recovery programs. Idaho Falls Post Register; Sept. 17 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.salmon091704.html>
B.C. EXPERTS SOUND ALARM ON LOW SOCKEYE SALMON COUNTS
Fisheries experts said low water levels and higher-than-normal temperatures were factors in the extremely low sockeye salmon counts; in one early run fewer than 10,000 of the projected 90,000 fish reached spawning grounds. Vancouver Sun; 9/20 <http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=681e5398-8252-4338-afb4-079004375f82>
IDAHO TRIBE MAY CALL HALT TO DAM RE-LICENSING TALKS
Coeur d’Alene tribal officials said they may withdraw from negotiations to re-license utility Avista Corps’ dam on the Spokane River if the utility refuses to analyze the effects of a free-flowing river. Coeur d’Alene Press; Sept. 29 <http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2004/09/29/news/news03.txt>
IDAHO CITY’S FUTURE WATER CRISIS ARRIVED EARLY
Not long ago, planners in Twin Falls, Idaho, figured the city had enough water for the next 50 years of growth; today, they’re instituting some emergency measures and looking for more. Twin Falls Times-News; Sept. 22 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/editorials/index.asp?StoryID=1561>
IDAHO LAWMAKERS FACE DAUNTING CHALLENGE ON SNAKE RIVER AQUIFER
Idaho’s next Legislature must find a solution to the waning Snake River Plain aquifer that underlies south-central Idaho, and to the hundreds of jobs and millions in economic impact the state can expect to lose if lawmakers don’t act. Idaho Statesman; Sept. 23 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040923/NEWS0501/409230334/1001/NEWS>
GOVERNMENT WOULD PAY IDAHO FARMERS NOT TO IRRIGATE
A government plan would pay eastern Idaho farmers $118 acre a year to plant shrubs on the corners of their fields for wildlife habitat and to free up their water for other uses. Idaho Falls Post Register; Sept. 28 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.waterpay.html>
WATER ON MANY AIRPLANES IS CONTAMINATED
A new U.S. EPA study just found that the water on more than one out of eight planes tested was contaminated with coliform bacteria. EPA acting enforcement chief Thomas Skinner urged people with weakened immune systems to avoid drinking the water (or coffee or tea) or washing their hands in it. The EPA is working with major airlines to develop new guidelines for water-testing and handling. <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3122>
ADMINISTRATION PLANNING TO EASE TOXIC METAL STANDARD
The Bush administration is planning to ease federal standards for selenium, a toxic metal that is known to be released by phosphate mines in Idaho and copper mines in Utah. The EPA supports the fact that the new levels will be safe for fish and most wildlife, however, several non-industry scientists disagree. In fact in the 1980s, selenium ingestion by water fowl in California’s Central Valley caused mass deformities. The new standards were heavily influenced by mining officials, power companies, and agricultural interests. <http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/10576582p-11495494c.html>
ENVIROS: EPA’S MERCURY POLICY PULLED FROM INDUSTRY MEMOS
For the third time this year, activists found that language from industry memos quoted directly in the Bush administration’s proposal for regulating mercury produced by power plants, a fact one senator called “no surprise.” Washington Post; Sept. 22 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39749-2004Sep21.html>
HIGH ARSENIC, IRON RATES PULLS PLUG ON MONTANA MINE WATER PROJECT
Officials of Butte, Mont., hoped a project would find a beneficial use for water from underground mine workings, but arsenic rates exceeded EPA limits by 11 times and iron rates by 8. Missoulian; Sept. 5 <http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/05/news/mtregional/news08.txt>
ABANDONED MINES CONTINUE TO POLLUTE THE WEST
Arizona leads the West in abandoned mines with 100,000, Nevada has 50,000, and Colorado is third with 22,000. U.S. EPA estimates that 40 percent of all Western headwater streams are now polluted by abandoned hard-rock mines. The old mines also leach arsenic, cadmium, and other toxic chemicals into groundwater and fill the air in abandoned tunnels with poisonous gases. The mine owners are near impossible to find, if not dead. Laws hold would-be mine cleaners liable for any further pollution they may inadvertently produce, so nobody wants to take on cleanup tasks. U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is proposing legislation to help limit liability for groups wanting to clean up old mine sites. Los Angeles Times; Sept. 13 <http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mines13sep13,1,4430283.story?coll=la-home-nation>
GREAT LAKES FACE CONTINUING ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
While overall water quality in the Great Lakes has improved over the past 30 years, the Lakes still face dire threats from chemical pollution, pathogens, and invasive species, according to the biennial report on the lakes’ water quality from the U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission. The report hailed the reduction of several pollutants, but drew attention to airborne mercury and common fire retardants, both of which are on the rise. It warned that the profligate use of antibiotics in livestock and humans is leading to a rise in “pathogens and disease-bearing microorganisms” that endanger human health. And it flagged the ongoing rise in invasive species in the Lakes; a new one takes hold roughly every eight months, and while some have been contained, none have been eliminated. The U.S. EPA and Environment Canada have formed a joint committee which will make recommendations for shaping things up. <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3049>
TAKE PART IN A NATIONWIDE MERCURY-TESTING PROJECT
You’d be hard-pressed to find waterways or freshwater fish in the U.S. that haven’t been mucked up by mercury pollution, as a steady stream of reports have warned us in recent months. Greenpeace wants to find out how many people’s bodies have been mucked up too. A new Greenpeace project asks people to order a mercury sampling kit and send in a hair sample for analysis to determine whether the level of mercury in their bodies is abnormally high. Greenpeace will compile test results from people around the U.S. and use them to push for tougher restrictions on coal-burning power plants, the No. 1 source of mercury in the country. <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3040> Order a sampling kit: <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3041>
AUSTRALIANS ASKED TO PROVIDE WATER AS KOALAS ARE DROPPING FROM TREES BECAUSE OF THIRST
Residents of Australia’s drought-ravaged east coast were urged to leave buckets of water underneath trees because koalas are dropping dead of thirst. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-09-09/s_27018.asp>
MAYAN INDIANS SEIZE DISPUTED GUATEMALAN DAM
Hundreds of Maya Indians have seized control of Guatemala’s largest dam and warned they would cut power supplies if they are not compensated for land and lives lost in massacres when it was built. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-09-09/s_27022.asp>
MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT DECIMATES JORDAN RIVER
The Jordan River, a holy waterway for Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, is a desiccated shadow of its once robust self, thanks to unceasing conflict and competition for water in the Middle East. Fifty years ago, the river’s flow was more than 264 billion gallons a year; today, it is less than 26.5 billion a year — and that includes more than 5 billion gallons of raw sewage. Israel, Jordan, and Syria have been siphoning off water in rising amounts as their populations increase; Jordan and Syria are currently building a new dam that could further cut the river’s flow. Due to conflict in the region, very little cooperative work has been done among governments to address the sad state of the Jordan. Middle East representatives of Friends of the Earth have asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to place the river on its World Heritage list, which would mean financial and technical assistance for conservation efforts. Says Israeli Chana Ridlin, “when we see each side of the river is flourishing, then we know there is peace.” <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3046>
“ONCE A CENTURY” FLOODS KILL 161 IN CHINA
Floods in southwest China unleashed by five days of torrential rain and labeled a “once-in-a-century catastrophe” have killed at least 161 people, and the toll is expected to rise, state media said on Wednesday. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-09-08/s_26945.asp>
ROMANIA SAYS HEAVY METAL SPILLED INTO RIVER
Romanian environmental officials on investigated a spill of toxic heavy metals into a river in the north of the country that has reportedly caused neighboring Ukraine to cut water supplies to five towns. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-09-07/s_26890.asp>
