@sloanbarnett blog - Bug Off! Unnecessary exposure to toxic pesticides - THATS JUST STUPID

Posted: 11/4/11 03:14 PM ET

You might find yourself keeping company with uninvited guests once the cool autumn weather sets in. And keeping creepy crawlers and furry creatures barred from your home as naturally as possible will prevent unnecessary exposure to toxic pesticides.

  The first line of defense is to pull in the welcome mat by blocking entrance to your home. Once they've made it inside, the simplest way to put the kibosh on their party is to close the kitchen. Without access to food, they won't live long or have time to reproduce.

We recently discussed natural ways to fend off insects that plague Fido; now let's learn how to evict cockroaches, spiders and mice without hazardous chemicals. You know I'm a fan of grabbing ingredients from your kitchen to combat dirt, and the same principle can be applied to pests.

Roaches

It sounds disgusting, but roach infestations often occur when eggs are accidentally brought into our homes in shipping materials, groceries, beer and soft drink cases. They can also catch a ride on used appliances, rugs and furniture. Always begin by preventing infestations in the first place. When you do have a problem, you can take back your kitchen with natural tools you already have in your pantry:

• Be vigilant about cleaning up food crumbs on counters, tables and floors. Be sure you scout out and remove little snacks the kids have left behind in their bedrooms.

• Store food in airtight containers.

• Get rid of open containers and storage boxes that might make nice shelters for cockroaches.

• Scatter crushed bay leaves in problem areas.

• Mix baking soda and powdered sugar and spread it around the area where you see roaches.

• Boric acid is the most effective direct control method when used correctly. Add boric acid (a 99 percent formulation) to cracks and crevices where roaches hide -- inside and behind cabinets and appliances, wall cavities, under the sink, etc. Roaches should die within about ten days.

• Leave sachets of catnip in areas of cockroach activity as a natural repellent. The active ingredient, nepetalactone, is non-toxic to people and pets. Catnip should only be used in homes without cats though!

Mice

Mice may be sneaky little visitors, but they're only present if you're providing warm digs with great food. Again, prevention is key and is simple enough when you know what you're looking for. Then you can follow up with simple, safe methods if needed for removing mice once they've invaded your home:

• A full-grown mouse can enter your house through holes the size of a dime, so stuff all small openings in and around the house with steel wool or copper mesh.

• Seal gaps around doors and windows.

• Store food in airtight containers.

• Remove unused clutter around the house (inside and out).

• Use human Have-a-Heart or Smart Mouse traps to capture mice so that you can release them instead of killing them. You can find this type of trap at your local hardware store. Just be sure to release the mouse far enough away from your house so that they won't return.

• Give bait boxes a try. They are plastic or metal boxes with anticoagulant bait placed inside, so children and pets are protected from unintentional exposure.

Spiders

Most spiders don't pose a threat to people and are actually great at providing insect control. By trying to eliminate spiders, you may be inviting other creepy crawlers into play. So unless the spiders that have taken up residence in your house are dangerous, like the Brown Recluse, it's probably better to swallow your panic and let them do their thing. Here are a few natural ways to deal with those poisonous spiders:

• Spiders find hiding places in cardboard and clutter, so keep closets and underneath beds clean. And do not leave clothing, towels and other debris on the floor where spiders can find refuge.

• Once you've spotted spiders, vacuum well and make sure to get the egg sacs too.

• Turn off the porch lights whenever possible. Outdoor lights attract other insects, so spiders will hang out there to capture a meal.

• Remove extra plant growth around your house; it makes great hiding places for spiders.

• Track down entry points and seal little openings that allow spiders to make themselves at home indoors.

• Take advantage of nature's arsenal where you find spiders: orange oil, eucalyptus leaves, bits of hedge apple, pennyroyal on a scrap of cloth or baking soda.

Follow Sloan Barnett on Twitter and on her Facebook fan page athttps://www.facebook.com/GreenGoesWithEverything.

Mixed reception in Washington for Everglades refuge

The proposed federal refuge north of Lake Okeechobee, which calls for putting some 100,000 of pasture land under permanent conservation and buying another 50,000, is touted as way to preserve both wildlife and ranches

BY CURTIS MORGAN

CMORGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

A proposed wildlife refuge north of Lake Okeechobee that is a big piece of the Obama administration’s shifting Everglades restoration strategy got a mixed reception Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Environmentalists and ranchers extolled the plan to purchase conservation easements on some 100,000 acres of pasture and buy another 50,000 acres outright, saying it would protect wildlife, wild lands and the water supply along with a way of life under increasing pressure from development.

“We have an opportunity now to stop urban sprawl and stop this part of Florida from going the way of other parts of the state,’’ Rick Dantzler, a former state senator from Winter Haven and co-chairman of the pro-refuge North Everglades Alliance, told a U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources subcommittee.

But hunters said they feared the plan would shut them out of most of the proposed Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. Several lawmakers questioned pursuing a $700 million plan when the government is gushing red ink and a slew of projects in the existing $14 billion Everglades restoration plan remain stalled and unfunded.

John Fleming, a Republican congressman from Louisiana who chaired the hearing, argued that the refuge would divert money from more important Everglades projects south of the lake — a view echoed by one Florida congressman on the subcommittee, Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City.

Southerland noted that the U.S. Interior Department had relied on public input to shape the refuge proposal but “unfortunately it seems to me that it’s not shaped by the brutal reality that we are broke.’’

Lawmakers also expressed concerns that the White House was moving forward on the refuge without congressional authorization. That’s because Interior has administrative power to create refuges and intends to bankroll land and easement buys through its Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is supported by annual royalties for leases on offshore oil and gas drilling.

Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican whose district includes Everglades National Park, talked about how critical a healthy ecosystem is to South Florida’s water supply and said he generally supported the refuge proposal. But he also pressed Interior to draft legislation that would give lawmakers more say and offer firm assurance that the refuge would be open to hunting use and for access by state water managers.

The administration proposed the refuge, which would extend from southwest Osceola County down to Lake Okeechobee, early this year, pitching it as a softer, less expensive approach to Glades restoration.

Supporters say it would call for relatively little expensive infrastructure, leave two-thirds of the land in private hands and open at least 50,000 acres to hunting. Only land owned by willing sellers would be targeted for purchase.

The areas targeted for conservation are a mosaic of habitats — such as pinelands, wetlands, prairies and scrub — that support 98 threatened and endangered species, including the Florida black bear, panther and scrub jay. The land is also critical to South Florida’s drinking water supply.

Supporters acknowledged the refuge would likely only have “marginal” water quality benefits, slowing down and filtering pollutants before they flow from farms and suburbs into Lake Okeechobee. But they said the open lands could be used to expand water storage essential to the lake, Everglades and farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also bankrolling Everglades conservation easements, this year spending $100 million to acquire development rights to some 24,000 acres in four counties around Lake Okeechobee. Last year, the USDA paid $89 million to acquire development rights for another 26,000 acres.

Jo-Ellen Darcy, an assistant secretary of the Army who oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the refuge proposal was just one of several encouraging signs for restoration.

Federal agencies also announced an overhaul of plans last week intended to speed up work to revive water flow to the parched River of Grass, which came on the heels of a pledge of support from Florida Gov. Rick Scott to deal with persistent water pollution problems.

“We’re both in tight budget situations but we are both committed to this restoration effort,” she said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended public comment on the proposal until Nov. 25. A final decision on the plan is not expected until next year and it could take years to purchase easements and land.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/03/2486111/mixed-reception-in-washington.html#ixzz1ckvkKy5i

Army Corps #CERP Reports to Congress for 2010 via @JaxStrong @SFWMD

  • CERP Reports to Congress

RTC 2010 CoverThe CERP 2010 Report to Congress has been delivered and is now available. The report details the collaborative effort of participating agencies and their combined commitment to improve the Everglades ecosystem.

Download the Final 2010 Report to Congress

View the 3 Nov 2011 Press Release (43 kb, PDF)

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 (Section 601) and the Programmatic Regulations (2003) require the secretaries of the Army and the Interior to jointly submit a report to Congress on the progress of CERP implementation every five years. The report notes accomplishments in areas that include construction, outreach activities, new science and funding for that five-year period and what is anticipated over the next five years.

2010 Report to Congress – Final

The second of the five-year reports covers progress of CERP implementation for the period from mid-2005 to mid-2010.  Highlights include:

  • Passage of WRDA 2007 authorizing for construction three major CERP projects
  • Execution of the Master Agreement providing the legal framework for the CERP 50/50 partnership between the South Florida Water Management District and the Department of the Army
  • Execution of the first Project Partnership Agreements
  • Ongoing construction  of the Merritt Pump Station feature of Picayune Strand and the imminent construction start  of the Site 1 Impoundment
  • Installation and monitoring of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilot Project, and completion of the Pilot Project Design Report for the L-31N (L-30) Seepage Management Pilot
  • Sequencing of all south Florida restoration efforts including CERP in the Integrated Delivery Schedule developed through an interagency effort
  • Progress on related pre-CERP Foundation Projects (i.e., Kissimmee River Restoration, Modified Water Deliveries – Tamiami Trail Modifications), and the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (Phase 1) and C-111 Spreader Canal – Western Projects, both state expedited projects
  • New scientific information which is expected to improve decision making within CERP, thereby improving restoration success
  • A wide array of outreach activities and products designed to inform and engage a variety of audiences including the public at large, interest groups and stakeholders
  • Funding and expenditures from 2004 to 2009

Download the FInal CERP 2010 Report to Congress:

RTC 2010 CoverFinal CERP 2010 Report to Congress - September 2011

rtc 2010 transmittal letters iconLetters to Congress:

  • 2 Nov 2011 - Speaker of the House Boehner Letter (25 kb, PDF)
  • 2 Nov 2011 - President of the Senate Biden Letter (24 kb, PDF)

    •  

    Picayune Strand

    Endangered Florida panther with two kittens at Picayune Strand after road removal/restoration (2010)
    Photo courtesy of Darrell Land, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

     

    CERP 2005 Report to Congress

    The initial CERP 2005 Report to Congress covers program implementation progress made between mid-2000 to mid-2005.

    Status:  The CERP 2005 Report to Congress was transmitted to Congress in September 2006.

    Download CERP 2005 Report to Congress:

    Letters to Congress:

  • 22 Sep 2006 Cheney Letter (25 kb, PDF)
  • 22 Sep 2006 Hastert Letter (24 kb, PDF)

    • Contacts for this page:

    share:          

     

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    via evergladesplan.org

    Boring but important reading...

    @sloanbarnett: The Truth About #Healthy #SchoolLunch

    You see vending machines filled with junk food at your child's school and you try not to hyperventilate. Then, the school serves french fries and touts it as a "vegetable" and now you know -- you've got a problem.

    Most of us have read the devastating news that childhood diabetes and obesity are occurring in epidemic proportions in the United States. According to the CDC, type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children with increasing frequency over the last two decades. Obesity rates in children are just as alarming, having more than tripled in the past 30 years.

    It is clear that our children need a radical change in their diets, and that change begins at home. But if we're serious about creating a truly lasting impact, we need to worry about what they are eating at school as well. This is obviously a steep uphill battle: School systems around the country suffer from a serious lack of funding. Many have become so desperate that they have even turned to junk food advertising and sponsorships to make up for the lack of funds.

    So how do we make inroads in our schools? How do we protect our kids? I asked my friend and activist, Colleen Kavanagh, executive director of Campaign for Better Nutrition, for her insight on the subject.

    Q: For any parent interested in improving their child's cafeteria lunch, how can they get started, and are there organizations to help them begin this potentially uphill battle?

    A: Starting is easy. It takes less than an hour of research:

    1. Find out what is already going on. Your district is required by federal law to have a Wellness Policy and a permanent committee that oversees it. Go to your district website, read the policy, put the next meeting on your calendar. While you are on the website, go to the section on school nutrition and find out what they are serving.

    2. Brush up on how the school lunch program operates. Just Google the USDA fact sheet on the National School Lunch Program.

    3. Email your district PTA/PA to find out what they are doing on school food or if they know of any other parents who are working on it. Put it in your calendar to email those parents to set a coffee date.

    4. Start a positive relationship with your food service director; he or she is a key ally. If you don't have support here, all your work will be much harder. Also find allies on the school board -- look up the biographies of your board members and determine who might be a likely champion for improving school food. Send the food service director and board members an email letting them know how important you think the school lunch program is for your child/children.

    5. Go to www.angrymoms.org and watch their video and access the resources they have compiled in their "Get Started" guide.

    Remember that every district is different, so what worked for "two angry moms" or in Berkeley with Alice Waters might not work for your district. After doing your initial hour, spend some time with your new contacts finding out the unique character of your district's food -- how much money do they have, do all the schools have cooking capability, are the staff qualified to cook, etc. Be open-minded, there are many ways to improve school food. If your district has no school kitchens or staff that can cook, starting with a goal of cooking from scratch at each school site might be unrealistic. In that case, you might want to find a better vendor, have higher quality or more variety of produce, offer more entree choices, etc.

    Q: School lunches are based on federal nutrition standards and are based in science. When were the federal standards last updated? And according to these standards what does a "nutritious" lunch look like?

    A: The standards haven't been meaningfully updated since 1995 when -- and don't cringe -- they were changed to reflect the misfound notion that excess fat consumption was giving us heart disease and making us obese. Carbohydrates were given a larger focus on the plate based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Kids have been getting fatter ever since, not all caused by the school lunch program, but certainly the program has contributed to the problem.

    Updated standards were required in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. That bill contained a lot of the recommendations by Michelle Obama's Obesity Task Force, but the new standards were developed by the Institute of Medicine for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, which oversees the school nutrition programs. Basically, they call for more produce, at least half of all grains being whole grains, less sugar, less salt and drinking water instead of sugary drinks. A great disappointment is that they still recommend a low-fat diet despite the mounds of evidence we have that this is not good advice, and they do not responsibly distinguish between good and bad fats. They also continue to confuse the issue of foods that contain cholesterol, such as eggs, animal fat, etc., and foods that promote unhealthy cholesterol ratios, which are refined carbohydrates.

    So, although the new guidelines are better, they still operate like a living science experiment based on faulty data inputs. The problem is that the experiment has over 30 million participants, so the damage this bad advice could cause is magnified. I hope we don't have to wait another 17 years before the next update, which will hopefully catch up to the real science instead of the popular science. If you want to know where we should be headed next, check out the Harvard School of Public Health Food Guide Plate. Though Harvard is still having trouble giving up the low-fat message, their guide is better than the federal one.

    Q: Do you believe that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will be able to accomplish its goal of combatting obesity and hunger?

    A: This problem has taken decades to build. We can reverse in a shorter time frame, but not by 2015. The important contribution of Mrs. Obama is the multi-pronged, incredibly inventive steps she has made toward achieving this goal. No administration has ever used the power of the White House to forge agreements with grocers to provide healthier food on their shelves. Other massive federal agencies like the Forest Service and General Services Administration are improving their nutrition guidelines as well. On the private sector side, I just heard that Dr. Alan Greene may have convinced the American Academy of Pediatrics to recommend parents never feed infants powdered white rice cereal. All of these measures and so many more are coming together to promote health. We will reach a tipping point, but I guarantee that it won't happen until the soda companies start showing rapid declines in sales.

    For more great tips on improving your school's food offerings, check out these helpful resources: www.thelunchbox.org, www.traytalk.com, www.schoolnutrition.org and www.healthyschoollunches.org .

    Follow Sloan Barnett on Twitter and on her Facebook Fan page at https://www.facebook.com/GreenGoesWithEverything.>

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    Follow Sloan Barnett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sloanbarnett

    via huffingtonpost.com

    A Tale of Two Octobers: From Record Dry to Near-Record Wet

    A Tale of Two Octobers: From Record Dry to Near-Record Wet

    Drought in 2010 to deluge in 2011 highlights the challenges of water management in South Florida

    (Click on the graphics for a larger version.)

    West Palm Beach, FL — October 2011 ranks as the fourth-wettest October in 80 years of South Florida recordkeeping, bookending a 12-month period that began in 2010 with the driest October on record, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) reported today.  Below is a graphic of last October rainfall (driest on record) vs. this October's rainfall (4th wettest).

    As a result of three uncommon storms in one month, nearly 10 inches of rain was recorded District-wide for October, representing 6.2 inches above the average for this time of year. All areas from Orlando to the Florida Keys received above-average rainfall, with key regions such as the Kissimmee basins and Water Conservation Areas 2 and 3 receiving a much-needed boost.

    In comparison, October 2005 saw a total of 7.98 inches of rain — including Hurricane Wilma. The storm left an average of 4.16 inches of rain across the District.

    October’s storms did significantly benefit Lake Okeechobee, a key backup water supply for millions of South Floridians. The lake stood at 13.60 feet NGVD on Wednesday, close to the same level as this time last year. Unlike last year, the lake is rising instead of falling. The current level is more than 2 feet higher than on September 30 but still below the historical average of 15.03 inches.

    “The decisions we make every day in water management consider the potential for weather that can swerve from record dry to record deluge in a relatively short timeframe,” said Susan Sylvester, SFWMD Chief of the Water Control Operations Bureau. “Our challenge is to continually plan, adjust and operate the extensive South Florida system to best balance the needs of 7.7 million people, businesses and the natural system.”

    October is a crucial transition from the wet season to the dry season because of its potential impact on regional water levels for months to come. October 2011 was defined by three exceptional storm events that significantly bolstered water levels in drought- plagued Lake Okeechobee, aquifers and storage areas across the region.

    The storms included:

    • October 8: This was the wettest single day in
      the upper and lower Kissimmee basins
      combined in nearly 100 years. An average of
      6.05 inches of rain fell in the two basins,
      spanning approximately 3,000 square miles,
      with local maximums up to 14.09 inches. The Kissimmee River was closed to navigation for about two weeks because of dangerous water flows. Navigation was restored when conditions became safe again.

    • October 16 - 18: A non-tropical low pressure system and a stalled front combined to leave South Florida with an average of 2.74 inches of rain across the District. The rain primarily fell south of Lake Okeechobee, mainly missing the already

    October Rainfall

    Historical Average = 3.78 inches (Last 5 Years)

    • 2011 — 9.98 inches

    • 2010 — 0.55 inches

    • 2009 — 2.60 inches

    • 2008 — 3.74 inches

    • 2007 — 5.02 inches

    drenched Kissimmee region. The lower Florida Keys saw a maximum of 21.97 inches.

    • October 28 - 31: Hurricane Rina reached the Yucatan Peninsula before several elements, including wind shear and cooler water temperatures, combined to weaken the storm and rip it apart. Remnant energy and moisture helped drench South Florida, with an average of 3.7 inches of rain over four days. Some areas in Broward and Miami-Dade counties reported more than 12 inches of torrential rain, and localized flooding was reported.

    Despite the October storms, a forecast of below-average rainfall for the 2011-2012 dry season is cause for caution and continued water conservation. The region may still face water shortage conditions in the spring as a result.

    For more information:

    • Latest Water Watch Briefing

    • SFWMD Weather/Rainfall Data

    • National Weather Service Dry Season Forecast

    • Climate Prediction Center FAQ on La Niña

    • Climate Prediction Center Precipitation Forecast 

    Florida issues new water pollution standards - St. Petersburg Times

    A hot topic in South Florida right now with serious implications for the Everglades and us all...

    Florida issues new water pollution standards

    By Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer
    Posted: Nov 02, 2011 05:07 PM

    The EPA told all states in 1998 to set strict limits on nutrient pollution, and warned it would do it for them if no action was taken by 2004. DEP officials started working on new standards in 2001, but 2004 passed without any change.

    In 2008, Earthjustice and a coalition of other environmental groups sued the EPA to force it to take action in Florida. A year later, the agency settled the suit by agreeing to impose nutrient pollution standards -- and the complaints began boiling up from Florida industry leaders about costly, unnecessary federal regulations hurting the economy.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi, on behalf of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Hasner, sued to block implementation of the rules, and on Wednesday she filed a motion accusing the EPA of exaggerating the threat from nutrient pollution.

    EPA officials have said all along that they would drop their pollution limits if the state would come up with some new standards. In the EPA's letter Wednesday, agency officials said that if the state's Environmental Review Commission and the Legislature ratify the new state standards, and the EPA gives its formal approval of the final version, the agency would then withdraw its controversial pollution standards.

    Craig Pittman can be reached at craig@sptimes.com


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