EPA JOURNAL WHO NEEDS the FEDS! Environmental Success Stories from Grassroots America
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United States Off ce of Vol 15. o. 6 Environmental Protection Comrnur 1cat1ons nnd ovember December 1989 Agency Public Affairs 19K 9006 &EPA JOURNAL WHO NEEDS THE FEDS! Environmental success stories from grassroots America 0 Q 0 a Q () 0 WH~T~R \-\~E:DTO GCOD OLD APATHYAND (jf?ee.P.' Preface aced with news about a in fact under way across the come from EP1\ or any other introduced bv someone who Fglobe-encompassing country. Far from finding federal agency. Ci ve n the is involved i;1 one of the environmental cri sis. people themselves hel pl ess. many innumerable environmen tal cases. and each section often fee l helpless. "What peo ple are finding that with initiatives ··out there.·· introducti on gives a bri ef ca n I do'? " is a common in iti ative and inge nuity, they inev itablv our selection of rundown of the individual question, spoken or ca n solve pro blems in ways story subjects was somewhat stories in that category. unspoken. that ca n add up to a better arbitra ry and, because of the Article ideas ca me from For thi s iss u 1~. EP1\ Jo urno/ enviro nm ent. space of the magazine, severa l diffe rent sources. sought out environmental In selecting stori es fo r the limited. Story selecti ons were including EPA 's regional success stori es: cases in issue. our criteri a were, first. made b>' the journal staff and offi ces; Renew America. a whi ch people have. that a parti cular problem was do not necessaril y reflect gro up that is in the process themselves, taken hold of a confronted and substan tiallv EPA pol icy or pri orities. of selecting outstanding piece of the enviro nnwntal solved, and second, that the We have divided these environmental efforts: and cri sis and worked out a in iti ative came fr om exa mples into three news reports around the solution. Tho exa mples indivi dual citizens, industrv. categories: ci tizen init iatives; co untry. presented in this issue or government at the state ~r state and local actions; and This issue also includes a suggest that a wid e range of local leve l. In other word s, industrv initiatives . Each regular feat ure. environmental acti vit ies arc th e impetus to acti on di d not categor;1 of artic les is Appointments. o Years of wise land use on their farm won the Craun brothers of Rockingham County, Vi rgi nia, a top awa rd from the National Endow ment for Soil and Water Conse rva tion. (See article on page 9.) Un ited States Office of Volume 15 Number 6 Environmental Protection Communications and November/December 1989 Agency Public Affairs 19K-9006 &EPA JOURNAL William K. Reilly, Administrator Lewis S.W. Crampton, Associate Administrator for Communications and Public Affairs Leighton Price, Editorial Director John Heritage, Editor Karen Flagstad, Assistant Ed itor Jack Lewis, Assistant Editor Ruth Barker, Assistant Editor Marilyn Rogers, Circulation Manager EPA is charged by Congress to CITIZEN INITIATIVES STATE AND LOCAL INDUSTRY INITIATIVES protect the nation's land. air, and ACTIONS water svstems. Under a mandate of Introduction Introduction national environmental laws. the Introduction agency strives to formulate and by Barbara Reed Earnest z by Tom Tomaszek 30 implement actions which lead to a by Sally Shipman 16 compatible balance between Salmon and Jet Fuel Don't The Enemy Isn't Us human activities and the ability of Mix A New Answer to an Old by Jocelyn H. Woodman 31 natu ral systems to support and by Loyd Stafford 3 Problem nurture life. by Betty Ford 17 Turning Throwaways into EPA Journal is published by th e Restoring Housing in the Opportunity U.S. Environmental Protection Facing Up to High Radon Agency. The Administrator of EPA Inner City by Torn Tomaszek 32 has determined that the by Amy DeVries 5 Levels publicati on of this periodical is by Ann Fisher 19 Eliminating Those neces ary in the transaction of the A Victory for the Bay Regulatory Headaches public business required by law of Checkers pot Putting Sludge to Work by Thomas Uva 35 this agency. Use of funds for by Karen Flagstad 7 by Maureen McReynolds 21 printing this peri odical has been Meltdown for a Tough One approved by the Director of the Environmentalists on the A Neighborhood's Creativity Office of Management and Budget. by Gregg Sekscienski 37 by Robert W. Pierson, Jr., Views expressed by authors do not Farm Why Not Zero Waste? necessarily reflect EPA policy. o by Roy Popkin g and Gregg Sekscienski 23 permission necessary to reproduce by Jocelyn H . Woodman 3!1 contents except copyrighted photos The Optimism of the Green Take It Up with the Board! and other material s. Guerillas by Bud Cann 24 Thinking Environmentally Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor, by Barbara Reed Earnest 11 Answering a Burning by John Mincy .tl EPA journal (A-107), Waterside When Chickens Die Young Question Mall, 401 M Street, SW., Appointments .t3 Washington, DC 20460. by Lee Blackburn 14 by John F. Kowalczyk 26 Applying the Conservation Ethic by Wi lliam 0 . Ru ff 28 Front Cover: Ca rtoon by Dovid The /anuary/Fcbrua1y ·1990 isst1 e Desig n Credits: Horsey or the Seattle of EPA journal will f ocus on Earth Hon Fo rrah Post-ln te li gencer. Day. Jomes R. Ingram Hobert Flonogon EPA Journal Subscriptions The annual rate for subscribers in the U.S. for EPA fournal is $8. The charge to subscribers in foreign I Name - First. Last PLEASE PR INT countries is $1 O a year. The price of a single copy of EPA j ournal is I I I I I $2.25 in this countrv and $2.81 if Company Name or Additional Address Li ne sen t to a forei gn county. Pri ces include mail costs. Subscriptions to EPA j ournal as well as to other federal government magazines are Street Address handled only by the U.S. Government Printing Office. I. I I I I Anyone wishing to subscribe to EPA journal should fi ll in the form IZ ip Code at ri ght and enclose a check or money order payable to the I I Superintendent of Documents. The requests should be mailed to: Payment enclosed (Ma ke checks payable to Superintendent of Documents) Superintendent of Documents, D GPO . Washington. DC 20402. 0 Charge to my Deposit Account No .. CITIZEN INITIATIVES Introduction by Barbara Reed Earnest ike the hardy and virtually indestructible aila11thus tree [the "tree of heaven"), thousands of volunteer Lenvironmenta l citizen groups have sprung up all over the United States, often in the most unexpected places. Volunteers have stepped in to fill gaps in c ity services as local governments have struggled to overcome difficult budget shortfalls. The groups and individuals you will read about in the following artic les have successfully come to terms with the idea of "thinking globally and acti ng local ly." They represent a tapestry of different environmental interests. But a ll of their projects have contributed directly to the quality of the immediate env.ironmcnt. Mm1y of their efforts could be dupli cated in other communities. Others may inspire similar projects and ideas. In Chicago, Habitat for Humanity is restoring inner-city housing for the poor (p. 5), while Trout Unlimited has restored a stream near the airport in Seattle (p. 3). Both are organizations with acti ve chapters working in local communiti es. Through a remarkable compromise, the habitat of a butterfly was saved near San Jose, Ca lifornia, and the creature h as been given proiected status under the federal Endangered Species Act (p. 7), w hile innovative farm ing techniques by three famil ies li ving in different parts of the country received high marks for en vironmental con servation (p. 9). Meanwhile, in Maryland, a scientist hns found a way to eliminate the waste and air pollution from d ead chickens by recycling them, and a Delawnre poultry fo rmer is showing ho1..v this appronch can be put into practice (p. 14). In New York City, more than 400 community gardens are being he lped by the Green Guerillas. a volunteer group that provides plants and technical assistance (p. 11). These individuals and environmental groups have used many different techniques to achieve their goals. Some have inspired local residents to come forward and volunteer their time and ta lent to lobby and work for their causes. They also have found new ways to solve problems that people knew existed but didn't know how to solve. Yet what really sets these volunteers apart is their perseverance in the face of resistance. There w ill always be obstacles, but the hope is that many more people at th e local level wi ll rise to fight for cleaner air and waler, safer waste d isposal, and more open green space through better planning and care . In the next 10 years, major decisions w ill have to be m ade if we arc to stop some of the destructi ve trends we are seeing in the environment. Everyone's concern matters, and each person's contribution can make a difference. In fact, without this individual vigilance, the environment will not receive the government attention a nd funding ii needs. Then our precious natural environment will suffer, perhaps irrevocably, both locall y and globally. The ti me could not be better to join or start up a local group and get involved.