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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS, VIEWS, & UPDATES

FIFTY/FIFTY

According to geology professor Dr. Erle Kauffman, 50% of the world's existing species will be extinct by the year 2050. Kauffman, a visiting professor of Geology at Penn State estimates that 300 species are vanishing every day. Among them are large mammals, which Kauffman says are disappearing at between five and ten per day.

The primary causes include habitat destruction, particularly in the world's remaining rainforests. Kauffman estimates that by the year 2050, "...only two or three of the original tropical forests will be left..."

HOUSE-SPOUSES REJOICE

Environmentally-minded house-spouses, who have stuck with hand-washing dishes may now have an environmentally correct alternative. New, energy and water-efficient automatic dishwashers, which meet the US Department of Energy's 1994 guidelines are becoming more widely available. New models are now available from most US manufacturers, including Sears. According to this giant US retailer, which sells one out of every three dishwashers in the US, their new Kenmore Ultra Wash III is 26% more energy efficient than previous models. Estimates of US households still hand-washing dishes range up to 50%. Switching to an energy and water efficient automatic could mean, not only less work for the house-spouse, but a reduction in water and energy usage, and bills, as well.

BERKELEY RADICALS ARE AT IT AGAIN

Berkeley California, long a hotbed of social change, is in the news again with a common- sense solution to two persistent community problems. One problem is the growing homeless population in Berkeley. The other is the high level of contamination in recycling containers placed in parks and on sidewalks. In Berkeley, as in many other US locations, citizens discarding non- recyclable trash in recycling containers contaminate the recyclables. This increases the cost for separating and processing the recyclable materials. It also decreases the marketability of the materials. The solution is a new recycling container design which reduces contamination and is "scavenger friendly." Previous containers were designed to foil the attempts of "street people" to remove the recyclables, and then sell them to commercial recyclers. Berkeley's new containers are designed to make scavenging easy. This reduces the expense incurred by having city refuse crews service the recycling containers while providing income for the city's homeless population. The result? More efficient recycling and a new "job" for many of Berkeley's homeless.

NEW POWER FOR BATTERY RECYCLING

New regulations, recently announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency, will make it easier for citizens and businesses to properly recycle batteries and other toxic discards.

The new regulations simplify the rules for packaging and shipping of a variety of materials ranging from the batteries that power children's toys to pesticides. The objective of the new rules, according to EPA Administrator Carol Browner, is to keep more of these materials out of landfills and to reduce illegal dumping.

Retailers will now be able to enhance their on-site collection of batteries and other materials thus increasing the amount of these materials recovered while simultaneously reducing recycling costs.

SOMETHING FISHY

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the world's fisheries are in trouble. Once thought of as inexhaustible resources, major commercial fisheries around the globe are in trouble. FAO reports that the worldwide harvest peaked in 1989 at about 100 million tons and have declined 5% in the years since. With a third of the world's fisheries at or near the biological point of no return, and major fishing nations now nearing armed confrontations on the high seas, we may be facing a future marked by fish wars.

For a revealing and detailed look at the state of global fisheries we can contact the World Wildlife Fund at 1-800- 634-4444 and request a copy of their Conservation Issues booklet on Fisheries Management.

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