ICE Annual Dinner

The Inner-city Coalition for the Environment (ICE) Annual Dinner will be held on Thursday, 16 October 2003, at 6:00 pm at Caniglia’s Venice Inn 6920 Pacific Street. (For details see the ICE Annual Dinner insert)   

Speaking on the topic of LB 32 and Storm Water Management fees will be Nebraska State Senator Don Preister, Nebraska State Senator Mike Friend, and Acting Public Works Director for the City of Omaha, Norm Jackman.  The purpose of LB 32, as intended by introducer Senator Schrock, is to provide permissive legislation to allow the creation of a storm water utility for cities or counties subject to federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements or Natural Resources Districts encompassing cities with such requirements. 

Storm water management is a topic which greatly affects our environment as well as our pocket-books.  Keep informed about storm water management in your community while enjoying a tasty meal. 

ICE will also be presenting the Bob Light Community Service Award to the Clairmont Heights Neighborhood Association for their planning, planting, and maintenance of island garden beds at the south entrance to the neighborhood.  Barbara Jessing, president of Clairmont Heights Association, explains “The Islands are the front-door of Clairmont Heights.  This attractive front-door helps maintain pride and announces to visitors that our neighborhood has that small town feeling.”  ICE is pleased to reward their dedication to the environment and the community. 

For more details about the dinner and speakers, please see the insert.  Call Trilety Wade at 289-4714 to reserve your space and your meal choice. 

Storm Water Ordinance

The Omaha City Council, on 26 August 2003, approved and passed Ordinance No. 36372 amending Chapter 31 of the Omaha Municipal Code dealing with sewers by adding a new section thereto numbered 31-158, entitled “Additional Customer Charges”’ to add certain sums to sewer customer charges and to establish a separate enterprise fund for Storm Water Management; and to provide an effective date hereof.  The additional charges will range from $0.36 per month for residential users to $26.26 per month for large industrial users.  The change will take effect on January 1, 2004.  The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality intends to issue a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to the City of Omaha.  This permit will require Omaha to implement a Storm Water Management Plan and further require Omaha to begin performing specific storm water management activities that are administrative in nature and are part of the integrated and interrelated storm and sanitary systems and anti-pollution efforts. This issue will be discussed at the Annual Dinner S 

Living Safely with Lead

By Sharon Skipton-Douglas/Sarpy Extension Educator

Lead poisoning is one of the most serious threats for young children up to six years old.  Even small amounts of lead consumed regularly may cause learning and behavior problems, and damage to hearing and the nervous system, including the brain.  Childhood lead poisoning reduces IQ, which can never be regained.  Lead accumulates in the body, and its effects are irreversible. 

Nearly 100 percent of homes east of 72^nd Street in Omaha were built prior to 1978 when lead was banned from paint.  Recently, tests conducted in east Omaha revealed higher than allowable levels of lead in soils.  About 20 square miles of east Omaha has been designated as an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Site.  These factors contribute to an alarming percentage of children in Omaha testing positive for lead poisoning.  Forty-two percent tested positive from 1992 to 1998 in northeast Omaha neighborhoods.  While people often cannot remove all of the lead in and around their home, they can learn to live safely with lead. 

Living Safely With Lead is the focus of a Cooperative Extension program in Douglas/Sarpy counties.  The team of Extension Educators working on the Living Safely With Lead program include John Fech – horticulture and landscaping education, Carrie Schneider-Miller – nutrition education, Sharon Skipton – housing and lead education, and Vernon Waldren – community networking.  All have experience with adult and youth education.  A variety of Living Safely With Lead projects and activities are being offered to help people safely manage lead in their home and environment.  Two examples follow. 

“Living Safely With Lead: Reducing the Risk” programs are being offered each month during 2003.  The two-hour programs include landscaping to cover and stabilize lead contaminated soil, care and maintenance to reduce lead dust in the home, and nutrition and hygiene to reduce lead absorption.  The program focus is on managing risk from lead contaminated soil, as well as that from lead dust.  “Living Safely With Lead: Maintenance of Older Homes” programs are being offered every other month.  The two-hour programs cover minimizing lead-based paint hazards during renovation, remodeling, and painting.  While lead-based paint in good condition does not present as high a risk as peeling or deteriorating paint, many children are lead poisoned during home renovations that release lead from paint and dust into the air.  Both programs are being offered in the high risk area of east Omaha, and will be taught in English and Spanish.  The fee for either program is $20 per household, with vouchers and discount coupons available for qualifying individuals.  For information call 444-7804 or visit the web site at douglas-sarpy.unl.edu.  

Nutrition Beats Lead

By Carrie Schneider-Miller, Douglas/Sarpy Extension Educator 

Proper nutrition helps prevent childhood lead poisoning.  You can protect your children from lead poisoning by feeding them appropriate foods.  Children between one and six years of age are at risk of having lead poisoning.  When children eat the right foods, their bodies absorb less lead.  Reduce the risk of lead poisoning in six easy steps:

1. Feed children nutritious meals and snacks often.  Lead is absorbed more easily in an empty stomach.  Feed your children a variety of foods daily according to the Food Guide Pyramid.

2. Provide foods high in iron.  Iron reduces the absorption of lead in a child’s body.  Children who do not eat foods high in iron will absorb more lead.  The following foods are high in iron: beef, ham, chicken, fish, beans, spinach, broccoli, whole wheat bread, iron-fortified cereals, and enriched bread.  Children’s bodies will absorb iron better when foods high in iron are eaten with foods high in vitamin C.  The following foods are high in vitamin C: citrus fruits, dark green vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers.

3. Provide foods high in calcium.  Calcium reduces the absorption of lead in a child’s body.  Children who do not eat foods high in calcium will absorb more lead.  The following foods are high in calcium: milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, broccoli, spinach, tofu, and turnip greens.

4. Provide foods low in fat.  Foods high in fat make it easier for a child’s body to absorb lead.  Foods high in fat include: fried foods, potato chips, donuts, hotdogs, etc.  Children younger than two years of age should not have low-fat diets.  Fat should be part of every child’s diet in moderation.  Children should be offered healthy snacks that are low in fat and sugar.  The following are examples of healthy snacks: cracker and cheese, crackers and peanut butter, pretzels, popcorn, vegetables with dip, fruit, milk, yogurt, cereal, tortillas with salsa and cheese.

5. Wash your hands and the children’s before touching food.  Also wash surfaces used for food preparation and serving.  Wash fresh foods before eating or cooking.

6. Cook, store, and serve food in lead-safe containers.  Some dishes and pottery made in foreign countries or hand made dishware can put lead in food.  Leaded crystal and decanters can put lead in food.  Do not cook, serve, or store food in opened cans.

Newsletter Information

If you would like more information on any of these articles please call 289-4714.  Feel free to reprint any of these articles in your own neighborhood newsletter.  We simply request you add the following credit line to the end of the article, Reprinted from ICE’s Information Exchange.  Thank you.

Cooking by Sunlight

It is 9:00 in the morning – time for the solar chef to begin preparing the evening meal.  Nestled in the solar cooker, the meal will cook slowly and evenly until the late afternoon, with no threat of burning.  Solar cooking is crock-pot cooking for the environmentally aware and financially savvy chefs of the 21^st century.  Sustainable energy at its best, solar cooking provides the following benefits; it protects the environment by utilizing a natural energy source, saves money on gas and electric bills, limits dependence on pollution-producing energy sources, and provides a greater awareness of the world’s finite natural resources. 

Solar cooking has been receiving worldwide attention since the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the World Solar Programme 1996-2005 at the World Solar Summit in Harare in September 1996.  This program and its associated activities were launched in response to 40% of the world’s population struggling with insufficient energy for cooking, lighting, heating, and cooling.  Solar Cookers International, a non-profit research, educational, and outreach organization based in California, has been working hand-in-hand with UNESCO to disseminate solar cookers to those populations in need.  Solar Cookers International also provides a plethora of information for the layperson wishing to become well versed in the process of cooking by sunlight.  Their website, solarcooking.org offers solar cooking tips, documents, resources, a discussion list, and various plans/designs for solar cookers. Home built solar oven designs range from the easy and inexpensive to the complex and costly.  Some plans are efficiently primitive, requiring only cardboard, paint, and glass.  For those wary of their oven building skills, solar cookers can be purchased as well. 

Louise Meyer, one of the three founders of Solar Household Energy, Inc. (SHE), was interviewed in an August 29, 2001 Washington Post article titled “Reflections of a Solar Cook.”  A non-profit organization, SHE’s mission is to harness free enterprise for the introduction of solar cooking where it can add quality to life and relieve stress on the environment.  For more information on this organization visit their website at she-inc.org.  Meyer, as reported in the Post, “has made everything from salmon to stuffed peppers, lasagna to banana bread.  And it all tastes as if it came from the kitchen.”  The Arizona Republic, in an August 6^th article titled “Sun-Kissed Cuisine,” reported “Jim Arwood of Phoenix applauds such energy efficiency.  He’s head of the solar energy program for the Arizona Department of Commerce and has been a solar cook since 1989. . . . He says ‘It’s a cheap introduction to solar energy.’  He cooks two to three times a week, roasting turkey breasts and baking cookies and bread.  In the beginning, he says, he was most impressed by the technology.  Then he tasted the food and became a believer.” 

To properly and efficiently cook by sunlight, it is best to have 40 minutes of sun every hour.  The outside temperature does not matter as long as sufficient sunlight exists for cooking.  Even the presence of snow will not inhibit solar cooking on a sunny winter day.  Utilizing this sustainable energy will take sometimes twice as long as the conventional method, but the protection of the environment and the monetary savings will have lasting effects.  However, Meyer explains, “the largest obstacle is that people don’t want to change their habits.” 

So have a hand in personally fighting the impending energy crisis and enjoy some tasty victuals as well.  Get Cooking!!

Corny Containers

Quality containers made from corn?  You bet!  NatureWorks™ PLA, developed by Cargill Dow LLC, is a polymer derived entirely from annually renewable resources such as corn.  Carbon, removed by plants from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, is harvested, along with the natural plant sugars, and then fermented, and distilled in a process that results in plastic.  In the future, plants such as wheat, beets, and rice may be used in the same process.  This corn-based packaging is fully compostable in municipal and industrial facilities.   

The Wild Oats Markets are the first North American food retailer to use the corn-based food/deli containers.  Currently, the Wild Oats stores in Portland, Oregon are serving food in these revolutionary containers.  Coca-Cola also used the corn-based plastic in their cups at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.   

The NatureWorks™ PLA press release explains, “In contrasts to traditional thermoplastics that rely on the earth’s finite supply of petroleum as a base feedstock, this completely compostable package uses raw materials that are annually grown and in abundant supply.  And, because carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere in growing corn, the overall carbon dioxide emissions are lower than comparable plastics.  NatureWorks™ PLA has a lifecycle that reduces fossil fuel consumption by up to 50%.  In addition, its production process generates 15 to 60% fewer greenhouse gases (GHG) than the material it replaces.  Research also shows that technology advancements in PLA could allow up to 80-100% reduction in GHGs.”  To learn more about the plastic and its production process visit Cargill Dow’s website at  cargilldow.com S

The Power of Wind

Recently, the Nebraska Public Power District has been gauging public opinion with regard to renewable sources of energy, such as wind power and methane.  It may be a surprise to learn the topic of wind power is not only hot, but highly controversial.  Seemingly innocuous, the subject of wind power has created a schism in opinion.  Wind turbines are changing the physical and political landscapes. 

Proponents of wind power focus on the environmental benefits to be reaped.  Utilizing this clean and renewable source of energy would reduce the pollution produced by conventional sources of energy, such as coal and nuclear power.  Wind power produces electricity without producing pollution or hazardous waste and without depletion to natural resources.  In conjunction with the reduction of pollution would come a minimized dependence on foreign oil.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the US Department of Energy’s “premier laboratory for renewable energy research and development and a lead laboratory for energy efficiency,” explains how these environmental benefits are true of all renewable energy sources.  “Fossil fuels contribute significantly to many of the environmental problems we face today – greenhouse gases, air pollution, and water and soil contamination – while renewable energy sources contribute very little or not at all.”   

Developing the clean alternative energy source of wind power within the State of Nebraska would provide additional revenue to the rural economy, thus providing incentives for population growth.  “Renewable energy resources," explains the NREL, “are developed locally.  The dollars spent on energy stay at home, creating more jobs and fostering economic growth.”  An increase in the local tax base and royalties to farmers for use of their land could further strengthen the economy of the rural and windy areas of the State of Nebraska. 

Opponents of wind power, ironically, are sometimes environmentalists as well.  Some migrating birds have met their demise when meeting the blades of the wind turbine.  Wind turbines have been dubbed “Condor Cuisinarts” by the Audubon Society.  To counteract the avian devastation, some states, Maryland for instance, are requiring developers of proposed wind power plants to shut down giant turbines for several hours during periods when the threat to wildlife would be most intense. 

A separate environmental argument against wind power is that of landscape aesthetics.  Views of wind farms vary, critics define the turbines as monstrous vehicles of landscape despoilment, while advocates see a graceful majesty of progressive power.  A current wind farm debate is blowing near Martha’s Vineyard.  The Associated Press reported, on 11 August 2003, well known persons such as Walter Cronkite and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are campaigning against a proposed wind farm.  “They are fighting a proposed $700 million wind farm in the Nantucket Sound that would provide electricity to thousands of homes in the area, saying the giant turbines will mar the landscape of one of the nation’s most pristine areas. . . ‘We are environmentalists and we believe something has to be done socially to boost renewable energy, but we think it has to be done responsibly,’ said Isaac Rosen, executive director of Save Our Sound.”  Cape Wind Associates, the company seeking the permit for the project, charges the opponents of using the “not-in-my-back-yard” argument. 

The State of Nebraska, which is rated Number 6 in the nation in terms of wind energy potential, currently has five commercial wind turbines.  As wind power becomes more popular the costs necessary to generate electricity may be reduced, providing a sunny and windy outlook for future development of the alternative energy source.   

The brevity employed in this overview should be taken as an informational teaser.  Look into the research yourself and enter the debate.  To find out more about wind power, visit the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory web site at nrel.gov or the American Wind Energy Association at awea.org.  Please note, the AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association for the U.S. wind energy industry.  The association’s membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals.  The AWEA site does provide a variety of information on wind topics including wind energy development, economics and competitiveness, wind energy policy factors, and home do-it-yourself systems.

A Better Bulb

The typical incandescent bulb is becoming shadowed by the energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).  The US Department of Energy outlines  the advantages CFLs have over the conventional incandescent bulbs: “they last up to 10 times longer, use about ¼ of the energy, and produce 90% less heat, while producing more light per watt.  For example, a 27 watt CFL provides about 1800 lumens, compared to 1750 lumens from a 100 watt incandescent lamp.”  Using less energy causes less pollution and most CFLs have a life of about 10,000 hours, making them attractive to all.  It is most cost effective to use CFLs  in areas where light is most often needed for the longest period of time.  To find a CFL with light output comparable to the regularly used incandescent, refer to the lumens.  Since most 40 watt incandescents provide 800 lumens, buy the CFL which also provides 800 lumens.  S

Water Monitoring Day

It is a joyous occasion when the world can come together for the benefit of the environment.  World Water Monitoring Day, to be celebrated on 18 October 2003, is just such an occasion.  America’s Clean Water Foundation, the International Water Association, and the US Environmental Protection Agency are inviting people from around the globe to participate in this worldwide event.  Compiling data from the world’s watersheds will shed light on the issue of clean water and further offer solutions to the problem at hand. 

Between September 18 and October 18, people will be asked to participate by monitoring the quality of their local watersheds and enter the results into an international database.  October 18, 2003 will be the culminating day of celebration.   

To participate in this event you will need to purchase individual test kits, if you do not already have monitoring equipment.  Shipped within the United States, the kits cost $18.35 and include supplies for up to 50 tests.  To purchase a kit go to America’s Clean Water Foundation website at watermonitoringday.org  Accessing this website will provide monitoring resources and instructions on registering your sampling site.  It is imperative to follow the instruction booklet, provided with the kit, as this will ensure accurate data.  With the aid of the test kit, participants will conduct four tests by screening for dissolved oxygen (DO), acidity (pH), water temperature,  and turbidity (clarity).  The results of these tests will provide the necessary indicators to determine the quality and health of the stream, lake, wetland, or coastal water.   Although experienced and professional water monitors hold themselves to more stringent quality assurance measures, it is important for water monitoring beginners to understand the importance of quality control protocols. 

America’s Clean Water Foundation explains the gravity of this event, “While the actions taken over such a short time cannot solve the water quality problems that exist in many locations, they can contribute to the efforts already underway to change the practices and attitudes that impact the health of each watershed.  Over time, working together to further education can lead to changes that reduce negative impacts in the waters.  The task could be daunting, but the collective efforts of the world’s citizens begin with each person making a commitment to help.  World Water Monitoring Day will be the first step for many who have never considered taking part in water quality protection before.” 

This is a great opportunity to get together with friends, classmates, neighbors, teachers, and anyone else interested in the quality or our local watershed and test the waters!  S

Arsenic Eater

An arsenic-eating bacteria has recently been discovered by Dr. Joanne Santini, a microbiologist at Melbourne’s La Trobe University.  Discovered in gold mines in the Northern Territory and Bendigo, these 13 bacteria could prove to be a future bioremediation boon.  Bioremediation is the process in which living organisms, such as the newly discovered bacteria, break down and consume hazardous materials and pollutants or transform them into materials that are not hazardous.   

These bacteria could help clean up the arsenic-poisoned drinking water of thousands of villages in Bangladesh.  It was in the 1970s when international aid agencies began to drill thousands of wells as a remedy to the annual deaths of a quarter million children from diseases like cholera, found in pond and river water.  However, the ground in which the wells were being dug contained dangerous levels of the naturally occurring arsenic.  This arsenic contamination was not realized until the 1990s with the onslaught of physical deformities and cancer.  

Currently, Dr. Santini’s group is studying the process in which the 13 bacteria convert the dangerous form of arsenic, called arsenite, into an innocuous material.  Dr. Santini said, “We hope the bacteria will one day be used in bioremediation – where bacteria that eat arsenic will be used to clean up the contaminated water.  In order to know how to best use these microbes for bioremediation we must first study how they eat arsenite.  The knowledge from this research should allow us to set up a bioremediation system that will not only clean up mining waste water but perhaps provide the Bangladeshis and West Bangalis with safer drinking water.” 

The arsenic-eating bacteria, once better understood, could also benefit the United States.  The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates approximately 13 million people in the United States drink water containing arsenic at concentrations greater than allowed under recently established government guidelines.  In 2001, the Bush administration adopted a new drinking water standard for arsenic levels established by the EPA.  The revised rule requires treatment of all community water systems with arsenic levels greater than 10 parts per billion (ppb).  All communities must be in compliance with the revised EPA ruling by January 2006.  The current standard of 50 ppb was set by the EPA in 1975, based on 1942 findings of the Public Health Service.  One part per billion is equal to one drop of water in a 10,000 gallon swimming pool.   

The EPA endorses studies which have linked long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water to detrimental health effects such as various types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and reproductive problems.S