Slackwater Darter Workshop, Saturday April 26

Join us for an Ecoadventure!

Sponsored by the Flint River Conservation Association and the World Wildlife Fund

Explore and enjoy the Upper Flint River area while helping the Slackwater Darter (Etheostoma boschungi) a fragile and threatened local fish species, the Slackwater Darter.

When: Saturday, April 5, 2008 (9:30 – 4:00)

What: Learn about and assist in habitat assessments for the slackwater darter in the Flint River Watershed. Following orientation and training, groups will be assigned local habitats to asses. Getting your feet wet is optional!

How to sign up: Call Allison Bohlman at (256) 656-3334 for more information or send an email to flintriverconservation@gmail.com.

Location: Orientation will be at the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station (Walker Lane off of Highway 432, north of Meridianville).

What to bring: A sack lunch and shoes that you don’t mind getting a bit muddy or even wet. FRCA will provide refreshments.

Directions:

• From Huntsville, take Highway 431/231 (N. Memorial Parkway) North past Meridianville.
• Turn Right (east) on Walker Lane (about 10 miles north of Winchester Rd.).
• Turn Right into the WTARS (about 0.5 miles).
• The workshop will be held in the first building on your right (about 0.2 miles south of the entrance).

We hope you join us!

Comment on TVA's Energy Efficiency, Climate Change, and Renewable Draft Plans

Comment on TVA's Energy Efficiency, Climate Change, and Renewable Draft Plans - Attend Upcoming Public Hearing Nearest You

Written Comments Due May 12

TVA will hold nine regional public briefings across the Tennessee Valley between April 14 and May 1 to discuss its draft Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Plan and Renewable and Clean Energy Assessment with interested stakeholders. Both are available at www.tva.gov/abouttva/board/draft_plans.htm

The proposals were presented to the TVA Board at its April 3 meeting in Knoxville.

TVA staff will discuss the energy efficiency and renewable energy recommendations to help meet the Valley's growing power demand through a comprehensive approach that includes cleaner, more energy-efficient opportunities. Stakeholders will be able to share their views on what TVA should include in each plan during a public comment period at each meeting.

Speaking opportunities will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested in speaking are asked to register at the door. Written comments also may be submitted at the meeting or online at www.tva.com. Any comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the administrative record and will be available for public inspection. Comments will be accepted through May 12.

TVA's draft Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Plan focuses on slowing the current rate of growth in power demand through potential opportunities to improve energy efficiency among residential, business and industrial consumer groups. In the short term, the plan proposes to potentially reduce the growth in peak demand by up to 1,400 megawatts – about the amount generated by one nuclear power unit – by the end of fiscal year 2012.

Monday, April 14 - Knoxville Marriott 500 Hill Avenue SE, Knoxville, Tenn., 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, April 15 - Doubletree Hotel, 211 Mockingbird Lane, Johnson City, Tenn. 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 17 - Chattanooga Marriott, 2 Carter Plaza, Chattanooga, Tenn., 6 to 8 p.m.

Monday, April 21 - Thad Cochran Research, Technology, & ED Park, CAVS Center Auditorium
200 Research Blvd., Starkville, Miss. 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, April 22 - The Bridges Building, 477 N. Fifth St., Memphis, Tenn. 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 24 - Embassy Suites Hotel, Nashville South/Cool Springs, 800 Crescent Centre Drive, Franklin, Tenn., 6 to 8 p.m.

Monday, April 28 - Huntsville Marriott (at Space Center), 5 Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Ala., 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 1 - North Georgia Technical College, 434 Meeks Ave., Blairsville, Ga., 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 1 - Hopkinsville-Christian County Convention Center, 303 Conference Center, Drive, Hopkinsville, Ky. 6 to 8 p.m.

(Action alert from the Tennessee Environmental Council)

Join our Yahoo group!

FRCA has a Yahoo group to help members keep up to date about FRCA events and to help us all get to know one another. Anyone can join and post messages. It's easy and free! To sign up, visit this page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlintRiverConservation/

Then, just click "Join This Group!" If you have any problems, just contact us.

Learn about Alabama's New Green Resource Center!

Are you interested in doing your part to protect the environment? Well, Alabama now has a new resource to help us create a smaller footprint: The Green Resource Center for Alabama.

FRCA is pleased to announce that Brantley Fry and Mark Rubino of the Green Resource Center will be the guest speakers at our next general meeting.

When: Tuesday, April 15.
Time: A potluck dinner starts at 6:30, the meeting starts at 7:00.
More info: For directions to the FRCA meeting, please visit the FRCA Meetings page.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about this new nonprofit. The mission of GRCA is enlighten and educate the public, industry professionals, and policymakers about design, construction, and maintenance practices for environmentally sustainable living--inspiring them to take action. GRCA aims to spark dialogue and offer resources to the people of Alabama so that we may find sensible solutions for healthy and productive lives.

The new GRCA building is in a soon to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in downtown Homewood, AL. The building itself is a place where the community can encounter sensible green solutions such as a vegetative rooftop garden, demin insulation, reclaimed barn wood floors, solar panels, and a water cistern for irrigation. The GRCA is a place for research and connections between seekers and solutions.

Please join us as we explore and learn about the many new (and old) ways to go green in Alabama... and looks for updates on their website at:

www.greenalabama.org

News about water

As we get our new blog off the ground, we thought you'd like to have access to some articles about water from around the country. Do you have a tip about a water-related news story? Let us know! Here are some stories that have appeared recently. Check back every week for a roundup of water-related news.

Drugs are in the water. Does it matter?
From the New York Times, April 3, 2008

Residues of birth control pills, antidepressants, painkillers, shampoos and a host of other compounds are finding their way into the nation’s waterways, and they have public health and environmental officials in a regulatory quandary.

On the one hand, there is no evidence the traces of the chemicals found so far are harmful to human beings. On the other hand, it would seem cavalier to ignore them.

The pharmaceutical and personal care products, or P.P.C.P.’s, are being flushed into the nation’s rivers from sewage treatment plants or leaching into groundwater from septic systems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers have found these substances, called “emerging contaminants,” almost everywhere they have looked for them.

This story reminds us not to flush unused medications down the toilet. Throw unused medicine away in the trash (mix them with something unpleasant, like cat litter or coffee grounds). You can also ask your pharmacist about a "take back" program.

Next up: bottled water. If you're like many people, you drink lots of bottled water. But are you aware of the true cost of bottled water? Check out these articles and think about your "water drinking habits."

Depleted Aquifers and Water Roulette
Droves of well-intentioned Americans are annually buying over 10 billion bottles of water that costs 1,000 times more than tap water. Why? In general bottled water is not any healthier than tap water, and in some cases, less so. The manufacture and transport of these single-use plastic bottles require precious energy, while releasing toxic chemicals both in their making and disposal in landfills or outright litter. Drinking water of course is vital for good health. But every citizen is entitled to clean water. If tap water quality is at issue, then the municipality should clean it up; or the homeowner can simply install a filter. Responsible citizens might also reuse a stainless steel container filled with tap water instead of supporting the bottling industry.

And even though we're getting a lot of rain lately, we're still officially in a drought (although now it's only "extreme" instead of "exceptional"). How can that be? Our groundwater hasn't fully recharged from the almost two years of drought. To read another article from the New York Times about drought issues in our area:

New to Being Dry, the South Struggles to Adapt

Alabama, where severe drought is even more widespread, is even further behind in its planning.

A realistic statewide plan, experts say, would tell developers that they could not build if no water was available, and might have restricted some of the enormous growth in the Atlanta area over the last decade. Already, officials have little notion how to provide for a projected doubling of demand over the next 30 years. The ideas that have been floated, including piping in water from Tennessee or desalinating ocean water, would require hundreds of billions of dollars and painful decision making the state has been reluctant to undertake.

''It's been develop first and ask questions later,'' said Gil Rogers, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center.