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A new report from the Southern Environmental Law Center on Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act, under which billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent and decades of substantial tolls imposed, warns that the law lacks adequate safeguards to protect the public interest.
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Common sense would tell you that if something is broken, it should be fixed. However, once again common sense has not prevailed within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Just a few days ago, the EPA denied a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for this year. The EPA’s decision to deny much-needed relief to American livestock producers, food producers, and consumers was extremely disappointing. With a steep decline in corn production this year and a sharp increase in corn prices, the economic harm of the RFS is undeniable.
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Many healthy food advocates were disheartened on Election Day when Californians rejected Proposition 37, which would have required the labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods across the state.
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Indeed, some 31 million American kids participating in the federally supported National School Lunch Program have been getting more whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables in their diets—whether they like it or not. The change is due to new school meal standards unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last January, per the order of 2010’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The new standards are based on the Institute of Medicine’s science-based recommendations, and are the first upgrade to nutritional standards for school meals since 1995 when low- and no-fat foods were all the rage.
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By most accounts, deforestation in tropical rainforests adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than the sum total of cars and trucks on the world’s roads. According to the World Carfree Network (WCN), cars and trucks account for about 14 percent of global carbon emissions, while most analysts attribute upwards of 15 percent to deforestation.
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Gov. Bob McDonnell announced this week the award of 59 Virginia Locality Stormwater Program Development grants totaling more than $2 million statewide. These grants, including one to the City of Waynesboro, will assist more than 100 local governments in developing locally run programs to reduce stormwater runoff from developed lands.
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The fall season brings beautiful colors, but wet leaves under foot may bring a dangerous fall for older adults. According to the National Council on Aging, every 15 seconds an older adult is seen in a hospital emergency department for a fall-related injury. Nationally, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for those aged 65 and over. Moreover, the chances of falling and being seriously injured in a fall increase with age.
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Valley Conservation Council, through its Resource Conservation and Development Program, is pleased to announce its mini-grant recipients for Agriculture Sustainability and Vitality in the Shenandoah River Watershed.
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Oysters have been harvested in the Chesapeake Bay from time immemorial. In fact, the Bay’s very name is an Algonquian phrase that can be translated “great shellfish bay,” and as early as 1612, English settlers were praising the Chesapeake’s oyster beds.
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The George Allen Senate campaign is on the air Thursday with a new TV ad attacking Tim Kaine on coal. The spot, titled “Pie Chart,” highlights a 2009 speech in which Kaine explained his commitment to make coal a smaller part of our nation’s energy resources.
