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The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission has begun the second phase of its Shenandoah Valley Regional Energy Efficiency Program for municipal building upgrades throughout the region. The improvements are among those recommended by Roanoke-based Spectrum Design as part of an energy audit of 47 public buildings throughout the Central Shenandoah Region. The full findings of…
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Dear EarthTalk: Which are the most fuel-efficient hybrid and/or all-electric cars available to consumers today (just the affordable ones, please!)? – Jack Madison, Chicago, Ill. Given increased environmental awareness, high gas prices and a continually slumping economy, it’s no wonder that more fuel efficient cars are all the rage these days. The best deal going…
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Virginia submitted its Phase II Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan to officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Friday. This extension to Phase I, submitted to EPA in 2010, seeks to build on the earlier version by localizing its actions to clean up pollution reaching the Chesapeake Bay. In addition,…
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Gov. McDonnell announced Tuesday that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission has voted unanimously to approve proposed construction of a 479-foot-tall, five-megawatt wind turbine generator prototype in the lower Chesapeake Bay, three miles off the Eastern Shore town of Cape Charles. The construction of the prototype turbine is scheduled to be completed in late 2013, which…
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The local chapter of the LPGA Foundation’s Girls Golf will be hosting a Movin’ and Groovin’ event at James Madison University on Saturday to spread love of the game to young girls. Girls Golf is designed to enhance young ladies’ enjoyment and knowledge towards the game of golf in a socially and physically safe and…
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Bob Goodlatte tells us the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act (H.R. 4153) will improve EPA administration and effectiveness by giving states more control. It will not. Does the EPA overreach, cost too much, and use bad science in its pronouncements? Absolutely! It’s a government agency, isn’t it? Beyond this, it’s no mystery that…
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Dear EarthTalk: American farmers are an aging population. Is anyone doing anything to make sure younger people are taking up this profession in large enough numbers to keep at least some of our food production domestic? – Beverly Smith, Milwaukee, Wisc. Indeed American farmers as a whole are an aging group today as young people…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell intervened at the 11th hour of the General Assembly’s 2012 regular session to push through a major power shift on transportation and land use planning in Virginia, a smart-growth planning group says. After reportedly calling in a handful of legislators for last minute negotiations, his omnibus transportation bill (HB1248/SB639) squeaked through the…
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Dear EarthTalk: Can you fill me in on what the “Just Label It” campaign is and what it is trying to accomplish? – Eric Altieri, Columbus, Ohio Just Label It is an effort spearheaded by organic farmers and food producers, consumer and public health advocates and environmentalists to persuade the federal government to require that…
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Some politicians are still calling contraception a social evil. This is an astonishing claim in the 21st Century when all the evidence is that contraception is key to a more successful economy and a better quality of life – not only for individual women and their families, but for us all. Because contraception makes it…
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