Volume 14, Issue 28 ~ July 13 - July 19, 2006

Way Downstream

Maryland voters can see who’s truly green and who’s in camouflage when it comes to the environment, with the latest League of Conservation Scorecard. The scorecard tracks legislators’ votes on key environmental issues and tallies up the environmental votes into a percentage.

Votes counted toward the scores included the Healthy Air Act, land conservation, pollution prevention, transportation funding and citizen involvement. Scores, which measure both floor and committee votes, dropped slightly in this most recent two-year period. The Senate averaged 59 percent and the House 67 percent. Thirty-three legislators earned a perfect 100 percent, while 10 legislators scored zero.

Track your lawmakers online at www.mdlcv.org.

100 Percenters: Senate: Conway, Frosh, Gladden, Green, Grosfeld, Hollinger; House: Benson, Bobo, Cardin, Conroy, Frush, Gutierrez, Hammen, Healey, Heller, Holmes, Hubbard, Kaiser, Kullen, Lawton, Mandel, Menes, Moe, Montgomery, Morhaim, Murray, Parker, Proctor, Pugh, Ramirez, Ross, F. Turner, V. Turner; Zeros: Senate: Jacobs, Stoltzfus; House: Bates, Boteler, Dwyer, Krebs, McConkey, Miller, Shewell, Stocksdale.

(Anne Arundel and Calvert lawmakers appear in italic type.) …

In Maryland politics, Josh Cohen, an Anne Arundel County Council (Dist.6) aspirant, became the 10th recipient of Howard Ernst’s Blue Crab Candidate designation, winning Professor Ernst’s seal of approval for environmental credentials. Others thus far in the order of the awards are: Mike Shay, (Dist.33B, House of Delegates); Scott Hymes (Dist. 33, State Senate) George Johnson (AA County Executive); Hilary Spence (Dist. 37, State Senate); Robb Tufts (AA County Council Dist.7); Jamie Raskin (Dist. 20, State Senate); Keith Losoya (Dist. 46, House of Delegates); Jim Rosapepe (Dist. 21, State Senate); and Barbara Samorajczyk (Dist. 30, House of Delegates) …

In Virginia, the mystery of the foamy James River may be solved. Tests by the state Department of Environmental Quality suggest that the suds and the phosphorus may be coming from the laundry at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County, the Times-Dispatch reports ...

In Hawaii, a federal judge last week ruled against the U.S. Navy in a case that could have broader implications. The judge issued an order temporarily preventing the use of high-intensity sonar, ruling that there is “considerable convincing scientific evidence” that it harms marine animals. Last month, the Pentagon exempted the Navy from the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but advocates challenged the heavy-duty sonar on other environmental grounds ...

Our Creature Feature Comes from Italy, where Bruno, a rare and much-loved brown bear, was shot dead after straying from the Italian Alps into Bavaria. It should be noted that Bruno met his end after killing dozens of farm animals in a hungry rampage, Reuters reported. But the Italians want Bruno back, saying it was irresponsible to kill a protected species. What’s more, they are upset about the German plan for Bruno’s body: stuffing him to put in a museum.

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