Children may be at greater risk from the microscopic particles in traffic pollution than was previously thought.
Early findings from a major study in London seen by the BBC show that the lung capacity of 8- and 9-year-olds is 5% lower than the national average.
And 7% of the children - surveyed in the Tower Hamlets area - have lung function reduced to a level internationally regarded as hazardous.
The London study is being led by Professor Jonathan Grigg.
He works out of the Centre for Paediatrics at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Leaf clues
The particles - so-called "particulates" - are produced in vehicle exhaust and are far smaller than the width of a human hair.
Less than 10 microns across, they are often referred to as PM10.
The results come as researchers at Lancaster University warn that levels of particulates are often higher than shown by official monitoring devices.
Analysing the particulates collected on roadside leaves, the research shows that the pollution can be most intense at the height of many children.
Britain already faces penalties from the European Union for multiple breaches of standards for particulate pollution.
Professor Grigg told BBC News: "Our findings in the East End of London are that children living here have slightly lower lung function than what we'd expect from the national average.
"Now, if that's due to air pollution, as we suspect, they're going to be at increased risk from a range of respiratory disorders such as asthma and infection, and may be at risk in adulthood."
Cough test
A total of 203 children at 10 different schools are taking part in regular tests over several years.
Interim findings from 149 children show that 11 of them have lung capacity that is 80% or lower than the national average - a threshold regarded by researchers as vulnerable to a range of breathing conditions.
One test involves encouraging the children to cough - so the carbon content of their sputum can be analysed.
Microscope analysis shows how particulates are reaching deep into the lungs.
These results will add pressure on the government over Britain's failure to meet European Union air quality standards.
The EU requirement is for average PM10 concentrations to stay below 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air - but most of the country's major conurbations record higher levels.
And the new research by Lancaster University shows that the particulate levels may be even worse than official figures show.
The official data is gathered at automatic monitoring stations which typically sample air at a height of three metres - mainly to avoid the risk of vandalism.
But Professor Barbara Maher and her team have devised a new technique for measuring the magnetic response of particulates on roadside leaves - many of the particles contain fragments of metal
And the readings show higher concentrations of particulates at lower levels.
'Progress made'
Interviewed beside a busy road in Lancaster, Professor Maher said: "We're surrounded by this invisible mist of these millions of toxic particles - you can't see them but we know, we've measured them, they're here.
"When we do our leaf magnetic measurements, our research shows that down at small child height the concentrations - the number - of these very fine particles is sometimes twice the current EU regulation standard."
One set of measurements, outside the Cathedral School in Lancaster, revealed particulate levels that were above the EU standard.
The school's head, Anne Goddard, said the findings were "quite worrying".
"It's the only playground we have at the school and it's right next to the road. The levels are high so obviously the effect on the children, especially those with asthma, is a concern."
The Environment Secretary Hilary Benn admits there is a problem but says 24 out of 27 members of the European Union are in breach of the standards and that most of the landmass of Britain does meet the requirements.
He also said that "huge progress" had been made in the last few decades with the Clean Air Act and changes in vehicles standards.
"But we need to do more and principally that will be about cars and lorries and buses," he said.
"And we've been working with other countries in Europe to improve the standards to get these PM10 particles down because we know it has an effect on our health."
Friday, June 12, 2009
Net injury 'disables' minke whale
An injured minke whale has provided a unique insight into the dangers posed to marine animals by fishing gear.
The minke whale was spotted off the coast of Quebec, Canada, with a huge scar around its throat thought to be caused by floating rope.
What's more, it fed in a way never before recorded for minke whales, probably in response to its injury.
The sighting is one of the first to detail the handicaps that can be caused to animals that become entangled.
Earth News reports the development as part of a series of articles highlighting the dangers fishing nets pose to marine animals.
Previously, we described how fishing nets are strangling dolphins to death in the Adriatic.
Now marine biologist Brian Kot of the University of California and colleagues working for the Mingan Island Cetacean Study non-profit research organisation have published details in Marine Mammal Science of a minke whale that has been badly scarred by fishing gear.
Spotted of the coast of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, the minke whale had a deep laceration running the circumference of its feeding pouch, from near its throat up both sides of its head close to each eye.
The cut ran through the whale's skin and into its blubber, in parts exposing the muscle underneath.
"The width of the laceration was very similar to the ropes from crab pots that are set by fishermen in my study area," says Kot.
Crab pots set on the seafloor are baited and held by a rope leading up to the surface, which is attached to a buoy. Often a series of cages are connected by floating ropes that are thought to entangle whales.
Kot and his team observed and videoed the injured minke feeding on schools of capelin for over 80 minutes.
An analysis of the video showed that the minke, which lunged into the fish schools 50 times, had no problem accelerating into each lunge.
But the whale often breached in a way never before recorded among minkes.
On 18 of the 50 lunges, the whale breached at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees to the surface, feeding on its right side only, as can be seen in the picture above.
It would then rotate in the air to land upright on its chin. The researchers never saw the whale breach from its left side, or spin in mid air to land on its left. The whale was also unable to distend its feeding pouch as far as other healthy whales.
"The injury seemed to affect the expansion of the ventral pouch and I noticed a unique lunge-feeding behaviour that has not been previously described in the scientific literature," says Kot.
Despite often seeing the same whales repeatedly in his study area in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Kot has not seen the injured minke whale again, so he doesn't know what long-term impact the wounds had
"We really don't know what happened to it. Perhaps the injured animal left the area and survived or perished some time in the future."
However, the sighting of the minke whale is valuable as it's "one of the first to show the effect of an entanglement-like injury in a live animal," says Kot.
By some estimates, fishing gear poses the greatest threat to whales.
Yet little is actually known about the impact fishing that gear has on the survival of these ocean giants.
In particular, almost nothing is known about the non-lethal impact caused by entanglement injuries.
"Cetacean entanglements involving various kinds of fishing gear have been a global concern for many years," says Kot.
"However, with the steadily increasing demand for food, fishing pressure in the world's oceans has increased the amount of gear that whales can potentially encounter."
And many coastal fisheries operate exactly where the smaller and more vulnerable species of whale and dolphin range.
"Some of the largest whales, such as blue or fin, can sometimes free themselves from entanglements due to their size and strength," Kot explains. "Smaller whales like minke likely don't have this ability."
And most small whales that do get trapped probably drown and sink, never to be found by anyone, including the fishermen who own the net, he says.
The minke whale was spotted off the coast of Quebec, Canada, with a huge scar around its throat thought to be caused by floating rope.
What's more, it fed in a way never before recorded for minke whales, probably in response to its injury.
The sighting is one of the first to detail the handicaps that can be caused to animals that become entangled.
Earth News reports the development as part of a series of articles highlighting the dangers fishing nets pose to marine animals.
Previously, we described how fishing nets are strangling dolphins to death in the Adriatic.
Now marine biologist Brian Kot of the University of California and colleagues working for the Mingan Island Cetacean Study non-profit research organisation have published details in Marine Mammal Science of a minke whale that has been badly scarred by fishing gear.
Spotted of the coast of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, the minke whale had a deep laceration running the circumference of its feeding pouch, from near its throat up both sides of its head close to each eye.
The cut ran through the whale's skin and into its blubber, in parts exposing the muscle underneath.
"The width of the laceration was very similar to the ropes from crab pots that are set by fishermen in my study area," says Kot.
Crab pots set on the seafloor are baited and held by a rope leading up to the surface, which is attached to a buoy. Often a series of cages are connected by floating ropes that are thought to entangle whales.
Kot and his team observed and videoed the injured minke feeding on schools of capelin for over 80 minutes.
An analysis of the video showed that the minke, which lunged into the fish schools 50 times, had no problem accelerating into each lunge.
But the whale often breached in a way never before recorded among minkes.
On 18 of the 50 lunges, the whale breached at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees to the surface, feeding on its right side only, as can be seen in the picture above.
It would then rotate in the air to land upright on its chin. The researchers never saw the whale breach from its left side, or spin in mid air to land on its left. The whale was also unable to distend its feeding pouch as far as other healthy whales.
"The injury seemed to affect the expansion of the ventral pouch and I noticed a unique lunge-feeding behaviour that has not been previously described in the scientific literature," says Kot.
Despite often seeing the same whales repeatedly in his study area in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Kot has not seen the injured minke whale again, so he doesn't know what long-term impact the wounds had
"We really don't know what happened to it. Perhaps the injured animal left the area and survived or perished some time in the future."
However, the sighting of the minke whale is valuable as it's "one of the first to show the effect of an entanglement-like injury in a live animal," says Kot.
By some estimates, fishing gear poses the greatest threat to whales.
Yet little is actually known about the impact fishing that gear has on the survival of these ocean giants.
In particular, almost nothing is known about the non-lethal impact caused by entanglement injuries.
"Cetacean entanglements involving various kinds of fishing gear have been a global concern for many years," says Kot.
"However, with the steadily increasing demand for food, fishing pressure in the world's oceans has increased the amount of gear that whales can potentially encounter."
And many coastal fisheries operate exactly where the smaller and more vulnerable species of whale and dolphin range.
"Some of the largest whales, such as blue or fin, can sometimes free themselves from entanglements due to their size and strength," Kot explains. "Smaller whales like minke likely don't have this ability."
And most small whales that do get trapped probably drown and sink, never to be found by anyone, including the fishermen who own the net, he says.
Congress backs tobacco clampdown
The House passed the bill by 307-97, a day after it was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate. It now goes to President Obama to be signed into law.
The bill gives the US Food and Drug Administration strong powers to regulate the content and marketing of tobacco products.
It has been hailed as a milestone in the history of tobacco regulation.
About one in five Americans smoke, and the habit kills some 440,000 every year.
But tougher regulation has been stiffly opposed by the industry and tobacco's political backers.
Until now, tobacco has been more lightly regulated than cosmetics or pet food, and previous attempts at FDA regulation were struck down by the Supreme Court as requiring congressional approval.
The bill will "make history", President Obama said on Thursday after it was passed by the Senate by 79-17.
He may sign it into law as early as Friday.
Advertising targeted
The bill empowers the FDA to:
Limit nicotine levels - though not banning nicotine or cigarettes entirely
Attempt to limit the appeal of smoking among young people, by limiting the use of flavours, restricting advertising in publications targeting young people, and banning outdoor tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet (300m) of schools
Require tobacco companies to get FDA approval for new products
Bar terms such as "light" or "mild" in tobacco packaging which imply a smaller risk to health, and introduce graphic new health warnings of packets
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that FDA regulation could reduce underage smoking by 11% over the next decade, and adult smoking by 2%.
Paying for the new regulation is likely to end up adding to the cost of cigarettes.
Momentous
Repeated efforts by supporters of greater regulation of the tobacco industry have been fiercely resisted for years by the industry and lawmakers from tobacco-producing states.
This time, the country's biggest tobacco firm, Philip Morris, supported the bill - though rivals suggested that was because restrictions on new products would protect the company's market share.
Observers said the bill was one of the most momentous milestones in the history of smoking since the 1964 surgeon general's report highlighted the hazards it posed to health.
About 20% of Americans smoke - a statistic that has declined in recent years, as in many developed nations.
But in some countries smoking remains much more prevalent - for example, 50% of Namibians smoke, 47% of Mongolians and 44% of Turks, according to the World Health Organization.
The bill gives the US Food and Drug Administration strong powers to regulate the content and marketing of tobacco products.
It has been hailed as a milestone in the history of tobacco regulation.
About one in five Americans smoke, and the habit kills some 440,000 every year.
But tougher regulation has been stiffly opposed by the industry and tobacco's political backers.
Until now, tobacco has been more lightly regulated than cosmetics or pet food, and previous attempts at FDA regulation were struck down by the Supreme Court as requiring congressional approval.
The bill will "make history", President Obama said on Thursday after it was passed by the Senate by 79-17.
He may sign it into law as early as Friday.
Advertising targeted
The bill empowers the FDA to:
Limit nicotine levels - though not banning nicotine or cigarettes entirely
Attempt to limit the appeal of smoking among young people, by limiting the use of flavours, restricting advertising in publications targeting young people, and banning outdoor tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet (300m) of schools
Require tobacco companies to get FDA approval for new products
Bar terms such as "light" or "mild" in tobacco packaging which imply a smaller risk to health, and introduce graphic new health warnings of packets
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that FDA regulation could reduce underage smoking by 11% over the next decade, and adult smoking by 2%.
Paying for the new regulation is likely to end up adding to the cost of cigarettes.
Momentous
Repeated efforts by supporters of greater regulation of the tobacco industry have been fiercely resisted for years by the industry and lawmakers from tobacco-producing states.
This time, the country's biggest tobacco firm, Philip Morris, supported the bill - though rivals suggested that was because restrictions on new products would protect the company's market share.
Observers said the bill was one of the most momentous milestones in the history of smoking since the 1964 surgeon general's report highlighted the hazards it posed to health.
About 20% of Americans smoke - a statistic that has declined in recent years, as in many developed nations.
But in some countries smoking remains much more prevalent - for example, 50% of Namibians smoke, 47% of Mongolians and 44% of Turks, according to the World Health Organization.
Dean asks residents to take environmental pledge
Mayor Karl Dean is asking Nashville residents to take a five-step pledge to help the environment by saving electricity and water and cutting back on greenhouse gas emissionsThe mayor is asking people to use at least four compact fluorescent light bulbs; turn off the water while brushing their teeth; take the bus, walk, ride a bike or carpool at least once a week instead of driving; plant a tree; and use reusable shopping bags.
"Our citizens have a tremendous desire to help make Nashville more environmentally sustainable and to help address the bigger issue of global climate change," Dean said in a news release Friday.
"While it may seem simple, the most important thing individuals can do is make easy changes in their everyday life to reduce waste, reduce energy use and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that go into our air. Collectively, these efforts will have a huge impact."
Dean has said he wants Nashville to be the "greenest city in the Southeast." Creating the pledge was one of 71 recommendations the mayor's Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability made in April.
Dean will formally kick off his environmental pledge campaign before the Nashville Sounds game at 5:40 p.m. today. Steve Gild, an environmental health and safety officer at Vanderbilt University, and his wife and three sons will take the ceremonial first pledge.
Gild said he and his family already do most of the things required by the pledge, but they want to focus even more on environmentally sustainability. Planting a tree will be a new activity for the Bellevue family.
"We want to be an example," Gild said.
According to information provided by the mayor's office, the efforts of every Nashvillian would eliminate 120 million plastic bags a year and save enough water each year to fill LP Field four times. Reducing automobile use would eliminate more than 290,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the same as taking 5,800 cars off the road each year.
A recent inventory of greenhouse gases produced by Nashville showed the city is slightly above the national average for emissions produced per resident.
The Sounds are hosting their second annual "Go Green Night" tonight with Dean, Nashville Electric Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Fans are encouraged to wear green and will be able to see an exhibit on energy efficiency before the game against the Memphis Redbirds, which starts at 6 p.m.
NES spokeswoman Laurie Parker said Sounds fans are a natural audience because many of them are "families watching their budgets."
For more information, go to www.nashville.gov/green/ or www.nespower.com.
By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN
"Our citizens have a tremendous desire to help make Nashville more environmentally sustainable and to help address the bigger issue of global climate change," Dean said in a news release Friday.
"While it may seem simple, the most important thing individuals can do is make easy changes in their everyday life to reduce waste, reduce energy use and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that go into our air. Collectively, these efforts will have a huge impact."
Dean has said he wants Nashville to be the "greenest city in the Southeast." Creating the pledge was one of 71 recommendations the mayor's Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability made in April.
Dean will formally kick off his environmental pledge campaign before the Nashville Sounds game at 5:40 p.m. today. Steve Gild, an environmental health and safety officer at Vanderbilt University, and his wife and three sons will take the ceremonial first pledge.
Gild said he and his family already do most of the things required by the pledge, but they want to focus even more on environmentally sustainability. Planting a tree will be a new activity for the Bellevue family.
"We want to be an example," Gild said.
According to information provided by the mayor's office, the efforts of every Nashvillian would eliminate 120 million plastic bags a year and save enough water each year to fill LP Field four times. Reducing automobile use would eliminate more than 290,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the same as taking 5,800 cars off the road each year.
A recent inventory of greenhouse gases produced by Nashville showed the city is slightly above the national average for emissions produced per resident.
The Sounds are hosting their second annual "Go Green Night" tonight with Dean, Nashville Electric Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Fans are encouraged to wear green and will be able to see an exhibit on energy efficiency before the game against the Memphis Redbirds, which starts at 6 p.m.
NES spokeswoman Laurie Parker said Sounds fans are a natural audience because many of them are "families watching their budgets."
For more information, go to www.nashville.gov/green/ or www.nespower.com.
By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN
BULLETS DO NOT STOP GUATEMALA GREEN ACTIVIST
His stride is an awkward hop, the scars on his abdomen and legs an ugly road map of hurt. Seven bullets tore into Yuri Melini -- that much is known.
Harder to figure out is who did it. Melini has a lot of enemies.
Drug traffickers. Midnight loggers. Mining giants. Corrupt military men. Politicians. The 47-year-old Melini has taken on all of them as lead agitator of a Guatemalan environmental advocacy group, the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action, or CALAS.
Melini doesn't seem surprised that police have yet to come up with a solid lead into September's shooting by a lone gunman. Or that telephone threats and sightings of shadowy men haven't stopped.
He opts for the bright side. "I'm alive," Melini says.
If you think it's not easy being green, try doing it in a place as violent as Guatemala, where environmentalism is often viewed as a radical pursuit and the rule of law remains a distant goal. Speaking out can bring a hit man to your door.
For the last nine years, Melini has spoken out a lot. Using a mix of grass-roots activism, lawsuits and old-fashioned lobbying, his organization tackles issues from illegal logging in protected forests and the impact of a growing mining industry to the supply and cleanliness of water.
Guatemala has plenty of other grave social problems, poverty and inequality among them. But Melini, who gave up his training as a physician to focus on conservation causes, says his environmental work ties into a wider effort to improve life for the powerless, including the country's large indigenous population.
"There are enough laws -- the problem is they are not being applied," Melini says, as government-supplied bodyguards wait outside his office in Guatemala City, the capital. "It is a matter of awareness and will: raising the awareness of the people and the will of the politicians."
Big triumphs have been few for CALAS, with a staff of 21 lawyers, engineers, agronomists, sociologists and other experts.
But a major victory came last June, when the group won a Supreme Court of Justice ruling that struck down parts of the nation's mining law as too lax. CALAS had argued in its legal challenge that the law didn't adequately safeguard people living near mining operations.
Melini has done battle with oil firms and gone to court to challenge a decision to allow logging in a mountain forest designated for protection.
In addition, he has complained loudly about damage caused by drug traffickers in a vast wilderness in the northern province of Peten, where smugglers fell trees to build secret airstrips and roads. This year, CALAS is to open its first offices in the region, home to some of its toughest fights and most dangerous adversaries.
Such crusades don't always charm. Melini acknowledges that even some environmentalists consider him too strident. He relies on foreign sources for funding, with most coming from a special environmental program of the Dutch government.
But admirers say Melini is breaking new ground by carrying environmental fights to the courtroom -- a tactic that is common in the United States but not in Guatemala or much of the surrounding region. Melini says he wants to create a legal-aid network devoted to environmental issues and to lobby for creating special environment courts.
"Environmental litigation across Central America is still not very common," said Erika Rosenthal, an attorney for the Oakland-based group Earthjustice. "That kind of advocacy . . . is sorely needed."
Last month, Melini was honored by the Irish-based human rights group Front Line for his efforts on illegal logging and mining issues. The group cited his attempts to bring attention to attacks on environmental activists. (He counted 128 during two years.)
Melini was ambushed outside his mother's house Sept. 4 by a gunman who fired from close range. The activist said he lay curled on the ground, awaiting the coup de grace, but the attacker left.
Nine months later, Melini gets around with a walker and faces more surgery. He's had residency offers from several countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, but refused. He figures fleeing Guatemala would serve those behind the attack on him, whoever they are.
"I am like a tree," Melini says. "They chopped me down, and I'm bouncing back again
Harder to figure out is who did it. Melini has a lot of enemies.
Drug traffickers. Midnight loggers. Mining giants. Corrupt military men. Politicians. The 47-year-old Melini has taken on all of them as lead agitator of a Guatemalan environmental advocacy group, the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action, or CALAS.
Melini doesn't seem surprised that police have yet to come up with a solid lead into September's shooting by a lone gunman. Or that telephone threats and sightings of shadowy men haven't stopped.
He opts for the bright side. "I'm alive," Melini says.
If you think it's not easy being green, try doing it in a place as violent as Guatemala, where environmentalism is often viewed as a radical pursuit and the rule of law remains a distant goal. Speaking out can bring a hit man to your door.
For the last nine years, Melini has spoken out a lot. Using a mix of grass-roots activism, lawsuits and old-fashioned lobbying, his organization tackles issues from illegal logging in protected forests and the impact of a growing mining industry to the supply and cleanliness of water.
Guatemala has plenty of other grave social problems, poverty and inequality among them. But Melini, who gave up his training as a physician to focus on conservation causes, says his environmental work ties into a wider effort to improve life for the powerless, including the country's large indigenous population.
"There are enough laws -- the problem is they are not being applied," Melini says, as government-supplied bodyguards wait outside his office in Guatemala City, the capital. "It is a matter of awareness and will: raising the awareness of the people and the will of the politicians."
Big triumphs have been few for CALAS, with a staff of 21 lawyers, engineers, agronomists, sociologists and other experts.
But a major victory came last June, when the group won a Supreme Court of Justice ruling that struck down parts of the nation's mining law as too lax. CALAS had argued in its legal challenge that the law didn't adequately safeguard people living near mining operations.
Melini has done battle with oil firms and gone to court to challenge a decision to allow logging in a mountain forest designated for protection.
In addition, he has complained loudly about damage caused by drug traffickers in a vast wilderness in the northern province of Peten, where smugglers fell trees to build secret airstrips and roads. This year, CALAS is to open its first offices in the region, home to some of its toughest fights and most dangerous adversaries.
Such crusades don't always charm. Melini acknowledges that even some environmentalists consider him too strident. He relies on foreign sources for funding, with most coming from a special environmental program of the Dutch government.
But admirers say Melini is breaking new ground by carrying environmental fights to the courtroom -- a tactic that is common in the United States but not in Guatemala or much of the surrounding region. Melini says he wants to create a legal-aid network devoted to environmental issues and to lobby for creating special environment courts.
"Environmental litigation across Central America is still not very common," said Erika Rosenthal, an attorney for the Oakland-based group Earthjustice. "That kind of advocacy . . . is sorely needed."
Last month, Melini was honored by the Irish-based human rights group Front Line for his efforts on illegal logging and mining issues. The group cited his attempts to bring attention to attacks on environmental activists. (He counted 128 during two years.)
Melini was ambushed outside his mother's house Sept. 4 by a gunman who fired from close range. The activist said he lay curled on the ground, awaiting the coup de grace, but the attacker left.
Nine months later, Melini gets around with a walker and faces more surgery. He's had residency offers from several countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, but refused. He figures fleeing Guatemala would serve those behind the attack on him, whoever they are.
"I am like a tree," Melini says. "They chopped me down, and I'm bouncing back again
Duke Energy reaches Save-A-Watt settlement
Consumer and environmental advocates have reached a settlement with Duke Energy Carolinas on its Save-A-Watt program. The agreement, which must still be approved by state regulators, increases targets for energy conservation and caps Duke’s potential earnings from the initiative.
The Charlottesville-Va.-based Southern Environmental Law Center, which was the lead legal team for the environmental groups, announced the settlement Friday morning. It calls for Save-A-Watt to reduce energy demand by 2 percent over the next four years. It sets a target of reducing demand by as much as 8 percent by 2020. The environmental groups say that would be the equivalent of the annual output from Duke’s 825-megawatt expansion at the controversial Cliffside coal plant on the border of Cleveland and Rutherford counties.
The groups say that capping Duke’s profits will protect consumers from unreasonably high charges for energy efficiency.
Greater conservation efforts and lower costs were key issues for environmental groups and the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which represents customer interests in utility cases, as they fought Duke for two years over Save-A-Watt.
Michael Regan, Southeast regional air-policy expert for the Environmental Defense Fund says the environmental groups believe the settlement makes the program better for customers, the environment and for Duke. He says the groups want to support utilities in their efforts to provide energy-efficiency programs. And he says incentives built into the settlement that allow Duke to increase its rate of return based on achieving specified efficiency targets accomplish that goal.
Duke also got what it considers an important concession. Duke will be allowed to make a return on part of what it would have cost to build power plants to provide the energy the program saves.
Duke has said eliminating compensation based on such “avoided costs” would be a deal-breaker. Duke contends such compensation puts efficiency on a more equal footing with electricity sales for generating profits. Without that kind of incentive, Duke has said, efficiency would always take a back seat in utilities’ business plans.
“The fact that the avoided-cost model is in there, that it’s based on pay-for-performance and that it is up to us to make sure the programs really work were all keys to the settlement for Duke,” says company spokesman Tim Pettit.
The public staff and environmental groups had opposed the avoided-costs idea, largely on fears that it could provide Duke with unreasonable profits.
The public staff also worried about departing from standard regulatory practice. In North Carolina, utilities are generally allowed to make a return on the money they spend. An avoided-costs model breaks that connection and offers Duke a return on money it does not spend.
But an important concession to the public staff was a decision to make Save-A-Watt a four-year pilot initiative. The N.C. Utilities Commission will review the program at the end of that period and decide whether it has performed well enough to be made permanent.
The avoided costs outlined in the settlement will track the model Ohio adopted for Duke’s version of the Save-A-Watt program in that state. It reduces the percentage of avoided costs on which Duke can earn a return. Duke had originally asked to make a rate of return on 90 percent of what it would have cost to provide the energy that was saved. Under the settlement, Duke will get a return on 50 percent of the avoided costs for energy-conservation programs and 75 percent of the avoided costs for programs that shift use away from peak times.
Like in Ohio, the settlement lets Duke cover what are called “lost margins.” Several environmental groups have recognized the need to allow Duke to recover those fixed costs for generating and delivering electricity when efficiency programs reduce demand.
The settlement announced Friday will form the basis of a Save-A-Watt proposal Duke will make to S.C. regulators this summer. The S.C. Public Service Commission rejected Duke’s first proposal in February.
Save-A-Watt is an energy-efficiency initiative Duke has been touting for years. The proposal comprises a series of programs to help customers use less electricity or shift their use of power from peak-demand hours to low-use times.
Some of the programs — such as discounts for energy-saving light bulbs and financial incentives to buy high-efficiency appliances — started June 1 in both Carolinas. But neither state has approved the full initiative.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has led the environmental groups in dissecting the program. Opponents contended the original proposal would reward Duke too handsomely and primarily for shifting the use of electricity from busy times. That would conserve little energy but save utilities money. Steve Smith, executive director of the alliance, says his group’s concern from the beginning was to make sure Save-A-Watt resulted in significant reductions in energy use.
In North Carolina, the commission approved Save-A-Watt’s programs but withheld judgment on Duke’s compensation. The commission asked for additional comments on the issue. As opponents were formulating their responses to that request, they and Duke resumed negotiations in North Carolina.
Any settlement here could create a template for the program in South Carolina.
One key feature of the compromise will be the creation of an advisory group that will assist in reviewing for Save-A-Watt.
The Charlottesville-Va.-based Southern Environmental Law Center, which was the lead legal team for the environmental groups, announced the settlement Friday morning. It calls for Save-A-Watt to reduce energy demand by 2 percent over the next four years. It sets a target of reducing demand by as much as 8 percent by 2020. The environmental groups say that would be the equivalent of the annual output from Duke’s 825-megawatt expansion at the controversial Cliffside coal plant on the border of Cleveland and Rutherford counties.
The groups say that capping Duke’s profits will protect consumers from unreasonably high charges for energy efficiency.
Greater conservation efforts and lower costs were key issues for environmental groups and the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which represents customer interests in utility cases, as they fought Duke for two years over Save-A-Watt.
Michael Regan, Southeast regional air-policy expert for the Environmental Defense Fund says the environmental groups believe the settlement makes the program better for customers, the environment and for Duke. He says the groups want to support utilities in their efforts to provide energy-efficiency programs. And he says incentives built into the settlement that allow Duke to increase its rate of return based on achieving specified efficiency targets accomplish that goal.
Duke also got what it considers an important concession. Duke will be allowed to make a return on part of what it would have cost to build power plants to provide the energy the program saves.
Duke has said eliminating compensation based on such “avoided costs” would be a deal-breaker. Duke contends such compensation puts efficiency on a more equal footing with electricity sales for generating profits. Without that kind of incentive, Duke has said, efficiency would always take a back seat in utilities’ business plans.
“The fact that the avoided-cost model is in there, that it’s based on pay-for-performance and that it is up to us to make sure the programs really work were all keys to the settlement for Duke,” says company spokesman Tim Pettit.
The public staff and environmental groups had opposed the avoided-costs idea, largely on fears that it could provide Duke with unreasonable profits.
The public staff also worried about departing from standard regulatory practice. In North Carolina, utilities are generally allowed to make a return on the money they spend. An avoided-costs model breaks that connection and offers Duke a return on money it does not spend.
But an important concession to the public staff was a decision to make Save-A-Watt a four-year pilot initiative. The N.C. Utilities Commission will review the program at the end of that period and decide whether it has performed well enough to be made permanent.
The avoided costs outlined in the settlement will track the model Ohio adopted for Duke’s version of the Save-A-Watt program in that state. It reduces the percentage of avoided costs on which Duke can earn a return. Duke had originally asked to make a rate of return on 90 percent of what it would have cost to provide the energy that was saved. Under the settlement, Duke will get a return on 50 percent of the avoided costs for energy-conservation programs and 75 percent of the avoided costs for programs that shift use away from peak times.
Like in Ohio, the settlement lets Duke cover what are called “lost margins.” Several environmental groups have recognized the need to allow Duke to recover those fixed costs for generating and delivering electricity when efficiency programs reduce demand.
The settlement announced Friday will form the basis of a Save-A-Watt proposal Duke will make to S.C. regulators this summer. The S.C. Public Service Commission rejected Duke’s first proposal in February.
Save-A-Watt is an energy-efficiency initiative Duke has been touting for years. The proposal comprises a series of programs to help customers use less electricity or shift their use of power from peak-demand hours to low-use times.
Some of the programs — such as discounts for energy-saving light bulbs and financial incentives to buy high-efficiency appliances — started June 1 in both Carolinas. But neither state has approved the full initiative.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has led the environmental groups in dissecting the program. Opponents contended the original proposal would reward Duke too handsomely and primarily for shifting the use of electricity from busy times. That would conserve little energy but save utilities money. Steve Smith, executive director of the alliance, says his group’s concern from the beginning was to make sure Save-A-Watt resulted in significant reductions in energy use.
In North Carolina, the commission approved Save-A-Watt’s programs but withheld judgment on Duke’s compensation. The commission asked for additional comments on the issue. As opponents were formulating their responses to that request, they and Duke resumed negotiations in North Carolina.
Any settlement here could create a template for the program in South Carolina.
One key feature of the compromise will be the creation of an advisory group that will assist in reviewing for Save-A-Watt.
China stops 2 hydropower dams; cites environment
China's environment ministry has suspended construction of two ambitious hydropower dams in the upper Yangtze River region, saying the projects were illegal because they were started without necessary environmental assessments.
The announcement, carried widely in state media Friday, is an unusually aggressive move by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, whose local bureaus answer to local governments despite it being upgraded to a full ministry last year.
The dams are part of an estimated 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) project involving hydropower stations along the Jinsha River tributary in southwestern China which environmentalists have said would damage the region's biodiversity.
Two large state-owned power companies, Huadian Power and Huaneng Power, started blocking the middle reaches of the river in January without approval from the ministry, it said in a notice on its Web site late Thursday.
"To protect the management of the environment ... and to punish the violation of the environment and illegal acts regarding the environment, the environmental ministry decided to suspend the construction projects in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River," spokesman Tao Detian said in the statement.
Tao said additional environmental reviews would be needed for the hydropower projects to go ahead.
Hydroelectric power is viewed as a relatively clean alternative to the heavily polluting coal-fired plants that are China's main source of energy. But some critics have questioned the potential environmental and social impact of so many huge projects.
The Beijing News newspaper quoted an unidentified person who works for a hydropower project at a large power company as saying it was the first time the environment ministry has responded so strongly to hydropower.
China plans to build 12 hydropower projects along the 1,423-mile (2,290-kilometer) Jinsha River that flows from northern Qinghai province to Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
The electricity output from the stations is estimated to equal the output from the massive Three Gorges Dam in central China.
Dams have big impacts on communities both upstream and downstream, and the companies should take into consideration the ecology of the Lijiang area, Tao said in the statement. Lijiang is an important tourism and trekking area in southwestern Chi
The announcement, carried widely in state media Friday, is an unusually aggressive move by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, whose local bureaus answer to local governments despite it being upgraded to a full ministry last year.
The dams are part of an estimated 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) project involving hydropower stations along the Jinsha River tributary in southwestern China which environmentalists have said would damage the region's biodiversity.
Two large state-owned power companies, Huadian Power and Huaneng Power, started blocking the middle reaches of the river in January without approval from the ministry, it said in a notice on its Web site late Thursday.
"To protect the management of the environment ... and to punish the violation of the environment and illegal acts regarding the environment, the environmental ministry decided to suspend the construction projects in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River," spokesman Tao Detian said in the statement.
Tao said additional environmental reviews would be needed for the hydropower projects to go ahead.
Hydroelectric power is viewed as a relatively clean alternative to the heavily polluting coal-fired plants that are China's main source of energy. But some critics have questioned the potential environmental and social impact of so many huge projects.
The Beijing News newspaper quoted an unidentified person who works for a hydropower project at a large power company as saying it was the first time the environment ministry has responded so strongly to hydropower.
China plans to build 12 hydropower projects along the 1,423-mile (2,290-kilometer) Jinsha River that flows from northern Qinghai province to Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
The electricity output from the stations is estimated to equal the output from the massive Three Gorges Dam in central China.
Dams have big impacts on communities both upstream and downstream, and the companies should take into consideration the ecology of the Lijiang area, Tao said in the statement. Lijiang is an important tourism and trekking area in southwestern Chi
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