It's about time

Rhode Islanders React to Obama's Climate Plan

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News Staff

Here’s how local environmentalists reacted to President Obama’s June 25 announcement for cutting U.S. carbon emissions.

Geoff Berg of Citizens Climate Lobby Rhode Island likes the idea of carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants, but enforcement is needed to make it work. "Let’s put some regulatory teeth on the table to begin with.”

CCL advocates for federal legislation to establish a $15 fee per ton on fossil fuels emission. The funds would be paid to U.S. citizens as a monthly dividend, equal to $250 annually. The fee would add 13 cents to the price of gas.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse During his 37^th “Time to Wake Up Speech” on the Senate floor, Whitehouse remarked that Obama’s plan was the first ever show of progress on addressing climate change by the federal government. He called the plan “bold.” Like CCL, Whitehouse advocates for a carbon tax on fossil fuels and returning the dividend to citizens. 

Fair Elections, RIP

The Supreme Court's Shelby ruling aids a Republican plan to win more elections without winning support from more voters.

By Emily Schwartz Greco and William A. Collins

Voting rights are under attack again — this time it’s the Supreme Court’s turn.

The majority’s ruling in the Shelby County vs. Holder case gutted key Voting Rights Act provisions at a time when minority access to the polls faces new obstacles.

As Justice Ruth Ginsburg explained and proved in her dissent, the law is working well but remains necessary. She likened the ruling to “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

Second annual outing for the North East Skim tour draws more contestants and spectators

Plourd wins second in a row

Local guy Mike Dowdell catches a good wave

By Will Collette

Photos by Cheryl Dowdell

Over 100 spectators came out last Sunday for Charlestown’s second North East Skim Tour event at Charlestown Town Beach. Sponsored by Charlestown’s Parks and Recreation Department, it was a nice day at the beach with no trouble and no injuries.

Charlestown short subjects

Plovers on East Beach, non-profits at flea market, tag sale on Saturday, don’t eat those olives, and you WILL eat that rate hike

By Will Collette

No vehicles – especially ATVs – on East Beach

DEM has closed the sand trail through East Beach to all but pedestrian traffic. That ban will stand in place indefinitely. DEM is imposing the restrictions to give endangered piping plovers a chance to nest and raise their chicks.

Hopefully, someone will make sure that CCA Town Council boss Tom Gentz doesn’t mistake them for goose eggs and oil them.

"With the changes in beach habitat and populations, we especially need the help of beachgoers to protect piping plovers and respect sand trail closures," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "We are confident that the ongoing monitoring will enable us to reopen the sand trail to vehicles as soon as possible."

Sections of the East Beach off-road vehicle corridor may be reopened on or about August 1, if not sooner.

Free booth space for non-profits at the General Stanton Flea Market

General Stanton Inn owner Janice Falcone has announced that she is making booth space available at no cost this summer to non-profit groups. The market is open on weekends through the summer from 8 AM to 3 PM and draws about 5,000 people.

Speaking of…

Don’t forget to come to the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee’s tag sale on Saturday. Click here for details.

Job Lot olives recall

Let's go for a dip

From Charlestown's #1 research source, Fake Science

Jammin', jammin' (hope you like jammin' too)

Strawberry Jam

Photo and text by KARA DICAMILLO from ecoRI.org

Strawberry season is one of my favorites. Not only does it mean that summer has started, but there is not much else like the taste of fresh strawberries. I eat them on my cereal, salads, and ice cream. They are one fruit that I just can’t get enough of, not to mention they are possibly one of the best finger foods!

My strawberry plants are booming this year (thanks to some critters not finding them just yet) and I’m harvesting them daily. 

With 4^th of July and summer parties approaching, this jam makes the perfect hostess gift. It’s simple and, of course, it looks pretty. I used just a little bit of sugar to sweeten it because fresh, local strawberries are just so perfectly sweet. You just can’t compare them to those purchased in the grocery store. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

DEM: so far, no disease-carrying mosquitoes found

However, it’s just the beginning of the season for West Nile and EEE

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that test results from all 125 mosquito pools, or samples, from 21 traps set statewide during the week of June 17 are negative for both West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. In addition, the remaining 32 mosquito pools from seven traps set during the week of June 10 have been confirmed negative for WNV and EEE.

Throughout the mosquito season, residents are encouraged to protect themselves by eliminating mosquito breeding grounds and avoiding mosquito bites. Personal protection is the first line of defense against mosquitoes that can carry diseases such as West Nile Virus and EEE and is by far the most effective way of avoiding infection.

Land-Based Carbon Offsets: False Hope?

Forest and Soil Carbon Is Important, but Does Not Offset Fossil Fuel Emissions

Not the solution, though still a good idea

From ScienceDaily.com

Leading world climate change experts have thrown cold water on the idea that planting trees can offset carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

Professor Brendan Mackey of Griffith University Climate Change Response Program is the lead author of an international study involving researchers from Australia and the U.K. Their findings are reported in "Untangling the confusion around land carbon science and climate change mitigation policy," published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't

Herbicides Part of Life and Death for R.I. Ponds

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

Why are so many Rhode Island lakes and ponds infested with invasive plants? Boaters and fishermen typically introduce alien plant life as stowaways in water and as fragments on waders, boots and fishing gear, according the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM). Once established, these invasive plants spread, flowing downstream to other bodies of water.

In fact, early 60 percent of the state’s lakes have at least one invasive species, according to DEM.

But the damage is not all caused by visiting fishermen and boaters. Lakes and ponds without public access also take in fast-growing plants through birds, wildlife, aquariums, water gardens and landscaping. Arnold Pond in Coventry and Hundred Acre Pond in South Kingstown likely got their infestations of Brazilian elodea from the dumping of an aquarium tank in the pond.

So who are the people behind the Copar Quarry?

Meet your new neighbors, Part 3

Copar Company Controller Daniel Thibodeau

Phil Armetta - you met him in Part 1. Copar is
located in his headquarters
Photo courtesy of Middletown Eye News

By Will Collette

Progressive Charlestown brought you the scoop that the Connecticut-based Copar Quarry, which has been giving the neighbors of its Bradford quarry fits for the past two years, took over operations of Morrone’s sand and gravel operation on Route 91.

We also brought you the story that, despite an anti-Copar resolution by the Town Council posted on the town website, Charlestown granted Copar a business license on June 4, even though Copar had been operating without a license for three months and didn’t even fine Copar the $25 a day called for under Charlestown’s ordinances.

We also brought you the story that Copar misstated its address when it registered its business with the state and listed as their “resident agent” a guy who doesn’t live in Rhode Island, even though state law requires the resident agent be a Rhode Island resident.

One way to understand why Copar has operated the way it has in Bradford and now in Charlestown is to understand who runs the company. 

In Part One, we introduced you to Copar money guy Phil Armetta, Connecticut’s “Titan of Trash,” whose headquarters is also the headquarters of Copar. Armetta did federal prison time after he was indicted as part of the federal probe of the Galante family.

In Part Two, we introduced you to Randy Roberge, Copar’s Rhode Island Resident Agent who doesn’t actually reside in Rhode Island. Roberge is also Copar’s Chief Financial Officer. Roberge was also the CFO for the Mortgage Lenders Network (MLN), whose demise was one of the triggers of the real estate crash. The state of Connecticut deemed Roberge as lacking in character and integrity to hold a mortgage broker’s license, so Roberge now works for Copar.

Now, in Part Three, we’ll take a look at Copar’s Corporate Controller Daniel J. Thibodeau. “Controller” is an important position. The Controller handles all of a company’s financial and accounting matters. 

Nothing to hide

Chagrin Falls - Gavin has nothing to hide from the NSA

By Ruben Bolling

Nothing to hide, except a few things you can see by clicking here.

New approach to…something, I forget

Memory Loss and Gain

From: Andy Soos, ENN.com 

Would it not be nice to take a pill and regain that elusive memory? We are all forgetful at times and without a clue as to how to get it better.

Memory improved in mice injected with a small, drug-like molecule discovered by UCSF San Francisco researchers studying how cells respond to biological stress. The same biochemical pathway the molecule acts on might one day be targeted in humans to improve memory, according to the senior author of the study, Peter Walter, PhD, UCSF professor of biochemistry and biophysics and a Howard Hughes Investigator.

I can think of a nice parcel right on Route One to add to Charlestown’s open space

Continued Losses of Open Space Can Adversely Affect Rural Economies

By Norman Dicks & Lynn Scarlett 

Each year, an estimated 2 million acres of America's farms, ranches, forests, wildlife habitat, and other open spaces are fragmented into smaller parcels or lost to development, according to the President's Annual Economic Report to Congress. 

Continued losses of this open space can adversely affect rural economies. These losses reduce opportunities for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation and impact wildlife, water, and other resources.

Tanzi-Walsh cesspool phaseout bill may run out of time

Cesspools Targeted as Beach Closings Spike

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News Staff

Narragansett Bay is getting cleaner but beach closings are way up this year. So far this season, 61 closures days have been announced by the Department of Health. Only 54 beach closures occurred in all of 2012.

The DOH attributes the spike in closures to the nearly 11 inches of rainfall in recent months. The rain washes stormwater, wastewater, and run-off into the bay from streets, overflowing storm drains and sewage treatment plants.

Bacteria from cesspools is a persistent contributor to the water pollution. Cesspools are simply metal or concrete barrels with holes, lacking any capacity to treat sewage. Installations mostly ended in 1970. Yet, according to the state Department of Environmental Management some 25,000 remain in use in Rhode island.

While many communities have installed sewer lines and require less harmful wastewater treatment systems and septic systems, many failed cesspools are tainting wells and contributing to surface runoff.

Why the June 26 Whalerock hearing was suspended

Craven’s absence was only part of it

By Will Collette

Bring on the next expert witness. Cue the Power Point

The June 26 fourth episode in Charlestown’s summer dramatic series, the Whalerock wind farm special use permit application to the Zoning Board of Review (ZBR), lasted only a few minutes before it was adjourned until July 17.

ZBR Chair Mike Rzewuski gave the reason for the quick in-and-out as the absence of the ZBR’s town lawyer, Bob Craven. As Rzewuski explained, Craven was up at the State Capitol where, wearing another hat as State Representative for North Kingstown, Craven was voting on the state budget. Rzewuski said they needed Craven there.

I can certainly agree that the ZBR members need their legal counsel present, although Craven’s presence at the previous three hearings has not helped the ZBR members from making a mess of the Whalerock case that will aid Whalerock in its inevitable court appeal after the ZBR rejects Whalerock’s application for a special use permit.