Minnesota Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Coming Soon: Minnesota Pesticide Tool Kit

Minnesota pesticide laws make it difficult for people who have been exposed to a pesticide to find out which one it is. Minnesota law prohibits anyone but veterinarians and doctors from receiving pesticide applicator records. Even they must fill out forms, taking up valuable time in when these records are needed- often a medical emergency. These roadblocks to access leave doctors treating patients based on a best guess, treating only symptoms.

Minnesota does not make the system easy to navigate. In an attempt to guide people through the red tape, we are putting all the documents and resources all in one spot called our Pesticide Tool Kit. We hope to offer a quick guide for anyone dealing with pesticide drift or other exposure to seek help as quickly as possible and understand laws that may affect their rights. We will be including a special link for doctors. Watch for our new Pesticide Tool Kit!

1Sky: Minnesotans Fighting Global Warming

Here in Minnesota, 1Sky Organizer Jenna Garland has been working to bring Clean Water Action members in to Rep. Erik Paulsen's district, because he is a key vote on upcoming energy and climate legislation. As a freshman GOP Congressman, hearing from his constituents will be critical in pushing him to vote the right way.

Garland met with Mr. Paulsen and his staff in DC, even having a conversation with Erik about the need to cap our carbon while waiting to board their plane from DC back to Minneapolis. Garland has also represented Minnesota and Clean Water Action at the recent Power Shift 2009 conference, which brought 12,000 young people and climate advocates to D.C. She helped run the Minnesota State Breakout Session, leading 150 people in a discussion about how best to build a network of climate advocates across the state. Garland helped with the Power Shift Lobby Day Training, which trained approximately 5,000 of the 12,000 Power Shift attendees.

Between now and the anticipated House vote on the Waxman bill, she is working to organize grassroots lobby meetings with Erik Paulsen, as well as bringing labor, business, and faith leaders into Paulsen's office to make sure he's hearing from more than the usual suspects on the urgent need for climate legislation.

Celebrate Lake Superior Day

Lake Superior Day, Sunday, July 19, 2009 in Duluth, is to remind people about how important the lake and its surrounding basin are to our weather, health, food supply, recreation opportunities and lifestyles. Lake Superior Day is a time to highlight the many ways people use the Lake every day and encourages them to take action to protect it.

Find out about area events celebrating Lake Superior Day or contact Rosie Loeffler-Kemp at 218-722-8557 or

Healing Our Waters Conference

Clean Water Action is proud to present the Fifth Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference, September 10-12, 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minnesota.

Help shape the future of Great Lakes restoration along with our extensive network of partners from the public and private sectors by attending the fifth annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference in Duluth. Enjoy field trips, engaging workshops and an evening overlooking Lake Superior.

 

Restoration Act

Efforts to reverse the damage done to the Clean Water Act by the Supreme Court have begun anew. Senator Feingold and 23 co-sponsors reintroducing the Clean Water Restoration Act (S. 787) in early April. This version, virtually unchanged from the bill he authored in the last Congress, restores Clean Water Act protections for wetlands, lakes and streams threatened by the 2001 SWANNC and 2006 Rapanos Supreme Court decisions.

Since those decisions, more and more waters continue to be stripped of Clean Water Act protections. Introduction of the House version, authored by Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar, is expected shortly. The Restoration Act will be appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, of which Sen. Klobuchar is a member, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which Rep. Oberstar chairs and of which Rep. Walz is a member. The President and members of his administration have spoken in favor of restoring the scope of the Clean Water Act.

 

In this issue of Minnesota Currents|Online:

Minnesota Issue Updates
Updates on Minnesota's work on pesticides, global warming and the clean energy economy, Lake Superior Day events, the Clean Water Restoration Act, and the Healing Our Waters Conference.

Green Stimulus Funding Strengthens Minnesota Water Projects
Even in these tough economic times clean water has proven to be a priority that won't be given up. On February 16, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The $787 billion bill included $6 billion for water infrastructure projects through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).

Will Munger: A Passion For Making Duluth Better
State Representative Roger Reinert may have said it best: "Will Munger does not live in the shadow of his father's legacy. He has spent his life building his own. He is an outspoken and highly respected activist and community leader who brings stakeholders together who doesn't always share the same agenda. The result is moving issues forward that many of us care about deeply."

Minnesota Member Spotlight: Christopher Sullivan
This past February, Clean Water Action member Christopher Sullivan joined two Clean Water staff members, Deanna White, Program Director, and Jenna Garland, 1Sky Organizer, at an in-district meeting with Congressman Erik Paulsen, who represents Mr. Sullivan in Washington.

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

Restoring the Clean Water Act Must Top Congress' Agenda
Restoring the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water resources must top Congress' water agenda. Supreme Court and agency decisions put at risk Clean Water Act protections for headwater, intermittent and ephemeral streams that supply drinking water systems that serve more than 110 million Americans. In total, 59 percent of the nation's waterways and millions of acres of wetlands are currently at risk.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children.

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