DFIA Environmentalist Throws Her Hat in the Ring

In her first race since college days, DFIA Environmentalist Molly Regan has taken out nomination papers for the Scott Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

There are 5 people on the Scott County non-partisan, volunteer commission, with 3 seats up for grabs this year.

Molly obtained over 50 signatures on her petition before the Kerry rally the other day, with the help of fellow Deaniacs Monica Kurth and Paul Elgation, and got her last signature yesterday.

According to Iowa's Washington Evening Journal, this year, Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners (SWCDs) will be elected in 100 districts throughout Iowa. The commissioners are elected volunteers and have been working with voluntary, private land conservation in Iowa since as early as 1939. Commissioners help guide soil and water conservation programs in the district and watersheds, identify local issues and concerns, and influence state and national conservation programs. SWCDs work closely with a number of local, state and federal agencies, particularly the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Division of Soil Conservation and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This is an opportunity to become involved in environmental work at the local level.

Nomination forms, including a petition, are available in your county auditor's office. At least 25 eligible voters must sign the petition. Nomination papers need to be filed at the auditor's office by Aug. 25, in order to be on the ballot in November. Only one person per township within a district can be represented on the district board.

For more information, go here.


Iowa Bicyclists learn about conservation practices

Iowa Farm Bureau

Riders on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) learned how Iowa farmers are working with state and federal agencies to protect the environment.

The “Iowa Conservation Team” worked to educate all riders, including Iowans, out-of-staters and international riders, about conservation practices they were seeing as they huffed, puffed and ate their way across Iowa.

The goal was to show that Iowa farmers, who lead the nation in creation of buffers and have reduced soil erosion significantly, are protecting the environment.

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Iowa Middle School Teacher Receives Award

Disney

The DisneyHand Teacher Awards, dedicated to honoring the most creative and inspiring teachers in America, this year bestowed Hector Ibarra, a 6th and 7th grade teacher from West Branch Middle School in West Branch, Iowa, with the first Youth Service America Award. The honor, presented by multi-platinum performing artist and former special education teacher Clay Aiken, was given to Ibarra for his exemplary use of community service as a teaching methodology.

Since 1993, Ibarra's flagship youth service learning program, Timber Stand Improvement, has successfully linked science to the community. Some of Timber Stand Improvement's success includes planting more than 2,000 oak, hickory and walnut trees in Iowa's Cedar Valley Park; collecting 4,265 used oil filters and extracting 37.2 gallons of oil, preventing the substance from entering the Cedar County landfill; encouraging retrofitting of inefficient shower heads and sink aerators; planting amaryllis bulbs for senior citizen homes and local businesses; and holding a student-run reading program for elementary, preschool and daycare children.

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Marvel chemicals pop up in animals all over world

Chicago Tribune

Chemicals used to make Teflon and Scotchgard have been promoted as modern marvels for their ability to keep food from sticking to pots and fast-food packaging, repel stains on carpets and furniture and make water roll off coats and clothing.

Now scientists are finding that the chemicals also have managed to spread throughout the world. Researchers have detected them in polar bears roaming near the Arctic Circle, dolphins swimming in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy and gulls flying above ocean cliffs outside Tokyo.

Known as perfluoronated compounds, the chemicals also were recently detected for the first time in the Great Lakes, one-fifth of the Earth's fresh water and the source of drinking water for more than 7 million people in Illinois and 33 million others in the United States and Canada.

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