First confirmed Snakehead fish caught in Mississippi
WLOX
BOLIVER COUNTY, MS (WLOX)
Today is World Oceans Day and this year’s overall theme is ‘Our Ocean, Our Future,’ encouraging solutions to plastic pollution and preventing marine litter for a healthier ocean and a better future.
http://wxxv25.com/2017/06/08/world-oceans-day/ MAJOR LOSS Northside Sun
SURF CITY, N.C. (WITN) -- It was back to the ocean Wednesday for several eager turtles.
Thirteen sea turtles were released by the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center as hundreds watched in Surf City, North Carolina.
http://www.wtok.com/content/news?article=427240043 National
Justice Memo Leaves Environmental Settlement Projects In Peril Bloomberg
A June 7 Justice Department policy
memo that prohibits including payments for third-party, not-for-profit groups in settlements could limit the inclusion of certain environmental projects, reversing a decades-long practice, attorneys told Bloomberg BNA.
https://www.bna.com/justice-memo-leaves-n73014452982/ States Tell EPA They’ll Fight Should U.S. Relax Vehicle Emissions Rules More than a dozen attorneys general vow a legal battle if regulations are eased WSJ
Here’s a bright idea: Switching to LED light bulbs can help the typical home save about a $1,000 over a 10-year period. That’s roughly $8.33 a month.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/06/09/household-savings-led-bulbs-gaining-cost-efficiency/375699001/ Press Releases
AIR QUALITY FORECAST ADVISORY—CODE ORANGE FOR OZONE
For Friday, June 9, 2017
MEMPHIS – In cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ); the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH); and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) has issued a “
Code Orange Air Quality Forecast Advisory” for Friday, June 9, 2017 for the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The Memphis Metropolitan Area includes Shelby County, Tennessee; Crittenden County, Arkansas; and DeSoto County, Mississippi. A “
Code Orange Air Quality Forecast Advisory” indicates ozone levels are forecast to exceed the eight-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
Health Precautions:
- For Active Children and Adults
- For Persons With Respiratory Difficulties
OZONE REDUCTION TIPS
RECOMMENDED DURING
“CODE ORANGE OZONE ADVISORIES” - Limit prolonged outdoor activities during afternoon hours
- High ozone levels can cause nose, eye, throat, and lung irritation
- High ozone levels can aggravate existing conditions and lead to increased potential for illness in this sensitive group
- Refuel cars and lawnmowers after 7:00 pm, avoid spills and do not “top off” tanks
- Carpool or mass transit
- Combine errands instead of many separate trips
- Drive less, especially during peak hours or hot days
Under existing Air Quality Index guidelines, ozone levels are expected to reach the classification of
“Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”.
The forecast exceedance for tomorrow is expected as a result of stagnant conditions, increased temperatures, and decreased winds.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
(Orange)
(Advisory)
101 – 150
Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
For more information concerning air quality, contact one of the following: SCHD Pollution Control at (901) 222-9599 or
www.shelbytnhealth.com; The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality-Planning and Air Quality Analysis Branch-Air Division at (501) 682-0767 or
www.adeq.state.ar.us/air/default.htm; The Arkansas Department of Health at (501) 661-2000 or
www.healthyarkansas.com/environment/environment.html; The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality-Air Standards and Planning-Air Quality at (601) 961-5577 or
www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/page/Air_Ozone?OpenDocument.
All modes of MATA transportation will be discounted to $0.25 on Friday, June 9, 2017 ONLY. USDA Announces More than $22 Million in Conservation Innovation WASHINGTON, June 8, 2017 - The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today announced that the agency will award more than $22.6 million to drive public and private sector innovation in resource conservation. The agency is investing in 33 projects nationwide through its competitive Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, which helps develop the tools, technologies, and strategies to support next-generation conservation efforts on working lands and develop market-based solutions to resource challenges. Public and private grantees - including non-governmental organizations, American Indian tribes, academic institutions and local government entities will leverage the federal investment by at least matching it.
“The Conservation Innovation Grant program is an example of government at its best, providing seed money to help spur cutting-edge projects,” said NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan. “This year’s competition resulted in an impressive array of proposals that will ultimately benefit the people who grow our food and fiber.”
The projects announced today focus on conservation finance and pay-for-success models to stimulate conservation adoption; data analytics for natural resources; water management technologies and approaches; and historically underserved farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners. The 2017 CIG awards bring the total NRCS investment to nearly $286.7 million for 711 projects since 2004.
Annually, about 10 percent of CIG funding is set aside to support efforts to benefit farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who historically have not had equal access to agricultural programs because of race or ethnicity; who have limited resources; who are military veterans interested in farming or ranching; or who are beginning farmers or ranchers. Ten projects totaling $5,141,856 were selected in 2017 because they will benefit historically underserved agricultural producers and forest landowners.
In Mississippi, the Winston County Self Help Cooperative (WCSHC) and New South Development and Training LLC were recipients of Conservation Innovation Grants.
The WCSHC was awarded $474,000. The cooperative will focus its CIG funds on educating small, limited-resource and disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in six Mississippi counties on how to obtain access to information, hands-on training exercises, mentoring and other outreach activities that will enhance their agricultural enterprises. WCSHC will provide to producers research-based information on soil health and sustainable production practices with an emphasis on economic and ecological performance.
In addition, New South Development Training LLC was awarded $800,000 for their Smart Microbiology Agriculture Innovations Research Project. The award recipients propose to evaluate the beneficial use of municipal solids for crop farming by historically underserved producers. Sharply escalating production costs have producers looking for alternatives to commercial fertilizers, a demand that could potentially be met by municipal solids.
“NRCS is proud to have recipients from Mississippi awarded CIG funding through this competitive process, and we look forward to seeing the positive results that demonstrate gains in innovative practices that conserve our natural resources,” said Mississippi’s State Conservationist Kurt Readus.
Read and download the
full list of this fiscal year’s selected projects.
CLICK HERE to view the list through an interactive map.
CIG is funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The maximum grant is $2 million per project, and the length of time for project completion is three years. The CIG projects are designed to engage EQIP-eligible producers in on-the-ground conservation activities that speed up the transfer and adoption of innovative conservation technologies and approaches. The NRCS uses CIG to work with other public and private entities to accelerate transfer and adoption of promising technologies and approaches to address some of the nation’s most pressing natural resource concerns.
