By PAT WALTERS
Grist

The aim of Green for All -- whose partners include the Apollo Alliance, the Center for American Progress, and the Energy Action Coalition -- is to raise a billion dollars for green-collar job training by 2012. In doing so, its founders hope to pull 250,000 Americans out of poverty.

It's a bold mission, to be sure. And the stakes may be higher than ever.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Grist website.

For more information on Tides Center project Apollo Alliance, see www.apolloalliance.org.

By LINDA YOUNG
Special To The Tampa Tribune

Florida lawmakers are grappling over the $4 billion shortfall in the state budget. Some of the spending cuts are going to be painful, and include funds for life-saving medical care for the poor, millions from our schools and many other important services and programs.

Yet at the same time, the state is pouring large sums of money into an unneeded $331 million new airport for Bay County, largely to enrich the adjacent land values of one politically connected property owner, the St. Joe Company.

So far the state has sunk $10 million into the project, with at least another $67 million earmarked from state coffers. And given the debt it will incur, taxpayer-funded financial bailouts are likely in this airport's future.

It would be bad enough if this airport, which will destroy 2,000 acres of wetlands, were truly needed, but the fact is, it isn't. The current Bay County airport is not only adequate, but is actually underutilized.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Tampa Bay Online website.

For more information on Tides Center project Clean Water Network of Florida, see www.cwn-se.org.

By GLOBAL VOICES ONLINE
Silobreaker

ChinaDialogue is a fully bi-lingual weblog where environmental matters affecting China are discussed. Isabel Hilton is the editor, and we asked her some questions regarding the environment in China, the Olympics, climate changeand lessons that can be learned from China's environmental challenges and solutions. She was kind enough to share her insight with us on our first GV-Enviro interview.

What are some of the main stories/ideas surrounding environmental conservation and preparation for the Beijing Olympics as covered by China Dialogue?

We see that preparation for Olympics has given a big boost to green consciousness in China. The Olympics are so important for the government that it has allowed environmental issues to override economic ones — some that is otherwise hard to do in any government — and stimulated all kinds of necessary action — from moving factories out of Beijing to building public transport infrastructure and greening buses.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Silobreaker website.

For more on Tides Center project ChinaDialogue, see www.chinadialogue.net.

It's April 1st! By any measure, April Fool's Day is a fun day. Add fish-shaped chocolate and you have the lighthearted holiday known in France as "Poisson d'Avril" or "April Fish."

This week, joining Passionfish in hosting our fourth annual dinner celebration of fish and mischief will be The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, and Tapino Restaurant & Wine Bar in Scottsdale, Arizona. At Tapino, Owner & Chef James Porter will be featuring on his menu fresh farmed sturgeon and caviar courtesy of Tsar Nicoulai while at The CIA these offerings will be joined by open- ocean raised Kona Kampachi courtesy of Kona Blue Water Farms and hand-trolled, line-caught fresh Wahoo from Tobago in the West Indies, courtesy of Tobago Wild.

At both venues, keeping with the French tradition of Poisson d'Avril, guests who order the seafood will be treated to a chocolate confection -- crafted from America's finest dark chocolate, courtesy of Scharffen Berger.

Our celebration's white sturgeon (and caviar), once common from Alaska to Mexico, is raised inland in pristine, aquifer-fed ponds. Only nine sturgeon farms operate worldwide; Tsar Nicoulai's northern California aquaculture operation is renowned for its innovations and quality. (www.tsarnicoulai.com).

"Global sustainability is more than a trend, it is imperative to the continuation of fish species worldwide, says Deborah Keane, VP of Sales & Operations at Tsar Nicoulai. "By partnering with Passionfish in their Poisson d'Avril event, Tsar Nicoulai Caviar reaffirms our shared commitment to promoting and educating sustainable seafood practices."

These sentiments are echoed by Kona Blue Water Farms, a sustainable open-ocean aquaculture operation proud to proclaim the husbandry of their Hawaiian yellowtail fish spans from "hatch to harvest." (www.kona-kampachi.com). Similarly, Tobago Wild prides itself on fostering practices that protect the future of the ocean's fishes and the livelihoods of those fishermen whose families depend on the fragile coastal economy of the remote fishing villages of Tobago. (www.tobagowild.com).

This year, Passionfish's Poisson d'Avril will include an educational forum on seafood sustainability that is free and open to the public. Panelists include Charles Yarish, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut, a renowned world expert on ecosystem- based aquaculture; Sylvia Dow of Kona Blue Water Farms; Daniel Dimin of Tobago Wild; Passionfish's Gerard Viverito; Dave Klinger of the Blue Ocean Institute, and a local Hudson Valley vintner.

The discussion will be held on Saturday, April 5th, in the Danny Kaye Theatre on the CIA Hyde Park campus from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The dinner event begins at 7:00 p.m. and is on a space-available basis.

Faculty member and Passionfish Director of Culinary Education, Chef Gerard Viverito, CEC, says, "We are thrilled to introduce students to the pressing nature and important subtleties associated with the issue of sustainability. With this event we can all enjoy ourselves while re-examining topics explored previously in the classroom and kitchen. This celebration is equal parts pedagogy and party!"

"Passionfish revels in discovery," says Passionfish Executive Director Carl Rebstock. "Where others find safe harbor in the company of like minds, we invite the tumult that diverse opinions bring to a discussion. How else to confront multi- faceted problems but with multi-stakeholder participation? In the end, we invariably find that at the nucleus of contentious topics are shared passions from which to move forward together in new and promising directions. Celebrating the French tradition of Poisson d'Avril is just such an non-threatening way of engaging the public in critical thinking while encouraging positive action."

Restaurants donate proceeds from the event to help support Passionfish's public education efforts. Recipes from these supporting restaurants are included in the sustainability group's upcoming cookbook series, "Passionfish! A Celebration of Seafood from the Ocean to the Plate."™

This year, Passionfish is proud to partner with The CIA's Educational Foundation. Passionfish will donate proceeds from the New York event to the Institute in support of the student group "Chefs Sustaining Agriculture." And, the society Chaine des Rotisseurs is generously matching our donation to the student group.

Participating Restaurants:
Caviar Cafe, San Francisco Ferry Plaza (Tsar Nicoulai)
Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar, Scottsdale (Chef James Porter)
The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY (Chef Gerard Viverito)

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About Passionfish
Passionfish, a project of The Tides Center, is a catalyst for positive change. Passionfish is an innovative non- profit project that promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture through public education and stakeholder collaboration. Founded in 2000, Passionfish helps business and the public grasp the complex issues of seafood sustainability. Its multi-media programs include exhibitions, community education "Get the Dish on Fish" dinners, Poisson d'Avril events, live public forums, its Ocean Commotion blog, and consumer and children's education. Passionfish believes that everyone shares the same need for healthy global fish populations. We endeavor to bring diverse stakeholders together to troubleshoot and overcome obstacles to ocean sustainability. Our organization promotes unique business-conservation partnerships, builds solutions through productive dialogue, and inspires conservation through a cookbook series coupled with vibrant special events. As a volunteer-run organization, 100% of proceeds raised go directly to public education programs.
www.passionfish.org

About Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker was established in 1996 in San Francisco, Calif. Producing bean to bar premium chocolates, Scharffen Berger is one of the world's finest chocolate makers. All Scharffen Berger chocolates are composed of proprietary bean blends from up to nine different cacao-growing regions throughout the world and are manufactured in small batches in Berkeley, Calif. Scharffen Berger chocolate has received recognition throughout the U.S. and is sold in retailers nationwide as well as in Scharffen Berger's own retail locations in San Francisco, Berkeley and New York City. Scharffen Berger is part of the Artisan Confections Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company. http://www.scharffenberger.com

About Tsar Nicoulai
At Tsar Nicoulai Caviar we pride ourselves in providing caviar of impeccable quality which is produced ecologically and responsibly. Caviar is an experience steeped in centuries of tradition. It emanates luxury and royalty, and is recognized as such around the world. Today, wild sturgeon stocks are declining as over-fishing, poaching, and pollution have taken their toll. As pioneers of sturgeon farming, we have developed truly sustainable domestic caviar that rivals classic imports. We oversee every aspect from raising the sturgeon to processing its roe which allows us to exert standards of quality control not to be matched. Our caviar is sure to exceed the expectations of even the most discriminating connoisseur.
Contact: Deborah Keane, VP of Sales & Operations, (415) 543-5172 ext 104, dkeane(at)tsarnicoulai.com

Contacts:
Carl Rebstock, Executive Director, Passionfish - (206) 769-1436
Gerard Viverito, Director of Culinary Education, Passionfish - (845) 430-7937
Deborah Keane, VP of Sales & Operations, Tsar Nicoulai - (415) 543-5172 x104

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Rights to Survival & Mobility broadens the discourse on human trafficking to include root causes, such as poverty, gender-based discrimination, globalization and militarism and links human trafficking with race, class, gender and other social justice issues. It also discusses the importance of having a national and organized voice to address the implications of human trafficking on Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities.

"This is a monumental moment for the API women's movement," said Miriam Yeung, Executive Director of NAPAWF. "Human trafficking greatly impacts Asian and Pacific Islander communities. It is critical to break the silence about the exploitation that is happening in our communities and to recognize API women activists who have been leaders in this movement."

The Agenda will be officially released on March 31, 2008 at a launch event in Seattle, WA, where Liezl Tomas Rebugio, NAPAWF's Anti-Trafficking Director will present the report and its recommendations. Joining Rebugio will be community advocates from the Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center and Pinay sa Seattle. "Crafting this report has brought together API women leaders across the country to create a unified national API women's voice against human trafficking," stated Rebugio.

Rights to Survival & Mobility is available here. To order a copy of the report, please contact Liezl Rebugio with your mailing address.

Contact:
Liezl Tomas Rebugio - 206.685.9900 lrebugio(at)napawf.org

Media Coverage
Seattle Times, "Women's forum fighting human trafficking with focus on human rights."

###

BY JERRY LARGE
Seattle Times

Sex crimes instantly get our attention.

So it might seem counterintuitive that someone fighting human trafficking would want to divert our gaze from the most headline-grabbing aspect of that foul practice. But that is Liezl Tomas Rebugio's intent.

She wants us to move from headlines to human rights, and the abuse of those rights that leads to trafficking — in other words, to get to the root of the problem.

Tomas Rebugio is the anti-trafficking-project director for the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, which introduced its anti-trafficking agenda Monday in Seattle, where Rebugio works and where the idea originated.

Seattle has been an active city for the anti-trafficking movement partly because Asian women here have been so active. Velma Veloria, a former state representative, is credited with leading Washington to enact the first state anti-trafficking law (2003).

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Seattle Times website.

For more information on Tides Center project National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, see www.napawf.org.

BY MARY SWANTON
InsideCounsel

Labor unions and environmental organizations are unlikely allies in the quest for a greener America. Historically, the two viewed each other with skepticism, if not downright hostility. Unions feared the environmentalists’ clean-up measures would close plants and eliminate jobs. Environmentalists berated unions for backing job-creating but Earth-destroying proposals, such as opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling. 

But in the past few years, the two sides have found common ground. In 2006, the 1.2-million-member United Steelworkers Union (USW) joined forces with the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, to form the Blue-Green Alliance.

A broader coalition called the Apollo Alliance was launched in 2004 and now counts among its endorsers a long list of unions and environmental organizations. Apollo also is endorsed by dozens of businesses engaged in alternative energy and other “green” projects.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the InsideCouncil website.

For more information on Tides Center project Apollo Alliance, see www.apolloalliance.org.

By BANKS ALBACH
Palo Alto Daily News

The toxic waste handler formerly known as Romic may be dead as dust, but it's not stopping a group of young East Palo Alto activists from keeping a close eye on the cleanup of the company's land.

Youth United for Community Action, or YUCA, presented a list of concerns to the East Palo Alto City Council on Tuesday regarding the cost and transparency in the state-mandated efforts to clean up the 12.7 acre site on Bay Road. Three Cities, an East Coast private equity firm that used to own Romic Environmental Technologies Corp., changed the landholding company's name to Bay Enterprises.

Last summer, Clean Harbors bought Romic from Three Cities, except for two sites, including East Palo Alto.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Palo Alto Daily News website.

For more information on Tides Center project Youth United for Community Action (YUCA), see www.youthunited.net.

By MARCY DARNOVSKY, Associate Executive Director, Center for Genetics and Society
Special to The San Francisco Chronicle

While gay families and their supporters await the California Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of a voter-approved law banning same-sex marriage, a few researchers and pundits are proposing that same-sex procreation with bio-engineered gametes will undermine one of the key arguments of same-sex marriage opponents.

These technological enthusiasts are portraying a recent biological experiment with artificial gametes as a breakthrough that will one day enable gay and lesbian couples to have children who are genetically related to both of them. Some media reports have described the step toward "female sperm" as a portent of gay freedom. "Good news for lesbians," the lead of one story gushed.

Well, maybe not. The news accounts and enthusiasts haven't raised the question of whether equality can be engineered in a test tube or discrimination solved with a technical fix. Nor have they pointed out that procreation with artificial gametes would be a biologically extreme measure that would pose enormous risks to any resulting children. While speculation about using such constructs in humans typically includes the standard disclaimer - "assuming this is shown to be safe" - the far more likely "not safe" option has remained unexamined.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the San Francisco Chronicle website.

For more information on Tides Center project Center for Genetics and Society, see geneticsandsociety.org.

By KEITH SCHNEIDER
Apollo News Service

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A coalition of non-profit environmental and economic research organizations from across the country today released a first-of-its kind guide to cities to enhance one critical component of America’s shared prosperity: Training and employing people for the higher wage, family-supporting careers in the new clean, green, energy efficient job sectors.

The new guide, “Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities,” was accompanied by a similar study and plan of action for state policy makers, “Greener Pathways.” Both were made public today at the start of the two-day national Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Pittsburgh.

The city and state guides recognize that with gathering momentum, many of the America's largest cities and metropolitan regions are defying national trends in housing foreclosures, unemployment, and income stagnation, and instead have become new engines of job growth and prosperity. Underlying this remarkable transformation in the well-being of cities is an entirely new economic development strategy that is firmly based on being more efficient in using energy, being more sensitive to natural resources, more thoughtful about housing and transportation, and much smarter about developing businesses and jobs that meet the environmental conditions and market needs of the 21st century.

...

> Click here to access the full article on the Apollo Alliance website.

By JASON Z. COHEN
LinuxInsider (Part of the ECT News Network)

"We aim at not just a very large encyclopedia, we aim at a very high-quality encyclopedia as well. We realize that this is going to take some time ... but we think we've made excellent progress so far and after some more years of plugging away at it we will have a reference source that is comparable in quality to traditional encyclopedias," said Citizendium's Larry Sanger.

Larry Sanger was an early participant in Wikipedia Latest News about Wikipedia, and in 2006 he founded the Citizendium, which bills itself as "the citizens' compendium."Like Wikipedia, Citizendium is an encyclopedia that invites the public to contribute. The two share other similarities as well, but they are distinctly different as well. LinuxInsider spoke with Sanger about the project and how it stands apart from other wiki encyclopedia sites.

...

> Click here to access the full article on ecommercetimes.com.

For more information on Tides Center project Citizendium, see www.citizendium.org.

Website: www.artraiser.com

The goal of the Art-raiser event is to help non-profits, emerging artists, and the community simultaneously through the collaborative involvement in an online forum. Kimiko adds, “I am thrilled to help raise money for CANFit’s Scholarship Program. What I love about Art-raiser is the fact that the event supports the Arts, a great non-profit, and the development of community. Art-raiser unites people with a shared vision to help others and offers a platform that allows people to contribute.”

On March 17th, Artraiser.com will present Kimiko’s collection of health and fitness art, which the public can purchase directly on the safe and secure site.  Art-raiser and CANFit encourage you to support the traditional collaboration between two universal aspects of human culture: art and food.

About CANFit
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) engages communities and builds their capacity to improve the health status of California´s low-income African-American, American Indian, Latino, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander youth.  CANFit develops creative, simple and culturally relevant materials and programs to promote healthy eating and increase physical activity among youth.

Contact:
Lloyd Nadal
lnadal(at)canfit.org
510.644.1533
www.canfit.org

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By BARTHOLOMEW SULLIVAN
CommercialAppeal.com

WASHINGTON - The Gathering will be gathering in Memphis.

Civil Rights activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte returns to Memphis for the 40th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination with The Gathering for Justice, the group he founded to help a younger generation set a civil rights agenda for the 21st century.

The Gathering for Justice, begun in 2005 to address the problem of incarcerated youth, will hold meetings and workshops at LeMoyne-Owen College on April 5 and 6.

Belafonte said the genesis of the idea for The Gathering was the 2005 televised handcuffing of a St. Petersburg, Fla., kindergartner for what authorities called “unruly behavior.”

...

> Click here to view the full article on commercialappeal.com.

For more information on Tides Center project The Gathering for Justice, see www.thegatheringforjustice.org.

By BETH DALEY
The Boston Globe

Compact fluorescent lamps - those spiral, energy-efficient bulbs popular as a device to combat global warming - can pose a small risk of mercury poisoning to infants, young children, and pregnant women if they break, two reports concluded yesterday.

But the reports, issued by the state of Maine and the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project, urged homeowners to keep using compact fluorescents because their energy-saving benefits far outweigh the risk posed by mercury released from a broken lamp.

They said most danger could be avoided if people exercised common-sense caution, such as not using compact fluorescents in table lamps that could be knocked over by children or pets and properly cleaning up broken bulbs.

The US Environmental Protection Agency and the states of Massachusetts and Vermont said yesterday that, based on the Maine study, they are revising their recommendations for where to use compact fluorescents in a home and how to clean up when one breaks.

...

> Click here to access the full article on The Boston Globe's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Mercury Policy Project, see www.mercurypolicy.org.

However, in a report released today by the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project, advocates say that while sensitive populations should take extra precautions to reduce risks associated with breakage, CFLs can and should still be used in everyone's homes until a nontoxic light bulb becomes available.

"Currently, using CFLs is still the brightest idea out there, both for energy cost savings and to mitigate climate change," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. "Yet both government agencies and the manufacturers have a responsibility to inform consumers about what to do -- and what not to do -- when a CFL breaks. Our message is not 'Be afraid,' it's 'Be informed, and be prepared.'"

According to Bender, when a CFL breaks, the most important risk-reducing steps are to ventilate the breakage area by opening a window and then to follow correct, safe clean up procedures, including not using a vacuum cleaner or a broom. Pregnant women and children should leave the room while the breakage is cleaned up. This recommendation is based on strong scientific evidence that the very young and the fetus are much more sensitive than older groups are to the toxic effects of mercury, said Bender.

Experts also caution parents to avoid using CFLs in fixtures that can easily be knocked over, especially in homes with energetic children and pets. "You can reduce the risk of CFL breakage by not putting them in tall lamps, unprotected wall fixtures or lamps that might fall off tables," said Ned Groth, a scientist who wrote the report on behalf of MPP.

The report, "Shedding Light on Mercury Risks from CFL Breakage," also recommends the adoption of more comprehensive environmental and human health guidelines by decision makers that, in addition to energy-efficiency, address other concerns, including:

• Reduced toxicity while maintaining performance;
• Improved breakage resistance and longer lamp life (which can reduce manufacturing, transportation and disposal impacts);
• Unstainable manufacturing processes (such as the use of encapsulated mercury-dosing technologies);
• Responsible end-of-life management (particularly through producer responsibility in funding lamp collection and retailer collection programs);
• Innovative technologies such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that use less- or non-toxic materials, that have significantly longer life, are much more efficient for certain applications, and/or that offer other measurable environmental benefits.

It's generally recognized that CFLs significantly reduce mercury, greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions coming from coal-fired power plants and are three times more efficient than standard incandescent light bulbs.

Yet today, only about 2% of the mercury-containing lamps discarded by residents and less than 30% of those discarded by government and industry are recycled. Broken mercury-containing lights release an estimated 2 to 4 tons of mercury vapor into the environment each year and that number, as well as the numbers of broken CFLs in homes, is projected to grow as more lamps are used.

"Fluorescent lamps are unnecessarily breaking and releasing mercury in homes across the United States when consumers toss these fragile items into their waste baskets, trash compacters and recycling bins," explained Alicia Culver, executive director of the Green Purchasing Institute, who contributed to the report. "Lamp manufacturers could prevent a significant amount of mercury releases in homes by better labeling their products, offering more mercury-free options, and funding a nationwide lamp recycling program as they have already done in Europe," she added.

More information:

Mercury Policy Project report, "Shedding Light on Mercury Risks from CFL Breakage":

http://www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/Final_Shedding_Light_ALL.pdf

Vermont Fact Sheet on CFLs: http://www.mercvt.org/PDF/cflampfactsheet.pdf

Contact:
Michael Bender
The Mercury Policy Project
802.223.9000
http://www.mercurypolicy.org/

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By MIKE BELLIVEAU
Special to The Morning Sentinel

As a father of two teenage girls, I've spent a good part my life amid the clutter of toys and kids' products. Like most parents, I figured if it was for sale, it must be safe.

Now we learn this isn't always true. But it should be.

Did you know that the rubber ducky floating in your bathtub can no longer be legally sold in Europe or California? It leaks toxic chemicals known as phthalates that mess with testosterone. Published scientific studies link phthalates to genital birth defects and testicular cancer in lab animals. These same health problems are on the increase in baby boys.

> Click here to access the full article on The Morning Sentinel's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Environmental Health Strategy Center, see www.preventharm.org.

Contact:
Heather Lylis
Sunshine, Sachs & Associates
212.691.2800

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All Things Considered
NPR

There's been a lot of talk during this presidential election campaign season about "green-collar" jobs. Melissa Block talks with Jerome Ringo, president of The Apollo Alliance, about how environmentally friendly forms of energy can create jobs.

> Click here to access the podcast on NPR's website.

For more information on Tides Center project The Apollo Alliance, see www.apolloalliance.org.

By JILL CARROLL
The Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK - The e-mail attachment reveals a face disfigured from eight bullet wounds. The message, sent from Iraq, could have been pared down to a single word: Help.

Kirk Johnson carefully files it with hundreds of others from Iraqis who are in peril because they worked for the United States or its allies.

It is the personal pull of such messages that drives Mr. Johnson and his List Project. For a year, he has doggedly worked to help Iraqis enter the US. To date, 20 have arrived. Yet more than 800 people remain on his growing list. "I will have people die on my list before the next president is elected," he says.

> Click here to access the full article on The Christian Science Monitor's website.

For more information on Tides Center project The List: Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, see www.thelistproject.org.

By JILL TUCKER
San Francisco Chronicle

At first, the East Oakland class project on local air quality was a lot like other schoolwork - science and math and writing up stuff.

Then it got personal.

The classroom samples taken by the 20 Excel High School students came back from the lab showing high levels of lead - a dangerous metal known to cause a wide range of neurological and developmental problems, with small children most at risk.

In announcing the results Monday at the school, the students and their advisers said one of the tests showed levels at least five times above the federal Environmental Protection Agency standards for an indoor windowsill.

Those levels could be up to 54 times higher than EPA standards for indoor samples, said Denny Larson of the Global Community Monitor, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that promotes community involvement in environmental issues. The group sponsored the testing and helped train the students.

> Click here to access the full article on The San Francisco Chronicle's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Global Community Monitor, see www.gcmonitor.org.

“The Apollo Alliance fundamentally believes that a clean energy economy that frees us from dangerous dependence on oil will only be possible if Americans come together to make it happen,” stated Phil Angelides, former California State Treasurer and Chairman of the Apollo Alliance. “We are honored to welcome ei2025’s grassroots leaders, and we look forward to working together to usher in a new generation of clean energy technologies and green-collar jobs.”

Back in 2004, when both the Apollo Alliance and ei2025 were founded, neither major political party had been publicly talking about energy as a top priority. But both Apollo and ei2025 were early to recognize that the innovation needed to achieve energy independence would make America more secure and spawn new business and job opportunities.

“At ei2025, we have always believed in the importance of building a national constituency for clean energy and American security,” explained ei2025 founder Chris Wolf, who was inspired to action when his nephew was sent to Iraq for his second tour of duty. “We believe that Apollo has the talent, strength and the coalition to further our mission and to keep energy at the top of the national agenda.”

Americans for Energy Independence was established in 2004 to raise the consciousness of the American public on the critical need for making energy independence a national priority. Using print and radio ads and billboards nationwide to publicly draw the connection between national security and America’s dependence on foreign oil, ei2025 inspired thousands of citizens to join an online movement to advocate for energy solutions. “If our nation had a serious energy independence strategy,” explained Wolf, “the Department of Energy would be doing these types of message campaigns on a massive scale. We attempted to fill in the gap with limited resources.”

The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America. The coalition’s primary focus is to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers.

Inspired by the vision and technological achievements of the Apollo space program, the Apollo Alliance promotes policies and initiatives to speed investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, puts millions of Americans to work in a new generation of well-paid, green collar jobs and makes America a global leader in clean energy products and services.

“We're enthusiastic about Apollo's ability to convene key stakeholders, from labor unions to clean technology investors and from environmental organizations to groups working to create economic opportunity for vulnerable communities,” said Wolf. “I am confident that the good work of ei2025 will be carried on, in an even more robust manner by the Apollo Alliance.”

Contact:
Eric Antebi
415.901.0111 x328
antebi(at)apolloalliance.org

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"The scientists and academics who argue for redistribution of HIV/AIDS monies simply capitulate, ignobly, to the dreadful levels of ODA (official development assistance). They rationalize this position by arguing that we must be pragmatic: there's no more money forthcoming or available. Of course, that's a counsel of despair. We don't need detractors; we need advocates who will hammer away at government until the pendulum swings and the resources are extracted.

"To make HIV/AIDS pay the price for governmental negligence is the ultimate irony. Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul. Peter and Paul are both in life and death struggles. Those who would sacrifice one on the altar of the other have been reading Milton Friedman, not the Bible."

But recent independent laboratory testing of 94 samples of fish and sushi bought in 26 U.S. cities revealed that the mercury content of fresh tuna and swordfish approaches or exceeds levels that may pose risks to human health, particularly for children and women thinking of having kids.

Oceana, an international ocean conservation group based in Washington, D.C., describes the results of these tests of popular fish in a new report entitled Hold the Mercury: How to Avoid Mercury When Buying Fish. The fish tested were purchased at grocery stores and sushi restaurants, and included tuna (both steaks and sushi), swordfish, tilapia and sushi mackerel. The new report also evaluates seafood counter personnel knowledge about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) mercury advisory.

Some of the test results were surprising and suggest that the FDA and seafood retailers could do more to inform consumers.

Among the newsworthy results:

• The average mercury concentration for tuna steaks bought in grocery stores was 0.68 parts per million (ppm), which is nearly double the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s estimate of 0.38 parts per million for fresh or frozen tuna.
• Mercury content in sushi tuna was even higher, with an average value of 0.86 ppm.  Fully one-third of sushi tuna samples contained mercury exceeding the FDA “action level.”
• When grocery store seafood counter attendants were asked about the FDA’s advice about mercury for women thinking of having children, 87 percent gave either incorrect or incomplete information or simply said they did not know.
• As an alternative to high mercury swordfish and fresh tuna, sushi mackerel and tilapia tested low in mercury.

In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration formally advised women of childbearing age and young children that they could eat up to 12 ounces of low mercury seafood per week, but to avoid swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark.   The agencies also advised that those women and children limit consumption of canned albacore tuna and tuna steaks to six ounces per week or less. Yet the tuna warning is often overlooked or ignored, even though tuna is the most consumed fish and thus the primary source of mercury exposure.

Oceana senior campaign director, Jacqueline Savitz, who led this project, said “We were shocked that mercury levels in tuna were as high as those in many of the fish on FDA’s ‘do not eat’ list. If seafood is on the Lent menu, wild salmon or tilapia might be a safer choice so women and kids can get the nutritional benefits of fish without the risks. Unfortunately, most shoppers will not get that message until grocery chains like Costco, Giant Eagle and others get with the program and start posting signs for their customers.”

Simple Solutions

To help consumers make informed seafood choices, Oceana launched its Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination in 2005, and asked all the major grocery chains nationwide to post the EPA and FDA mercury advice at the point of sale.   Since then, five major companies, including roughly 3,000 grocery stores, representing about 14 percent of the nation’s grocery market, have voluntarily agreed to post this information.   

Companies that are actively helping consumers protect their health include Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and some Albertsons stores.    Oceana is urging the other national grocery chains, including Costco, Giant Food, Publix, A&P and Giant Eagle, to join them.

Oceana recommends that:

• All grocery stores that sell fish and sushi should post the FDA advice on signs at the point of sale.
• The FDA should require warning signs to be posted where fish covered by U.S. government advisories are sold, including at grocery store seafood counters.
• The FDA should consider including fresh tuna (including steaks and sushi) on its “Do Not Eat” list.   
• The FDA should increase the frequency of its testing of commonly consumed fish, especially fresh tuna of all species commonly consumed.

Michael Bender, executive director of the Mercury Policy Project, said “The FDA needs to do a much better job of informing Americans about the risk of mercury exposure from fish consumption.  These latest tests confirm that the consumer is playing Russian roulette when they are kept in the dark about the mercury levels in tuna and swordfish.”

Oceana works to protect and restore the world’s oceans.   It is the largest international ocean conservation organization in the U.S., employing scientists, attorneys and grassroots campaigners to achieve tangible goals. For more information, visit http://www.oceana.org/mercury.

The Mercury Policy Project (MPP) works to promote policies to eliminate mercury uses, reduce the export and trafficking of mercury, and significantly reduce mercury exposures at the local, national and international levels.   For more information, visit http://www.mercurypolicy.org.

Contact:
Dianne Saenz, Oceana
202.467.1909
dsaenz(at)oceana.org

Dustin Cranor, Oceana
202.467.1917
dcranor(at)oceana.org org

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By MARTIN RICARD
Inside Bay Area

SAN LEANDRO, Ca. - When Elaine de Coligny was executive director of Building Futures with Women and Children, she took pride in running the organization's several homeless shelters and watching them expand under her care.

But when she was asked over the summer to leave her post — which she had held for more than 15 years — and lead the county's newly created homeless initiative, EveryOne Home, de Coligny gladly accepted the opportunity.

It wasn't that she was abandoning the San Leandro-based organization she had helped nurture for so many years. De Coligny assisted in developing the EveryOne Home plan and said she felt it was time to pursue a higher calling — in this case, not just working with the homeless, but working to end homelessness.

> Click here to access the full article on Inside Bay Area's website.

For more information on Tides Center project EveryOne Home, see www.everyonehome.org.

By CLEM RICHARDSON
New York Daily News

Iris Morales knows how to pick a winner, and that's a good thing for this city.

As executive director of the Union Square Awards, Morales and her staff - Program Officer Cynthia Wong, Program Associate Irini Neofotistos and Program Coordinator Telesh Lopez - have, since 1998, been identifying and supporting up-and-coming organizations working to better their community and/or target group.

The roster of Union Square Award winners include groups and personalities that have since become powerhouses in the city and nation, including: Majora Carter of the environmental advocacy group Sustainable South Bronx (2002 winner); Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (2004); Added Value, an urban farm program (2006); Housing Matters of New York (2004); Oona Chatterjee and Andrew Friedman of the worker organizing group Make the Road by Walking (1998-1999), and Hour Children (2007), a Queens group that helps families of incarcerated women.

> Click here to access the full article on The New York Daily News's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Union Square Awards, see www.unionsquareawards.org.

The report includes seven consensus recommendations and took more than a year of work. It was developed by the California Broadband Task Force, a diverse group of experts representing businesses, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and public servants across the state. Governor Schwarzenegger appointed the members of the CBTF and charged it with providing recommendations that "remove barriers to broadband access, identify opportunities for increased broadband adoption, and enable the creation and deployment of new advanced communication technologies."

"This report marks a crucial transition from the perception that kids and the Internet means games and Instant Messaging. This report links high-speed digital technology and improved education, health care, workforce and civic training for California's 10 million children. It is notable that the report specifically provides ways to connect the 3 million children most vulnerable to being left behind in California's digital economy and society," said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children's Partnership and a member of the California Broadband Task Force.

"Now, California has a practical roadmap for a 21st Century digital infrastructure, including how to get 100% of the state's children connected, up to speed and ready for the future. With over 40% of low-income households still without a computer at home, we have challenging but crucial work ahead," Lazarus added.

According to the report, "high-speed Internet access, or broadband, is a fundamental aspect of the infrastructure required to educate our youth, create jobs, promote public safety, improve our standard of living, and deliver essential services like healthcare."

However, the report notes uneven distribution:

• 1.4 million mostly rural Californians lack broadband access at any speed.
• Barely more than half of Californians have adopted broadband at home.
• Only half of Californians have access to broadband at speeds greater than 10 Mbps (speed needed for remote education, for example).
• Broadband infrastructure is deployed unevenly throughout the state, from state-of-the-art to nonexistent.

The report pays particular attention to children and their access to technology. "The CBTF report recognizes that preparing the next generation is the best way for California to ensure a workforce that is technologically literate and equipped for the new economy. The report also underscores that children are the early adopters of technology and can bring their families, friends and neighbors along. Most important, there are recommendations aimed at reaching the low-income, geographically isolated, and other children who could most benefit from the technology revolution," Lazarus said.

Among the recommendations that are most important to California's 10 million children:

• Public private partnership to ensure that every household with a child is able to have a computer with high speed Internet in the home and the ability to use it.
• Support for technology literacy programs in Prop 49-supported after-school programs.
• Education policies and curriculum to ensure that all youth graduate school proficient in 21st century skills.
• An E-Government Access and Efficiency Program that would make it more efficient for children and families to learn about and enroll in government programs they qualify for.
• The creation of a statewide e-health network that connects providers and consumers and enables telemedicine and other applications that can improve children's access to necessary health care and lower its cost.
• A Community Innovation Initiative to spur the development of broadband applications to solve community and social problems.
• A 10% increase over two years in the funds used for technology skills training from the federal workforce training program (Workforce Investment Act).
• A Teen Innovation Initiative that encourages California youth to suggest ways technology can be used to improve state and local government youth programs and services.
• Improvements in several existing programs that provide telecommunications discounts and other technology resources to underserved communities (California Teleconnect Fund, Digital Divide Fund).

"We thank Governor Schwarzenegger for the opportunity to work with this diverse set of California leaders to craft these recommendations for a digital infrastructure with a focus on connecting children to the future," Lazarus said. "We now urge the Governor to move swiftly to work with lawmakers as well as business and community leaders to enact the recommendations of the Task Force and deliver a high-speed, global future to all of California's children and families."

Contact:
Wendy Lazarus
The Children's Partnership
310.260.1220
wlazarus(at)childrenspartnership.org

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By JERRY REYNOLDS
Indian Country Today

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - When Rebecca Adamson took the podium to deliver two keynote speeches at an SRI in the Rockies conference in Albuquerque, N.M., last November, the occasion represented an opportunity that had been years in the making.

''They were very dynamic and well-received,'' said Bob Gough, of the Intertribal Council on Utilities Policy in Rosebud, S.D., and Native Wind in Boulder, Colo. ''It was good to hear them.''

''She'll tell you herself it's a culmination of her dream for 18 years,'' said Lisa Woll, CEO of the Social Investment Forum, the network of socially responsible investors that sponsors the SRI in the Rockies conferences. At the 2007 Albuquerque meeting, the forum hosted and helped to establish the Indigenous Rights Task Force of the Social Investment Forum, for Native people who are involved in socially responsible investing. Adamson delivered her first speech there, to an audience of 40 or so.

> Click here to access the full article on Indian Country Today's website.

For more information on Tides Center project First Peoples Worldwide, see www.firstpeoplesworldwide.org.

Tides Foundation is proud to present The Story of Stuff — a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns that calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

Narrated and created by activist Annie Leonard, the film tells an engaging story about 'all our stuff' where it comes from and where it goes when we throw it away.

Tides Foundation and The Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption partnered with Free Range Studios to produce the film and the website, www.storyofstuff.com

The website is fully interactive and a rich source to find many excellent and vital nonprofits working on the myriad of issues that intersect with this story along the lines of

• Extraction
• Production
• Distribution
• Consumption
• Disposal

There is also a special focus on ‘Another Way’ — groups not only fighting against pollution, unfair and unsafe labor practices, bad policies, etc., but groups promoting positive and long-term solutions to our ‘system in crisis.’ And the site is designed to grow, with new groups being added frequently.

You can watch the film here:

The Sun Herald

Norway recently announced a ban on the use of mercury, including dental amalgam, that took effect on January 1, 2008. Sweden announced a similar ban and dentists in Denmark will no longer be allowed to use mercury in fillings after April 1, 2008.

"These bans clearly indicate that amalgam is no longer needed. There are viable non-mercury filling substitutes that are used everyday in the US," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. "By eliminating amalgam use, which is 50% mercury, we can reduce mercury pollution much more efficiently than end-of-the-pipeline solutions."

> Click here to access the full article on The Sun Herald's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Mercury Policy Project, see www.mercurypolicy.org.

By JAMES KNIGHT
The Times (UK)

It has become a reflex reaction in the digital age. If you have a question that needs an answer or a fact to check, simply head online and tap it into Google. More often than not you will be directed to Wikipedia, where the answer is laid out for you.

The only problem is, it may not be the right answer.

> Click here to access the full article on The TimesOnline website.

For more information on Tides Center project Citizendium, see www.citizendium.org.

By REBECCA CATHCART
The New York Times

LOS ANGELES — Conservative groups in California are gathering signatures to try to block an anti-discrimination bill because it includes language that would extend protection to public-school students based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed the bill in October, but it does not become law until Jan. 1. Opponents have until Jan. 10 to gather 500,000 signatures to put a referendum on the next ballot.

> Click here to access the full article on The New York Times's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Gay-Straight Alliance Network, see www.gsanetwork.org.

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By MICHAEL CONNOR and FARNUM BROWN
Special to The Seattle Times

Comcast, Verizon and AT&T need to come clean.

Those three — and other cable and telephone companies — need to disclose exactly how they decide to restrict the freedom of expression of hundreds of millions of Americans. They need to explain exactly how they decide to limit Americans' access to the Internet and other information services. As consumers, investors and citizens, we have a right to know.

> Click here to access the full article on The Seattle Times' website.

For more information on Tides Center project Open MIC, click here.

By MARCY DARNOVSKY
Special to The San Jose Mercury News

Research teams at two prestigious universities announced a major feat of biological alchemy this week: They've taken ordinary human cells and turned them into cells with all the characteristics and promise of embryonic stem cells.

This entirely new way to derive what the researchers are calling induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells uses neither eggs nor embryos. Instead, it reprograms body cells, reactivating genes that return them to the undifferentiated state characteristic of "conventional" embryonic stem cells.

If the new technique holds up, it will also reprogram the science and politics of stem-cell research.

> Click here to access the full article on The San Jose Mercury News' website.

For more information on Tides Center project the Center for Genetics and Society, see www.genetics-and-society.org.

By E&P STAFF
Editor & Publisher

CHICAGO—Editors' World, a new organization of U.S. journalists, has launched a Web site designed to give news professionals in small and mid-sized markets a one-stop source for news and analysis of global issues with local relevance.

The site is intended to be an affordable resource for newspapers and electronic media.

Click here to access the full article on Editor & Publisher's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Editors' World, see www.editorsworld.org.

California Political Desk
The California Chronicle

SACRAMENTO – Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) earned a 100 percent record on the 2007 Legislative Review issued by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC), a statewide organization of healthcare providers, consumers, and advocates who focus on Latino health.

> Click here to access the full article on The California Chronicle's website.

For more information on Tides Center project Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, see www.lchc.org.

Questions will be hosted via a chat forum throughout the call and will be answered, in order received at the end of the call. To pose a question participants can log on to http://www.readytalk.com and enter Access Code: 7269163.

WHY: With the price of a barrel of oil remaining volatile, the high cost of energy is on everyone's minds. A growing number of homeowners and small businesses have come to view net metering--which compensates customers for reducing demand and for producing clean energy where they live and work--as an important incentive.

By ranking and grading 39 states, Freeing the Grid discovered a growing consensus on how to make net metering work today:

• By ranking state level policies on their effectiveness at encouraging net metering, successes and lessons learned can be pinpointed and experience shared across state lines. Top-rated states tended to, among other things, focus on goals rather than interests, allow monthly carryovers of excess electricity, reduce unnecessary and burdensome red tape and special fees and provide monetary incentives to encourage customers to install renewable energy systems.
• The study also evaluated states' "interconnection standards." Top-ranked states enabled customer-generators to connect to the grid with minimal difficulty, set fair fees proportional to a project's size, simplified forms and made policies as transparent, uniform and public as possible.

The report also identifies these and other obstacles to effective reform:

• The lowest ranked states essentially derailed net metering through bad policies, like restricting eligibility to a small selected subset of customers, preventing customers from receiving credit for electricity and charging discriminatory, unclear or exorbitant interconnection fees and "standby charges."
• States with poorly crafted net metering and interconnection policies are essentially telling the clean energy industry--with its great potential for job creation--that they are "Closed for Business."

http://www.newenergychoices.org

WHO: Key Report Contributors On the Call:

Michael Dworkin: Michael Dworkin serves as Director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, and has also been a litigator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a management partner in an engineering firm, and a utility regulator. Professor Dworkin was chair of the Vermont Public Service Board from 1999 to 2005, and he chaired the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Committee on Energy Resources & the Environment. Michael is now a non-utility trustee of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and an elected member of the board of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

Kyle Rabin: For Kyle's Bio, go to http://www.newenergychoices.org/pop.php?page=team_kyle

James Rose: For James' Bio, go to http://www.newenergychoices.org/pop.php?page=team_James

Claudine Schneider: Claudine Schneider has been recently selected to lead the Solar Alliance, a group of the world's largest solar manufacturers, installers and integrators. The focus of the Alliance is to assist state legislators, regulators and utilities develop policies that assure a sustainable solar market. Claudine Schneider served in the U.S. Congress (R - R.I.) from 1980 to 1990 on the Science, Research & Technology Committee where she authored numerous bills that advanced energy efficiency and renewables. After leaving Congress she co-founded Energia Global, an energy efficiency and renewable energy company. She has assisted the EPA in recruiting over 40 corporations to reduce their GHGs and has served as a consultant on renewable energy to the Export-Import Bank, National Grid Utility and the Wilder Hill New Energy Global Innovation Index Fund.

Adam Browning: Adam Browning is the co-founder and Executive Director for Vote Solar Initiative, a nonprofit organization working to bring solar energy into the mainstream. Vote Solar's primary focus is implementing the key policies, at the state level, necessary to building robust solar markets. Prior to Vote Solar, Mr. Browning spent 8 years with the US Environmental Protection Agency, winning the Agency's top award for pollution prevention efforts.

Jane Weissman: Jane Weissman has been the Executive Director of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) since 1994. IREC, a non profit organization formed in 1982, supports the adoption and implementation of uniform guidelines and standards, workforce development, and consumer protection. She has been working in the renewable energy field for over 20 years. Ms. Weissman is Vice Chair of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) and a Board member of the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation. Ms. Weissman currently serves on the Solar Today Magazine Advisory Council and is the Chair of the Policy & Marketing Technical Committee for both the 2008 and 2009 National Solar Energy Conferences. Ms. Weissman has published papers and spoken widely on topics in the field of renewable energy, photovoltaics, public policy, workforce development and certification. She is the Chair of the 2008 Renewable Energy Workforce Education Conference.
 

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The Boston Globe

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Renowned AIDS activist Stephen Lewis made an impassioned plea for the world's developing nations to stop the spread of the disease in poorer nations.

Lewis, a former United Nations official, was at Brown University on Saturday to urge students to pressure the G8 and the U.N. to live up to their promises of fighting the disease that is pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
 

> Click here to access the full article on the Boston Globe's website.

Fashionfish features a collection of ocean characters "in whimsical settings" says Parisi. "By making people laugh, we hope to instill a positive message about our ocean and help people connect with marine issues, just as we have done with our various programs at Passionfish."

The company currently has four designs for sale on its secure website in two styles —a tee-shirt and a onesie—both in 100% cotton and for babies and toddlers. In early 2008, the company will be offering several more fun ocean critters, sizes for kids, as well as a bamboo/organic cotton fabric option.