Greenpeace gathers support against GMOs BRUSSELS (AP) — Greenpeace has handed the European Union (EU) Farm Commissioner more than 1 million signatures on a petition against the further spread of genetically modified (GMO) crops in the EU.
The environmental group says it wants the EU to put a stop to new GMO crops – or genetically modified organisms – until there is enough independent scientific evidence to assess the risks. It says the current EU assessment does not take the long-term effect on the environment sufficiently into account.
Outside the EU headquarters Thursday, Greenpeace activists created a huge pavement painting depicting idyllic pastoral scenes and a banner stating: “One Million for GMO Freeze.”
Regulators monitoring gas leak cleanup LIVINGSTON, Ill. (AP) — Federal and state regulators are monitoring the cleanup of a pipeline leak that spilled roughly 100 gallons of gasoline in southwestern Illinois’ Madison County.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) said some of the spill reported Dec. 2 near Livingston found its way into a small farm pond and a tributary of Silver Creek. The state agency said the 8-inch pipe owned by Houston-based Buckeye Partners L.P. was less than two feet below the surface and may have been damaged by farming.
Cleanup crews used absorbent pads and booms to contain the leak, and gas was siphoned from the pond. The IEPA said tests of nearby wells turned up no contamination. The damaged section of steel pipe was replaced.
Buckeye Partners hadn’t returned a message left with it Friday.
Man killed in Illinois farm accident ODELL, Ill. (AP) — A rural Odell man is dead after falling into a piece of farm machinery.
The Livingston County Coroner’s office said Lowell Heiser was pronounced dead the evening of Dec. 8 in the emergency room at Pontiac’s Saint James Hospital. Authorities said earlier in the day, the 69-year-old apparently slipped and fell into the power takeoff while unloading beans from a bin.
Odell firefighters were forced to extricate him from the machinery before rushing him to the hospital. The incident remains under investigation.
Farm equipment maker founder dies at 100
GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — The founder of northern Indiana-based farm equipment maker CTB, Inc. has died at age 100. Howard Brembeck’s family said he died Dec. 5 at Goshen General Hospital.
Brembeck started Chore-Time Equipment in 1954 to make equipment to care for poultry and livestock. That company grew to more than 1,300 employees by the time Milford-based CTB was sold for $180 million to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2002.
Brembeck also founded a summer program to teach teenagers Christian leadership skills and the Fourth Freedom Forum, which advocated national security through non-military means and the elimination of nuclear weapons. His grandson, former Republican Congressman Chris Chocola, told The Elkhart Truth that Brembeck never did anything for public attention and set a great example.
Brembeck’s funeral was Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Goshen.
Bredesen: Farm help for 28 more counties NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Phil Bredesen announced USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has designated 28 additional counties a natural disaster for agriculture, as a result of drought and excessive heat during the growing season. Bredesen requested the secretarial designation last month.
Counties designated as primary natural disaster areas include Bedford, Bradley, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Dyer, Fayette, Hamilton, Henry, Hickman, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Moore, Perry, Polk, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Sevier, Sullivan, Tipton, Unicoi, Union, Washington and Williamson.
So far this year, a total of 42 Tennessee counties have been designated primary natural disaster because of drought during the growing season. This makes farmers in primary and adjoining counties eligible to apply for low-interest loans, supplemental farm payments and other assistance through the USDA Farm Service Agency.
Adjoining counties where farmers are also eligible for assistance include Anderson, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hancock, Hardeman, Hawkins, Haywood, Humphreys, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maury, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Obion, Roane, Shelby, Stewart, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, Weakley and Wilson.
EPA website should increase transparency
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new website called “Reg Stat” that will enhance public understanding of its regulatory process and the number, type and range of regulatory documents developed each year by the agency.
This new resource is part of the EPA’s continuing efforts to enhance the accessibility and transparency of its regulatory activities. Reg Stat provides information on EPA documents published in the Federal Register between 2005-09. It also provides in-depth information on rulemakings likely to be of most interest to stakeholders – those rules signed by the EPA administrator that substantively amend the Code of Federal Regulations.
More information on Reg Stat can be found at www.epa.gov/regstat |
