COLD FEET? The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced in a news release October 26 that it would re-examine its recent proposal to expand the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge to nearly 300,000 acres. The FWS will take six months to review its options about how best to proceed with the expansion of the refuge’s acquisition boundary. “Our number one priority is to work in tandem with landowners, community and business leaders, the state, our conservation partners, and others, who are interested in the future of Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge and the protection of these extraordinary natural resources for generations to come,” according to Cindy Dohner, FWS Southeast Regional Director. “Moving forward, we are committed to doing a better job collaborating with citizens throughout the Cahaba River basin.” The refuge, located in Bibb County, shelters some species and habitats found nowhere else in the world and includes 3.5 miles of the Cahaba, Alabama’s longest freeflowing river. For information, visit www.fws.gov/southeast. JC
LAWYER UP: The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), a North Carolina-based legal group focused on environmental advocacy, filed suit last week against British Petroleum (BP) for violating the federal Endangered Species Act by causing harm to endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico due to their recent oil spill. The SELC is joined in the suit by Defenders of Wildlife, the Gulf Restoration Network and the Save the Manatee Club. “Restitution for the harm done by BP to sensitive wildlife and their habitat will help protect the Gulf ecosystem and rich web of life upon which so many depend,” according to SELC senior attorney Catherine Wannamaker in a news release. For more information regarding the SELC, visit www.southernenvironment.org. AM
GIVE US YOUR HUDDLED MOLLUSK: The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will hold a dedication ceremony for the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center (AABC), a new research facility in Marion, on Friday, October 29. The current mission of the AABC is to conserve and restore endangered freshwater mollusks (mussels and snails) to Alabama waters in the largest state-run, non-game recovery program of its kind in America. According to AABC director Dr. Paul Johnson, Alabama has the greatest number of freshwater mollusk, fish and crayfish species of any state. “Unfortunately that translates into Alabama also having the highest number of imperiled species in the nation as well,” Johnson says in an ADCNR news release. Their work is directly tied to water conservation efforts in Alabama. “Aquatic habitat and species recovery go hand-in-hand with the quality of water in Alabama,” according to Barnett Lawley, ADCNR Commissioner. AM
GETTING WASTED: Waste Pro recently opened one of Alabama’s largest recycling facilities. Located at 300 Fleming Road, the new facility measures more than 125,000 square feet. The 20-acre campus includes a material recovery facility (MRF) with an initial operating volume of 2,000 tons per month and a maximum capacity of 10,000 tons per month of paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum. Taking part in a recent grand opening were representatives of the Alabama Environmental Council and recycling partners the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Waste Pro is a Florida-based waste collection, recycling and disposal company operating in six Southern states. Learn more at www.wasteprousa.com. JC
ACTING HYPER-LOCALLY: We told you a
few weeks ago about the efforts of Helena resident Sonya Unnoppet to get
more families in her Riverwoods subdivision to sign up for recycling.
Unnoppet cooked up an idea to enter households who signed up for
recycling in a drawing for cash prizes provided by Riverwoods developer
Kendall Zettler. According to an email we received from Unnoppet, 10 new
households signed up for recycling with Allied Waste, and she and
Zettler were getting ready to award $100 prizes to five of those
families. Go Sonya. JC
IT’S NEARLY MOSS ROCK TIME: The Preserve in Hoover will be the place to be in the Southeast for lovers of art, design and the environment when the fifth annual Moss Rock Festival takes place the weekend of November 6 and 7. According to the festival’s web site, about 15,000 people attended the event in 2009. Attendees can enjoy visual art exhibits; special constructions and installations; and an ecodistrict featuring green-living ideas, products, services and organizations. There will be hybrid and fuel-efficient car exhibitions. The event will feature hiking, geocaching, a 5K bike ride and kids’ activities. There will also be a café, live music and a cake expo and tasting. The festival is free. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Visitors should park at Regions Park and ride a free shuttle to the event. For more, visit www.mossrockfestival.com. And check out next week’s Birmingham Weekly for an extensive preview. JC
GREEN ENDORSEMENTS: The Conservation Alabama Action Fund (CAAF), the political action committee of the eco-lobbying group Conservation Alabama, has announced its endorsements of candidates in next week’s election. The CAAF endorsements include Jim Folsom Jr. for Lt. Governor and Susan Parker for Public Service Commission. The group noted in a news release that while both candidates for governor—Democrat Ron Sparks and Republican Dr. Robert Bentley—support reauthorizing Forever Wild, the state land protection program, the group has decided not to endorse either candidate due to their lack of specific environmental proposals. Conservation Alabama endorses both Democrats and Republicans in various state House and Senate races. The group recommends that the public vote “no” on Amendment 3, also known as the Alabama Ten-Year Road and Bridge Construction Program. Conservation Alabama says, among other objections, that the plan does not reduce Alabama’s reliance on foreign oil and instead builds more roads without investing significant monies in mass transit. See a complete list of endorsements at www.conservationalabamaactionfund.org. JC
GUZZLE, RINSE, REPEAT: When people picture waste, they tend to picture a few select items—ratty paper products, probably from a fast-food joint; rotting food, probably from the same fast-food joint; and those plastic six pack rings. But of the 300 million cases of wine sold in the U.S. each year, 70 percent of those glass bottles end up in a landfill somewhere. But Cowhorn, a winery in Applegate Valley, Ore., has partnered with Wine Bottle Renew to create the RINSE Project, an initiative that washes and reuses wine bottles. According to a news release from the groups, the project is the first of its kind in that no one else actually reuses wine bottles rather than simply recycling them. The organizers hope to expand the initiative to surrounding areas in the near future. At the very least, oenophiles finally have a way to make their drinking as green as their bottles. For more information, visit www.cowhornwine.com or www.winebottlerenew.com. AM
Jesse Chambers is a Birmingham Weekly contributing editor, and Andy McWhorter is a Birmingham Weekly intern. Send your comments to jesse@bhamweekly.com or editor@bhamweekly.com.
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