Photo by Subhanker Banerjee
March 2005 | Choice News
Durbin: Don’t Trade Priceless Arctic Refuge for 6 Months of Oil
Editor’s Note: At a preview of a stunning photographic exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History, “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land” (open through May 8), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the Bush administration wants to open the area to drilling even though it would deliver only a six-month supply of oil and destroy one of the largest remaining complete eco-systems on Earth. This is an excerpt of Durbin’s account of his trip to the refuge. Subhanker Banerjee will speak at 6:30 p.m. March 8 at International House, 1414 E. 59th St.
We climb over the Brooks Range and follow the Canning River on the North Slope toward the Arctic Ocean. A few miles short of the ocean we bank sharply over endless tundra and land on a patch of grass on the bank of the Canning, the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Stepping down from the plane, I am struck by the vast untouched expanse in every direction. With nothing on your horizon but gentle rolling hills, your eyes are drawn above to the constantly changing tableau of clouds.
Weather barrels through this corner of the world like a fast freight. In a 45-minute period, a dense morning fog falls away and the bright sun in a cloudless sky gives us a clear view of the distant mountains. On another morning, a biting wind blows horizontal rain against our billowing cook tent and in minutes turns to snow, then sleet, then sun.
Hiking across the spongy tundra, tramping down the mini-moguls, we find larkspur, patches of cotton grass, arctic ground squirrel warrens and tufts of grizzly bear hair. There is no sign of human contact, save a rusted oil drum tossed on a sand bar in the river and a pair of leather sandals that must have fallen off the pack of a hiker long ago.
The Canning River rolls to the ocean carrying snow melt in a hard-changing channel, then meanders off in lesser tendrils, finally merging again. The rumble of the river is as constant as the day-long sunlight in the late summer sky.
Across the river we spot a dark object in the distance moving steadily along the banks. We quickly mount a telescope and see it is a massive bull musk ox. When he reaches a spot directly across the river, we have our best view of this black shaggy throwback to an ancient time.
President Bush believes that America’s energy appetite is so compelling that we must abandon a 50-year commitment to preserve this untouched corner of our nation. In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the ANWR, declaring this area an important national treasure to be protected in perpetuity. But President Bush has proposed several decades of development and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to deliver a six-month supply of our nation’s energy needs.
Standing on the banks of the Canning River, one wonders whether our super-size, use-it-and-toss-it generation is not displaying a shortsightedness and selfishness that is a sad lesson for our children.
An amendment I offered to the energy bill would have required automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars over the next 10 years. According to the National Academy of Sciences, cars averaging 40 miles per gallon are attainable with current technology. My amendment for fuel-efficient vehicles would have saved over 10 times the amount of oil we could glean from ANWR.
The amendment was opposed by the White House, the oil companies, automakers and their unions. The final vote fell short by a 32-64 margin.
The voices for conservation and responsible environmental stewardship were drowned out by the roar of special-interest groups on Capitol Hill. — Sen. Dick Durbin
(Durbin camped out in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during the August, 2003 Congressional recess.) To get involved: www.AlaskaCoalition.org.
Toxic Notification to Alert Residents
TWO SEPARATE public notification proposals, both dubbed as “Right to Know legislation,” are expected to come before state lawmakers this spring. One proposal is being put forth by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (iepa) as an amendment to the State’s Environmental Protection Act. The other measure is backed by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and sponsored by state Rep. John Fritchey (D-11).
“Our bill, if passed, would be the most aggressive notification legislation in the country,” said iepa Director Renee Cipriano.
Meanwhile, Fritchey has introduced the Toxic Chemical Disclosure Act (HB0290). It would require the state epa to inform residents by mail, newspaper announcements and via a web site if they live within 2,500 feet of hazardous waste and toxic chemicals.
“This should be common sense,” Fritchey said. “But sometimes common sense does not determine what gets done in Springfield.”
Quinn called the proposed legislation the most important environmental reform bill facing the Illinois General Assembly this session.
There are two major differences between the two proposals. One difference is the minimum standards that would trigger the notification process based on the levels of contamination and proximity to any given toxic site. Basically, the Quinn/Fritchey measure would require the notification of more people in more cases.
The other difference is who would foot the bill for the notifications. The Quinn/Fritchey proposal would require the state to pay. The iepa’s bill would pass the cost on to the companies responsible for the pollution.
When Fritchey proposed a similar act during the 2004 session, lawmakers shelved the bill and the iepa wrote it off as too expensive, he said.
When Cipriano called the epa’s national headquarters for help drafting the proposal, she learned Illinois would have to figure out the issue on its own. “They told me no one else in the country is doing anything like this,” she said. — Erin Meyer
Wildcats Stretch Workouts
WHEN YOU think about college basketball workouts, relaxation is not usually the first thing that comes to mind.
But Northwestern University’s men’s basketball team has been using stretching exercises based on Eastern medicine practices. Shiatsu practioner/yoga/aerobics instructor Darryl Aiken-Afam said the stretching exercises combine yoga and shiatsu practices. They are designed to release muscle tension and rejuvenate the body by following its energy pathways.
“These exercises were created to help energy run in a healthy way. It isn’t like a yoga pose, the more you relax the easier it flows,” said Aiken-Afam, who has a studio in East Rogers Park. “These exercises help to tonify the organs of the body and help you to absorb nutrients to make the body function holistically.”
This non-traditional exercise form has been an asset on the court, according to Wildcats assistant coach Craig Robinson. “We found the kids have become a lot more flexible and hence a lot less likely for injury,” Robinson said. “They have told me that they get a better workout and feel more stretched out. It helps stretch and elongate their leg and back muscles.” Players were introduced to Aiken-Afam’s workout in 2003 when he arrived as the substitute for the regular yoga instructor working with NU’s basketball team.
Since the players have such long bodies, it is difficult for some to practice traditional yoga, he said. Using a team approach, the athletes work on the exercise in two-hour sessions, three days a week. The system is based on the ancient principle that energy moves through meridians that are similar to rivers of energy in the body.
For more information: 773-347-1130. — Belia Ortega
Scanner Measures Antioxidant Levels
THERE’S TECHNOLOGY to monitor cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. Now add to that a mechanism that measures just how effective vitamin supplements are within the body. The $11,000 machine is called a Biophotonic Scanner, an fda-approved desktop device the size of a breadbox. The scanner measures antioxidant levels, the body’s defense capabilities against outside factors such as pollution, stress and smoking, said Midlothian-based chiropractor Ronald Vaught, who uses the scanner in his practice.
“Your body doesn’t produce antioxidants, so you have to take them in through six to eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day” Vaught said.
“The scanner is a non-invasive, accurate way to measure the carotenoid (natural fat-soluble nutrients) in your tissue to see if you need to change your diet or whether you need supplements to get those levels up to help protect your body from free radicals.
“The higher one’s antioxidant levels, the longer the life expectancy,” he said.
Lance Payan, a scanner distributor, said the measurements are taken by placing the palm of an individual’s hand in front of a low-energy blue light laser for three minutes.
The laser light propagates at a single wavelength, one chosen to resonate with the molecular structure of carotenoid antioxidants in human tissue. Once these antioxidant molecules become excited by the laser, they begin to give off photons at a specific wavelength that can be detected through their color.
After three minutes, a Skin Carotenoid Score comes up on the computer screen. The goal is to reach levels above 50,000.
Vaught said vegetarians, employees of health food stores and patients who have lived near organic gardens most of their lives have levels in the 70,000-85,000 range, while most Americans average between 17,500 and 25,000.
The scanners have been on the market for two years, with 15 machines in Illinois and 1,400 in use worldwide.
Visit www.aolscanner.com. — Darcel Rockett
Chicago to Require Demolition Recycling
IN MANY cases, building up means tearing down and that gives rise to massive piles of rubble.
The City of Chicago has taken steps to promote recycling among demolition and construction contractors to ensure that “everyone in the industry gets on board,” said Al Sanchez, commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
All building permits issued by the city after Jan. 1, 2006, will require companies to recycle 25 percent of all recyclable materials on the construction site. By Jan. 1, 2007, the city plans to double the requirement to 50 percent, Sanchez said.
“Recycling is the only logical choice from a business sense,” he said. “Not recycling costs a lot more.”
The city will offer seminars to construction and demolition companies at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, 445 N. Sacramento Ave.
For information about the seminars, visit www.cityofchicago.org/environment, or call 312-746-4155. — Erin Meyer
PBS Program On Ethical Investing
AS THE saying goes: “You have to have money to make money.” But often those who have money want to make more without losing any sleep over what kind of world their cash is creating. For that reason, many socially responsible investors consider the business practices of companies before opening their checkbooks.
A new program airing on PBS across the country in March is designed to provide the inside track to socially responsible investing, according to Ethical Marketplace, the media company producing the weekly half-hour program, which has received funding from the Media Venture Collective.
“Ethical Marketplace” will report on news and trends from companies with socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
The program will define a successful business by factoring in socially and environmentally responsible practices, investments and lifestyles along with the balance sheet, according to Ethical Marketplace.
For a listing of local stations, visit www.pbs.org. — Erin Meyer
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