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In
This Issue
Peter
H. Gleick Wins Prestigious MacArthur Fellowship
Diesel Study Employs Residents to Measure Air Pollution
New Urban Usage Report Nearing Publication
Headlines
Peter
H. Gleick Wins Prestigious MacArthur Fellowship
The
President and cofounder of the Pacific Institute,
Dr. Peter H. Gleick, has been awarded a prestigious
MacArthur Fellowship for 2003. The MacArthur foundation
lauded Dr. Gleick's leadership and vision on water
issues. In a statement released today, Gleick said
he was "tremendously honored and excited by
this recognition," while hoping that the award
would help focus United States and international
attention on the "vital importance of water
for all of us, and of the need for new thinking
and new efforts to bring safe and reliable water
to the billions who lack it." According to
a white paper authored by Dr. Gleick and the Pacific
Institute, up to 76 million people could perish
over the next 20 years unless greatly improved efforts
to provide clean water are made. Our press release
is online.
Diesel
Study Employs Residents to Scrutinize Air Pollution
A
unique study of West Oakland's air pollution, directed
and researched by the community, is nearing publication.
The study employed community residents to count
the number of diesel trucks passing through various
intersections in West Oakland. The Pacific Institute,
in collaboration with the community and a technical
contractor, used this data to estimate the amount
of diesel pollution being pumped into West Oakland's
air. The study also recommends a number of creative
solutions to reduce the amount of air pollution
and illegal truck traffic in the neighborhood without
placing unnecessary burdens on truckers or the port.
This report will be released in November of this
year.
New
Urban Usage Report Nearing Publication
The
Pacific Institute's long-awaited report on the potential
for urban water use efficiency is going to press
with an expected mid-November release date. The
central message of the report is that even efficient
states, like California, can greatly increase their
water-use efficiency without harming quality of
life by using appropriate regulation, innovative
economics, and cost effective technology.
Staff Updates
9/30,
Environmental Justice | Catalina Garzon held a preliminary
planning meeting with EPA representatives and EIP
committee members at the Pacific Institute to discuss
the creation of a new brownfields study and supporting
campaign. The Pacific Institute is looking to create
a community led inventory of these sites and develop
a campaign to promote clean-up and redevelopment
of these sites to serve community needs.
9/23, Environmental Justice, Air Pollution | Meena
Palaniappan held a meeting with the West Oakland
Environmental Indicators Project Committee at Jubilee
West to review the draft diesel study report and
plan a release strategy. Committee members have
decided to hold a Town Hall Meeting and Press Event
on Nov. 8 to release the report to the community
and the media.
9/15-16,
Environmental Management Systems | Jason Morrison
attended a quarterly meeting of the Multi-State
Working Group on Environmental Performance (MSWG),
a multi-stakeholder coalition investigating the
role of environmental management systems (EMSs)
in performance-based regulatory innovation. The
theme of the meeting, held in Portland, Maine, was
the role of EMS-based environmental reporting in
voluntary, "beyond compliance" regulatory
programs. At the meeting, Morrison was re-elected
as a board member of the MSWG, with his new term
expiring in October 2005.
9/11,
9/16, Environmental Justice | EIP staff attended
the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Ozone
Attainment Meeting in both Richmond and West Oakland.
Staff worked with residents to develop a series
of talking points to be presented at the meetings,
encouraging the district to consider the cumulative
impacts of air pollution in their ozone reduction
plan.
9/9,
Water Use Efficiency | Dana Haasz made a presentation
to the California Urban Water Conservation Council,
meeting in Chino, California, on the potential for
urban water use efficiency in California.
9/3, 9/17, Environmental justice | Meena Palaniappan
and Jacki Kohleriter hosted a series of meetings
to discuss a partnership between the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Environmental Indicators
Project Committee. In the coming year, the committee
and other West Oakland residents will be trained
to research and update the Indicators. Through this
process, the EIP hopes to work closely with the
EPA to gain technical assistance in updating existing
data, develop new Indicators on diesel pollution
and brownfields, and to collaborate closely to achieve
common goals. |
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Upcoming
10/8-10/18,
Water Efficiency, Regional and Global Water Issues
(Texas, New Mexico, Washington, DC) | Peter H. Gleick
will make a series of presentations on water efficiency
and the global water crisis during a series of visits
to Texas, New Mexico and Washington, DC over October.
For details on his trip, please contact us or check
online.
10/23/03,
Water Privatization (Oakland, CA) | Gary H. Wolff
is giving a short presentation on the economics
of water efficiency to the 6th Annual State of the
Estuary Conference, held at the Kaiser Convention
Center in Oakland.
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