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EPA HONORS 35 WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL HEROES

Release Date: 6/6/2002
Contact Information: Leo Kay

SAN FRANCISCO -- During the agency's fourth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in San Francisco today, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri presented plaques to 35 western organizations and individuals in recognition of their efforts to protect and preserve the environment in 2001.

     "Today's honorees have applied creativity, teamwork and leadership in addressing many of Northern California's most pressing and complex environmental problems," Nastri said.  "Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, our air, water and land will be cleaner and safer for generations to come.  The winners set an example for all of us to follow."
                                 
     The EPA Region 9 Environmental Awards program acknowledges commitment and significant contributions to the environment in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam and tribal lands.  Thirty five groups and individuals were selected from over 100 nominees received this year from businesses, media, local, state and federal government officials, tribes, environmental organizations and citizen activists.

     The winners and basis for recognition are:

               

Local, State or Federal Government

Western Shasta Resource Conservation District (Shasta County, Calif.) The Western Shasta Resource Conservation District restores watersheds by working creatively with landowners, agencies, and other stakeholders.  In 2001 the district helped restore the Clear Creek Watershed by filling old gravel mining pits and planting native trees in riparian habitat.  Fall run Chinook salmon returning to spawn in Clear Creek reached their highest levels since the 1960's.  Watershed assessments were completed last year for watersheds covering over 200,000 acres.  To address the critical buildup of fuels, workers constructed over ten miles of shaded fuelbreaks to protect local resources from catastrophic wildfire.   The district educates private landowners in watershed stewardship through trainings for livestock producers, watershed tours, and the distribution of a quarterly newsletter to 3,500 landowners.


Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (California) The Department of Public Works developed an Integrated Waste Tire Recycling Program to address the significant need to recycle used tires. In 1993 the department began using rubberized asphalt concrete as paving material.  It has applied rubberized asphalt to more than 800 lane miles of roads, diverting more than 1.6 million waste tires from landfills and saving the public approximately $13 million.  Last year the department held a collection event for Earth Day, collecting approximately 10,000 waste tires by exempting the public from disposal fees.  The department also built a demonstration project at a regional park to encourage the recycling market and demonstrate beneficial products made from recycled tires.  This project used over 1,100 tires to surface a walking path, an outdoor shelter and 12 exercise stations.

Berkeley Energy Office (California)                            The City of Berkeley Energy Office runs a cutting-edge program to save energy and reduce global warming by targeting carbon dioxide emissions.  The office sells energy saving products to local residents at wholesale prices and trains high school students to perform energy efficiency upgrades free-of-charge.  The office has helped the city reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 9,000 tons per year by implementing many programs such as upgrading traffic lights and retrofitting municipal buildings.  The office also organized the successful Berkeley Unplugged residential energy conservation contest to encourage homeowner innovations. In 2001, the California Public Utilities Commission awarded the Energy Office a $2 million grant to perform lighting retrofits at 1,000 small businesses in collaboration with the City of Oakland; the hope is to reduce energy use by 1.5 megawatts (equivalent to reducing the amount of energy used by 1,500 homes).

Grace Omega Garces (Guam) Garces, a public affairs officer with the Guam EPA, has protected the health of island residents by working vigorously with the U.S. Navy to provide better public information about PCB contamination of Agat Bay. Garces has also educated concerned citizens by launching the Guam EPA Web site in 2001. Finally, she reached out to the public beyond Guam by coordinating the 20th Annual Pacific Islands Environmental Conference, collaborating with environmentalists, youth representatives, and business and government leaders from throughout the vast Pacific region.

Clark County Department of Aviation Facilities Division (Las Vegas, Nevada) As caretakers for five airports in Clark County, the Aviation Facilities Division works to reduce energy consumption. By making changes in lighting, heating, and other facilities, the division has reduced overall annual energy use by over 5 million kilowatt hours and 54,000 therms of natural gas, as well as eliminating approximately 7 million pounds of carbon monoxide emissions. The division's initiatives include installing fluorescent light reflectors, high pressure sodium lamps, energy efficient signs and automatic light controls. The division developed new lighting strategies for baggage claim areas, equipment rooms and offices -- work that has saved over $300,000 in energy costs in 2001, while continuing to provide the traveling public with excellent facilities.

Gail Suzuki-Jones  Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (Honolulu) Suzuki-Jones played a lead role in creating Aloha Shares, a statewide nonprofit organization that distributes reusable and recycled construction materials to help build and repair homes for the needy. In addition, Aloha Shares helps the needy by distributing tons of used furniture discarded by military housing. Suzuki-Jones also helped establish Baseyard Hawaii, a warehouse, office and baseyard for contractors to donate used and excess material. Suzuki-Jones reaches out to the construction industry to promote donations and keep valuable materials out of landfills. Her commitment and credibility have persuaded many in the construction industry to participate in pilot projects. She has demonstrated that keeping materials out of landfills by reusing and recyling can save serious money.

City of Phoenix (Arizona) The City of Phoenix created the Tres Rios Demonstration Constructed Wetlands to polish wastewater effluent from a city treatment plant at the rate of 2 million gallons of effluent per day. A valuable research hub, Tres Rios led scientists and engineers to discover a new method of nitrogen removal in wetlands, as well as other significant findings on the value of wetlands. A sanctuary for thousands of plants and animals, the project has become a resource for community education and enjoyment as well. A disabled-access trail system and bird-viewing blinds promote interest in local species. The City of Phoenix's creation of this desert oasis represents a visionary cooperative effort of many local, state, and federal agencies and community groups.

NASA Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, Calif.) By committing its organization to better management practices, NASA Ames Research Center achieved significant reductions in pesticide and fertilizer use, as well as a dramatic reduction in solid waste disposal in 2001. Ames Plant Engineering Branch evolved an integrated approach to landscape maintenance consisting of integrated pest management, integrated vegetation management, and composting. Ames reduced its pesticide and herbicide use by 98 percent in 2001 compared to prior use levels. In 2001, Ames reused 100 percent of its landscaping debris by composting, resulting in a savings of approximately $60,000 in disposal costs. Ames anticipates that its workers will benefit by reduced exposure to pesticides.

Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (Westminster, Calif.) The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project is a recognized leader in coastal environmental research.  Since 1969 the project has made vast contributions to help us understand the effects of human activities and wastewater on ecological systems.  By facilitating collaboration among various public agencies, immeasurable contribution to coastal water protection has been made.  The project has assisted EPA, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, the State Water Resources Control Board, and many local governments and stakeholders to design and implement a more regionalized coastal monitoring program.  The project has also incorporated the work of scientists from Mexico and citizen monitoring groups.  The project has also recently expanded its accomplishments to include a broader focus on land use and watershed systems.

Orange County Water District (Fountain Valley, Calif.) The Orange County Water District operates an amazing collection of tools to reclaim and preserve water resources.  The district purifies up to 140,000 acre-feet per year of water that meets or exceeds drinking water standards for one-half the energy that it costs to move water to Orange County from Northern California.  The district manages Southern California's largest constructed wetlands to naturally treat Santa Ana River flows and to give refuge to 250 species of plants and animals.  The district donates ultra-low-flow toilets to save water and helps hotels and restaurants reduce their pollution.  The district conducts research on how to identify and remove pharmaceuticals in wastewater and stage an elaborate annual water festival to educate children.  The district's vision incorporates a complex array of solutions to the challenge of protecting our water.

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality South Phoenix Environment Initiative (Phoenix) The South Phoenix Environment Initiative represents one of the most ambitious community- based environmental efforts ever undertaken by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.  The initiative has been an impressive success in matching a number of agency resources and programs to specific community needs and priorities.  ADEQ's efforts led to the elimination of a longstanding public health risk at a prominent brownfields site, setting the stage for a safer, revitalized neighborhood.  The initiative launched a comprehensive inspection sweep of hazardous waste facilities in South Phoenix, which provided a first-ever comprehensive baseline for industry compliance.   ADEQ successfully widened its public notification systems and reorganized its efforts to create a more vigorous public outreach and education program.

Luke Air Force Base (Arizona) Luke Air Force Base has been a leader in environmental activities for the Air Force for several years.  Recently, Luke Air Force Base won the distinction of becoming the first major Air Force installation in the United States to be removed from EPA's federal Superfund list after aggressively pursuing a cleanup of World War II contamination.  Luke serves as a model on how federal and state agencies can work together toward successful cleanups.  Luke has also worked to excel in many areas such as recycling, car/van pooling, shuttle services and electric cars, curtailing water use and reclaiming wastewater for irrigation and landscaping.  Luke continues to be a good neighbor by sponsoring local school Earth and Arbor Day festivities.   The Air Force Base is also recognized in the state of Arizona for winning the Tree City, USA award for the eighth year in a row, the longest winning streak of any city in the state.

South Coast Air Quality Management District (Diamond Bar, Calif.) The district's Clean Fleet Initiative has set the international standard for design and implementation of clean fleet programs.  In 2000, the district that covers Orange County and portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties began by adopting the most comprehensive set of clean fleet rules in the country .  The rules require that owners and operators of fleets of 15 or more vehicles purchase low-emission vehicles whenever they replace or add to their fleets.  The district has worked with fleet operators to ensure that clean vehicles and fuels are available and affordable.  It has established programs to subsidize the purchase of clean vehicles and the installation of clean fuel delivery systems.  At the state level, it has also worked with officials and legislators to provide additional financial support to affected fleet owners and to establish clean fleet programs at the state level.

Gila River's Chemical Tribal Emergency Response Commission (Arizona) Beverly Begay, program coordinator for the Gila River's Chemical Tribal Emergency Response Commission  and Patricia Mariella, executive director for the Gila River's Department of Environmental Quality, developed a chemical emergency response plan for their community.  Last June, the commission sponsored a table-top chemical emergency response exercise that culminated in a week-long workshop sponsored by the Gila River Indian Community Office of Emergency Management.  The commission developed the plan through public participation and monthly meetings.  The commission continually verifies that facilities on tribal land submitting required chemical inventory reports.  The commission always strives to coordinate with neighboring local emergency planning committees in Arizona and has an excellent working relationship with the Arizona State Emergency Response Commission.

Los Angeles Unified School District (California)  The district has developed a comprehensive waste diversion and recycling program for nearly one million students and 80,000 employees.  The district has recently initiated a number of environmental measures, which includes expanding the mixed-paper recycling program to all schools and administrative offices, and developing a pilot composting program at several schools to process grass clippings and other green waste, milk cartons, food waste, and biodegradable products.  The district also designated several test schools where recyclables will be picked up as part of the city's curbside program, and set up a recycling program for toner cartridges from schools and offices.  In addition, the school board recently adopted a resolution to purchase environmentally preferable products. The district's commitment to recycling helps educate nearly one million students about waste reduction and recycling.

California Conservation Corps (Fortuna, Calif.) The Fortuna Waste Reduction Team meets bi-weekly to discuss , implement and evaluate its waste reduction practices, procedures and solutions.  The team started off the year by performing a waste audit before devloping a yearlong stratgy to improves its waste reduction and recycling practices.  2001 achievements included establishing and using "gourmet compost" bins, donating used furniture and appliances to local non-profits, switching over to non-toxic cleaning supplies and starting an aggressive recycling program.  The corps also instituted a number of smaller measures, such as switching over to reusable laundry and lunch bags, and crafting notepades out of outdated paper forms. The team joined EPA's WasteWi$e program in August.  

Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project (Ukiah Valley, Calif.) In Redwood Valley, a 45-acre forest of second-growth oak and madrone trees plays host to thousands of students learning about the forest ecosystem.  The Ukiah Unified School District, which owns the property, intended to launch on-site outdoor education activities, but could not provide additional resources.  A remarkable grassroots effort of the Ukiah Valley community unfolded with an anonymous donor providing $50,000 a year for five years to hire teachers dedicated to the site.  Many other community members have joined in, forming a volunteer advisory board and donating time, materials, and financial support. Field trips and workshops involve streamside research, study of native plants and insects, and scouting activities.  Ukiah Valley's project shows true community commitment to environmental education.    

Individual

Emma Yuen (Hilo, Hawaii) Yuen is a one-person dynamo for the Hawaii environment.  For several years, she has led her Junior Greenpeace group at Hilo High school on environmental projects such as tree planting in the mountains and cleanups at the beach.  She remains Web master for Environmental Hawaii, a monthly newsletter.  Among her Web-based contributions is an interactive map of the islands where users can click on any site to find opportunities to volunteer.  Yuen also instituted and single- handedly updates a Development Digest page, which gives users up-to-the-minute information on developments across the state.  Were that not enough, Yuen writes a bi-monthly column for the newsletter and receives a great deal of fan mail and appreciative comment.   All this while maintaining an outstanding GPA of 4.2 in her senior year at Hilo High, where she also edits the school literary magazine.

Tara Pike (Las Vegas) Pike has focused her boundless energy and creativity on implementing and expanding volunteer supported environmental programs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas   one of only two such public recycling facilities in the entire valley.  She oversees all aspects of recycling at the university, staffs the program with over 100 student volunteers each semester, and volunteers her services on Saturdays to supervise juvenile offenders ordered to perform community service hours for the recycling program.  Pike also led her students in performing over 60 trash cleanups in desert wetland areas and on highways, met with elected officials regarding local and national environmental issues, and performed numerous public information campaigns on the environment.   Pike is a bright light in the Las Vegas environmental community and has exposed thousands of students and community members to environmental programs and recycling.

Lisa Viani (Richmond, Calif.) Viani's efforts are usually directed at protecting and restoring creek and marsh habitat for the communities of Richmond and El Cerrito that have historically been underrepresented in the development process.  She has worked effectively with communities, environmental groups, planning and regulatory agencies and developers to improve Baxter Creek -- which flows through El Cerrito and Richmond -- and Rheem Creek, as well as the San Pablo Bay estuary in Richmond's North Shoreline area.  The restoration of Baxter Creek to its natural state is a popular environmental education tool for local grade school students. Her balanced approach of considering developers' needs while fostering an unflinching advocacy for natural habitat and urban creeks has won her the respect of many.

Buck Joiner (Maui) Joiner led the Kamaole Point Park Volunteers in transforming a two-acre rat-infested dump into a beautiful ocean front public park on the island of Maui.  After Joiner publicly promised, on many occasions, that if the county would buy the property, he would turn it into a public park with volunteers at no cost to the government, the county bought the badly neglected property in 1998.  Joiner, his friends and members of the community began the cleanup and removal of the trash   a collapsed house, burned out and abandoned automobiles, abandoned furniture and endless piles of trash.  Alien plants were gradually removed while native vegetation was encouraged.  The shoreline dune area, now resplendent in native vegetation, has become a nesting area for a new colony of tunnel building native wedge tailed shearwater birds.  Joiner and his small but incredibly dedicated group of people have created a small miracle in paradise.

Gerald Scoops (San Bernardino, Calif.) This year marks the 43rd year of the conservation program that Stoops began in San Bernardino, Calif.  More than 50,000 kids have participated in the program.  During 2001, at 85 years of age, Stoops was still able to organize three major reforestation projects involving some 200 people, mostly children.  The project provides trees for the future, for generations or even centuries.  This program has been effective and involved the total community.  In addition to the 50,000 children, the program has involved hundreds of adults, school principals, teachers, parents, youth group leaders, the U.S. Forest Service, Kiwanis Club High School "Key" clubs and others.  Four
newspapers have supported the program: the San Bernardino County Sun, Highland Community News, Redlands Facts and the Riverside Press Enterprise.  Through them, a couple of hundred thousand other people have learned about conservation.


Environmental, Community or Non-Profit

Board of Directors & Members of the South Mountain Village Clean & Beautiful  (Phoenix) Since the program first began in 1997, volunteers from the South Phoenix EJ community and churches have removed tons of solid waste and auto tiresfrom local areas.  The organization's Board of Directors includes members from four businesses in the community, the police department, two churches, civil and governmental organizations, credit unions and community residents.  Among those who have participated in the cleanups are high school and college students, military reservists, and Boy and Girl Scouts.  The cleanups also offer opportunities for performance of probationers' court-ordered community service and for participation of at-risk youth in an adult supervised program.  This ethnically and religiously diverse non-profit organization has set an example for other environmental justice residents in demonstrating how they too can make a significant difference in solving environmental problems.

Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies Inc. (Mesa, Arizona) Stardust embodies the concept of "A Hand Up Not a Hand Out."  Individuals, businesses or organizations donate quality new and used building materials to this unique organization for the economically disadvantaged.  Through the good work of Stardust, donated reusable materials are kept from being dumped in landfills and instead sold or donated to other non-profit shelters, housing or assistance organizations that need help, such as Habitat for Humanity.   Volunteers clean, repair and truck the merchandise to two stores similar in setup to Home Depot, but on a smaller scale.  The merchandise is priced so it is affordable to families and individuals in low-income neighborhoods throughout the Phoenix Valley.   Stardust also has a program called "Computers for Kids" where it refurbishes older computers, loads them with education programs and donates them to kids in inner- city elementary schools.

Ken Goldstein (Kaneohe, Hawaii) For over ten years,  Goldstein has been running the Hawaii Computers for Kids Program, a grass- roots organization designed to recycle computers for Hawaiian children from Kindergarten through 12th grade schools.  Not only are the children benefitting from the use of computers, but the program provides valuable technology skills to teachers and students for repair and upgrading computers, and prevents landfills being filled with old computers.  The program has managed to transfer more than 11,000 computers from donors to schools to date.  Thousands of local volunteers help make this possible.  Major organizations have volunteered   the Army, Navy and Air Force help in transporting donating computers between islands.  Microsoft and CompUSA have contributed.  Everyone from the federal level to the local community are involved in an organization that is helping to keep Hawaii green and beautiful.

Tyson Miller Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative (Encinitas, Calif.) Historically, recycled paper's higher price deterred its widespread use.  The co-op addressed this problem by negotiating price reductions based on high volume collective purchasing power.  Co- op participants have purchased over 100,000 cases of 30 percent postconsumer recycled paper.  These purchases have saved the equivalent of nearly 18,000 trees, 5.3 million gallons of water, 3.1 million kW hours of energy, and 45,000 pounds of air pollution.  The co-op also offers discounted 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper that is processed without chlorine.  The co-op expanded from San Diego nationwide in 2001 and launched the Green Press Initiative, targeting authors and publishers.  Using recycled paper creates a market for recovered paper -- ultimately keeping these materials out of landfills.  The co-op has become a national model for increasing the use of recycled products.

Aquatic Outreach Institute (Richmond, Calif.)  In 2001, the institute continued to reach San Francisco Bay educators and the general public through action-oriented environmental education programs. More than 270 teachers in four Bay Area counties participated in Kids in Creeks, Kids in Gardens, and Watching Our Watersheds educator workshops. Through the institute's Teacher Action Grants Program, $40,000 was distributed to these teachers to help them develop hands-on pollution prevention projects involving their students, students' families, and community members in activities to reduce urban runoff.   The Aquatic Outreach Institute also launched a Wildlife Gardening Program for the general public in 2001 to promote the use of local native plants in home gardens as a means to protect water quality.  In its fifth year as a nonprofit, the institute continues to create and carry out effective environmental involvement and education programs.

Stanford University - Mercury Thermometer Replacement /Battery Recycling Programs (California) Stanford Universitydeveloped and implemented two highly successful and innovative pollution prevention programs that protect students, faculty, staff and the environment from unnecessary exposure to hazardous wastes, and also serve to increase environmental awareness.  Under the Mercury Thermometer Replacement Program, over 1000 thermometers of all types were replaced with non-mercury alternatives; as a result the university realized a 40 percent reduction in cleanup costs resulting from fewer broken mercury thermometers.  The Household Battery Recycling Program redirects batteries from both the Stanford and surrounding community landfill waste streams to hazardous waste facilities.  Both programs help reduce the threat of heavy metals pollution to creeks, San Francisco Bay and drinking water sources, and can easily be replicated at other colleges, universities and large corporations.  

Katy Wolf & Mike Morris, Institute for Research & Technical Assistance  (Santa Monica, Calif.)  The institute works with small businesses in Los Angeles -- auto repair, metal finishers, and printers, among others -- to help them convert to safer water-based cleaners, and away from more toxic, higher volatile organic compound solvents used to clean parts or equipment.  When a solvent is targeted for regulation due to adverse health and environmental effects, the institute brings business and regulatory agencies together for on-site testing of water-based alternatives.  If suitable alternatives do not exist, the institute works with vendors to develop and optimize equipment and chemistries.  Repeatedly, the institute has reduced risks, VOCs, and toxics from solvents and found less toxic, water-based cleaners.  For example, the impact of a recent South Coast Air District rule -- adopted once the institute demonstrated that water-based cleaners were effective -- is equal to eliminating the VOCs emitted by two oil refineries.

City CarShare (San Francisco) This non-profit organization launched a car-sharing program in San Francisco in March 2001, with the goal of reducing traffic and congestion, mitigating an urban parking shortage, and promoting compact and walkable communities.  City CarShare employs advanced technologies to make a fleet of 45 vehicles available to its members.  A City CarShare member simply logs onto a Web site or uses a voice-activated phone system to reserve a car, uses a special smart card device to access the reserved vehicle, and gets billed monthly for time and miles of auto use.  City CarShare has experienced unprecedented success and rapid growth since opening for business just over a year ago.  With more than 1,400 members, the program reached its growth target for the year within four months, and has already expanded to the East Bay - two years earlier than envisioned.


Business, Industry, Trade or Professional Organization
                                 
The Orchid at Mauna Lani (Kamuela, Hawaii)  The Orchid, a luxury resort located on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii, installed a liquid petroleum gas-fueled combined heat and power system in June 2001.  The initial proposal was to install a diesel oil-fueled system due to the lower fuel and equipment costs.  However, concerns about air emissions and potential contamination from a spill or leak outweighed the higher equipment and operating costs of using a clean fuel.  The system is producing 880 kilowatts hours of power, and recovering waste heat for 220 tons of air conditioning and hot water heating.  Additionally, the Orchid anticipates a reduction in demand of 77.4 million kilowatt hours of power from the island=s oil burning power plants over the next ten years.  This will mean a significant reduction in air emissions, acid rain, and fine particles, and will enhance protection of the island=s wildlife, habitats and ecosystem.

Ken Cleaveland and Mark Rumpler, Building Owners and Managers Association  (San Francisco, Calif.)  The association's comprehensive "San Francisco Recycling and Hazardous Waste Guide for Commercial Property Owners and Managers," was developed and distributed in conjunction with San Francisco's Recycling Program.  Approximately 220 office buildings participate in the association's High Rise Recycling Program and divert more than 1,600 tons of paper monthly. This is equivalent to saving 4,800 cubic yards of landfill space and 27,200 trees.  Paper represents nearly 80 percent of an office building's waste stream.  Because less energy is required to manufacture recycled paper than virgin, the recycling achieved by association members
equates to savings each month of: 11,000 barrels of oil; 11.2 million gallons of water; 6.5 million kilowatt hours of energy; and 96,000 pounds of air emissions.

Sierra Railroad Company, Mike Hart (Oakdale, Calif.) Hart led Sierra Railroad Company, California's oldest independent railroad, into becoming the first in the country to operate on biodiesel, a fuel that is less toxic and has lower emissions.  Since over 1,500 locomotives operate in the state, generating over 36,000 tons of nitrogen oxides in non-attainment air basins, this project could provide critical emission relief.   One additional benefit of the project will be the development of a biofuel plant in California, which is estimated to create 30 million gallons of zero-carbon and zero-sulfur biodiesel a year.  This will mean that California farmers will be able to move 352,505 acres of farmland into production making fuel, resulting in more than 3,000 jobs created or retained in the state, and less dependence on foreign oil. Sierra is also planning to use a battery-operated locomotive called "Green Goat" to demonstrate another way for railroads to reduce emissions in rail yard switching.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, L.L.C. (Grand Canyon & Death Valley) Xanterra=s operations at National Parks exemplify environmental stewardship on federal land.  At the Grand Canyon, Xanterra is implementing a comprehensive environmental management plan that is a model for concession operations nationwide.  For example, Xanterra completed a retrofit of 14 Adirty@ fuel oil boilers with clean burning propane boilers, increased green procurement efforts, and retrofitted 20 in-park tour buses with hydrous alcohol injection systems and throttle controls that result in 70 percent cleaner emissions and 20 percent better fuel efficiency.  At Death Valley, Xanterra completed a comprehensive lighting retrofit, replacing all 1,400 incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, and installed two Apre- coolers@ on the chillers, resulting in a 20 percent increase in efficiency.  These two measures saved 318,304 kilowatt of electricity and reduced demand by over 200 kilowatt in 2001, a savings of over $50,000 in energy costs.

Media

Pedro Peterjun Z. Ravelo, Jr. (Saipan, CNMI) Ravelo, a staff reporter for the Saipan Tribune, has focused his writing on significant environmental concerns such as the treatment of PCB-contaminated soil in Tanapag Village; the looming garbage crisis related to the closure of the dump in Puerto Rico; groundwater contamination on the island; sea warming that has contributed to coral deaths; the military bombing exercises on Farallon de Mendenilla Island that continues affect wildlife habitat and the environment; the environmental threat of improperly dumped waste oil, car batteries, and transformers near the shoreline; and damage to the public utility=s wastewater treatment plant, resulting in the discharge of waste into the Saipan Lagoon.  Ravelo is a dedicated, professional journalist, and he has displayed fairness and objectivity in reporting environmental news.