"Apparently, when the proper pigments and chemicals are added to black paint, the resulting color is currently being referred to as "mud-puddle brown."
They work sunup to sundown, drop to the ground for their breaks and never sneak away to Starbucks. And some of them even give birth to new workers on the spot.
But a good work ethic is only one of the benefits of the newest additions to San Jose's Green Vision. Nine hundred sheep and 100 goats have been on the job grazing around the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant since February, avoiding the use of dozens of pounds of herbicides.
"The joke in the office is you know they're working hard because their heads are
always down," said Jennifer Garnett, a spokeswoman for the city's environmental
services.
By having the sheep and goats do what they do naturally, the city also is helping to diminish pollution of waterways because there is no herbicide runoff where the woolly grazers are working. And, they're able to get the job done without the use of gas-powered mowers, one of the key goals of San Jose's Green Vision — reducing the use of nonrenewable energy.
Mitsu Yasukawa photo
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In a Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a working-class town outside Barcelona, some 462 solar panels have been erected atop mausoleums at the town cemetery. They produce enough electricity to power 60 homes annually, and are expected to avoid 62 tons of CO2 emissions a year.
Massachusetts, Senator Bob Smith's S-1897 would establish a program under which Licensed Site Professionals, hired by private parties responsible for the polluted properties, would develop remediation plans and supervise the cleanup work. Their activities would be supervised by the DEP and subject to strict standards and timetables.
"Wow, we knew that America's obsession with soft and fluffy toilet paper was a problem, but how bad is it really? According to Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council, America's toilet paper problem is actually worse for the planet than it's love of fuel-hogging SUVs. That's on account of the chemicals used in the manufacture of pulp and, of course, the fact that we're leveling old-growth forests to wipe our butts with.
"The outcry over America's bathroom habits is being promoting in part by recent data showing that 98% of the toilet paper consumed in the US in 2008 came from virgin fibers (compare that to 60% in Europe and Latin America). According to the NYT, a significant portion of the quilted, super fluffy, triple-ply TP that comes from the nation's leading brands comes from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Sadly, the super comfy paper that is enjoyed for only a couple of unsavory seconds takes decades, if not centuries, to grow. Of course, there are plenty of alternatives out there like recycled TP or -- for hardcore conservationists -- the cloth toilet wipe."
With the economy playing havoc with new vehicle sales, wouldn't this be a great time to pick up on a Hummer at at huge discount. Then you can drive it over to your local grocery wholesaler and fill its cavernous interior with crates of Greenpeace-recommended toilet paper made of high post-consumer and recycled content. 
"They have tinkered. They have beefed up oversight of outside contracts. They have hired a management consultant. And they are weighing a long list of recommendations," the reporters noted of the Senate's response.
"The Fumo case created a foundation for the Senate to build a better government. Each count against him was part of a new building, and so far they don't even have a basement."
But Chris Christie? The two-fisted, political-corruption-fighting former federal prosecutor?
"Sometime in the next few days, three men will make a decision that comes awfully close to playing God with the Chesapeake Bay."Environmentalists generally oppose the idea saying the new species may drive out native oysters. (Echos, again of larger national debates)
Below are three recent that explore the oyster controversy in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia:
Oysters may yet thrive in Delaware Bay (Wilmington News Journal)
Another skirmish over Asian oysters (Baltimore Sun)
Seafood group seeks OK to grow Asian oysters (The Virginian-Pilot)
Jason Springer, over at the exuberantly left-leaning Blue Jersey blog, used one of our posts yesterday to set up a discussion of the controversial Licensed Site Professionals (LSP)legislation which is in place for floor votes in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature.
Photo: Kevin Mingora/The Morning CallEx-Philadelphia councilman's aide, two others guilty of fraud Inquirer
Who's the boss? In Harrisburg, scores of legislative staffers make more than lawmakers It's not often the average worker makes more than the boss, but in the Pennsylvania Legislature it happens all the time Morning Call
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