TASK 1……. LAWS

• Rationale: = reasons why you feel the law is necessary… or helpful. Your rationale is how you will convince city council members or senators and congresswomen to vote for your bill and help it become a law.

• BE PERSUASIVE

• USE DATA if possible

• Example:• We need a law limiting the speed at which drivers can drive on 2 lane

highways to 55 mph because…

Rationale: for a proposed speed limit of 55 mph on 2 lane roads

• * Data suggests that a 55 mph speed limit on 2-lane highways will decrease traffic deaths by 8 percent nationwide compared to a 65 mph speed limit

• * Data suggests that our nation will save 500,000 barrels of oil per day using a 55 mph speed limit compared to a 65 mph speed limit

Example of a rationale for increasing the tax on cigarettes

• Increasing the tax on cigarettes will benefit the entire population. Data shows us that

• For every ten percent increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes, youth smoking rates overall drop about seven percent.[18] This rate is also true amongst minorities and low income population smokers.[19] The rates of calls to quitting hot-lines are directly related to cigarette tax hikes. When Wisconsin raised its state cigarette tax to $1.00 per pack, the hot-line received a record of 20,000 calls in a two month time period versus its typical 9,000 calls annually.[20]

A. The first laws you write are Tax Laws to reduce use of Fossil Fuels

• Tax Law Options

• 1. More Tax if…• 2. Less Tax if…• 3. No Tax if…• 4. Tax credit if….

B. Carbon Footprint LAWS Can you use data to state a rationale for laws which might help reduce the carbon

footprint of citizens?

Comparing average carbon footprints in tons of CO2 per person

OR

• Perhaps you can use data or reasoning to suggest that there is no need for laws which might help reduce carbon footprint of citizens.

• Use good, persuasive writing to make your case as you write your rationale

Calculate Your carbon footprint

• http://www.conservation.org/act/get_involved/carbon_calculator/pages/default.aspx

C. FEEDLOT / MANURE HANDLING LAWS

• Should livestock producers be able to put manure anywhere they want ?

• What options are there for location of feedlots and handling / disposal of manure

FEEDLOT: Where should the manure be put? High Nitrogen levels in Manure

Feedlot. Where will the manure go?…. Wherever water takes it!

Manure running off into the Roseau River. Northern MN

Should feedlots be allowed on the banks of rivers / lakes ?

• Douglas County feedlot setback laws

• http://www.co.douglas.mn.us/dc/zoning-for-animal-agriculture.aspx

• A Conditional Use Permit shall be required by Douglas County for all feedlots over 50 animal units.

• (1.) Submit a A map or aerial photo showing the dimensions of the feedlot, showing all existing homes, buildings, lakes, ponds, water courses,

• wetlands, roads, wells, contour and surface water drainage within 1,000 feet of the feedlot.

• (2.) A description of soil types and high water table located within 1,000 feet of the feedlot.

• (3.) A plan indicating operational procedure, the location and specifics of proposed animal waste facilities and the quantity and type of effluent to be discharged from the site.

• (4.) A plan for disposal of dead animals consistent with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health Regulations.

• (5.)Must follow, all Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ( MPCA ) requirements.

• c. New feedlots located within the shoreland are not allowed

Douglas County Feedlot Setbacks

• 1000 feet from wetlands

• ½ mile from protected wetlands

• 1000 feet from towns, churches, schools

• NOT ALLOWED In a floodplain

Should there be laws governing the handling of manure from feedlots?

• What are the options for handling / disposing of that manure ?

Option 1: Manure being spread on a field

Option 2: Sewage lagoon with mechanical oxygenator. Bacteria break down the sewage

Option #3: Manure Digester…produces methane gas from manure

Option 1: Spreading manure.Lots of nutrients for plants.

Will those nutrients stay on the field ? … or run-off into waterways?

Manure along shore of creek.

Runoff after spring rain. Water high in nitrates from manure / fertilizer

Manure runoff. MN farm cited for violations. Fined $$$$$

Grass buffer strips to protect surface water

Algae add oxygen to sewage lagoon at no cost. This helps the bacteria as they decompose the sewage

Option 2: Feedlot with sewage lagoons These lagoons are oxygenated by Algae.

Option 3: Manure digestersProduce methane gas from manure

Methane from biodigester burns clean! And hot ( blue )

Building a biodigester in Zambia Human sewage to methane

Manure Run-off can cause eutrophication ( greening )of lake / pond

Severe eutrophication

Decaying algae =Low oxygen levels = Dead fish

Lake Winnipeg : severe greening due to nitrates washing into the lake

THE Dead Zone in Gulf Of Mexico.Agricultural run-off into the Miss. River. High nitrate

levels fertilizes the Gulf

Satellite view of algae blooms in Gulf of Mexico at mouth of Miss. River these algae blooms cause

the dead-zone

D. LANDFILL DESIGN LAWS

• Why can’t we just dump trash and bury it?

SANITARY LANDFILL ….under construction: Plastic protects groundwater from poisons

Decomposing garbage produces methane gas. Some landfills collect methane and use it as a fuel

Some landfills are turned into ski areas

Landfill with 1 megawatt solar photovoltaic cover

Landfill design youtube links

•Landfill gas powers 400,000 homes. 8 min.

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G7yHyd6RmM

•cartoon how does a modern landfill work? 2.5 min very clear. Well done.

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC1u6rJkyzA

•LANDFILL SOLAR… interesting solar cover on a Georgia landfill. Cover generates 1MW

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH42bUZZ-ZA

E. WETLANDS LAW

• Wetlands include marshes, ponds, swamps.

• Should residents be able to drain wetlands for farming and development of buildings… or should there be a

“no net loss of wetlands” law?

Wetland History

• In the 1600s, over 220 million acres of wetlands are thought to have existed in the lower 48 states.8 Since then, extensive losses have occurred, and

• over half of our original wetlands in the lower 48 have been drained = the loss of over 100 Million acres of wetlands

From MN statutes ( LAW )• WHY ARE WETLANDS PROTECTED?

• 1. Water Quality. Wetlands filter and absorb polluted surface water runoff before it enters lakes and rivers

• 2. Flood Control And Low Flow Augmentation. Wetlands serve as holding areas for water. When rainfall is heavy, wetlands slow the waters, reducing flood water.

• During drought, water stored in wetlands maintains stream flows and

• Recharge groundwater.

• 3. Fish And Wildlife Habitat. Wetlands provide homes and feeding areas for many species of fish and wildlife.

• 4. Education And Recreation. Wetlands offer opportunities for education and recreation.

• 5. Commercial Benefits. Wetlands are used for development of specialty products such as vegetable farming, peat mining, sod farming, minnow harvesting, and timber harvesting.

Bill Nye on wetlands 6 min

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeUPbGWg2KU

• The Minnesota Legislature found that wetlands provide public value and adopted a policy of promoting….

no net loss of wetlands. See Minn. Stat. § 103A.201, subd. 2(b).

Wetlands cost farmers…. $... But help to limit spring flooding

4 - inch Diameter Drain tile

Holes in drain tile = perforated drain tile

Drainage Ditch, with tile lines. H2O goes from: Field Drain Tile - River- Gulf of Mexico … FAST!

Installing the drain tile

Tiling saves crops from drowning and increases acreage

Drain tile bringing water from the field into drainage ditch

• Tiling helps agriculture… but are there negative effects to tiling wetlands which can hold water in the spring / summer ?

Prairie Potholes. Should wetlands be protected?

• More than half of all prairie potholes have been drained or altered for agricultural use.

Prairie Pothole Region: The duck-factory of N. America !

Prairie pothole with Mallards

Pothole in Spring before the ground thaws

S. Dakota Prairie Potholes from the air.

When the water is here…

It isn’t here… ( downriver )

Are wetlands the sponge we need to prevent flooding?

F. RENEWABLE RESOURCE LAW:

• Write a law for Greenville which specifies what percent of electrical power must be from renewable resources by the years

• 2020• 2025• 2030• Be sure to write a good rational for this law

Minnesota's Renewable Energy Standard

• is one of the nation's strongest renewable energy standards, requiring utilities to provide

25 percent of their total electrical generation from renewable sources like wind, hydrogen and solar power by the year 2025

Wind as a resource

• MN has 3,000 megawatts of installed wind capacity, ranking it seventh in the nation.

• Minnesota has enough land and wind to generate nearly 500,000 megawatts of wind power.

Sunlight as a resource for generating electricity

What are some Pro’s and Con’s of laws which require a certain

percent of elecrtic power to be from renewable resources?

END OF TASK 1

• Congrats on thinking about laws which might help to protect the environment