#Florida: Donations wanted for #OrlandoFL and #JacksonvilleFL #LibraryOfThings!

"The #CenterForBiologicalDiversity fights not only to protect wildlife and wild lands in Florida but also to address the underlying causes of the extinction crisis, including the excessive production and consumption of new products.

"That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re working with #Shareable and other partners to establish Library of Things pilot projects in Orlando and Jacksonville.

"A Library of Things is a shared community resource where useful items can be borrowed just like books that are in circulation for years, reducing the demand to produce new goods that destroy habitat, generate greenhouse gases, create pollution, and harm wildlife.

"Sharing also disrupts the current U.S. economic model that demands endless growth through the constant purchasing of new things. It challenges the traditional consumerist mindset that drives overproduction and leads to items getting thrown away after only a few uses.

"You can support this effort by donating items from the library’s wish lists. Whether it's a bicycle repair kit for someone who bikes for transportation, kitchen items for a new university student, or a generator for emergency preparedness, every item counts. By donating, you’ll help neighbors save money and push back against the culture of consumerism.

Here's how it works

"The Jacksonville Library of Things pilot, located at University of North Florida dormitories, is looking for donations of board games, kitchen items, phone chargers and tools to be used by students living in the dorms, based on a needs assessment conducted with students in partnership with the University.

"The Central Florida Tool Library (serving Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) is seeking donations related to disaster preparation and response, as well as home repair and maintenance. These items were identified based on conversations between community members and our partner, #CentralFloridaMutualAid.

"Each wish list notes whether the item can be gently used or refurbished or must be new. (Certain products must be new for the libraries to ensure they meet safety and fire code standards. But purchasing these items once to be shared among the community prevents each future borrower from buying more.)

"Links to secondhand and refurbished sites are included where possible. The wish lists also provide a desired quantity of each item. Once the maximum number of items is claimed, you’ll see the request has been fulfilled. The mailing address to send the products for inclusion in the Library of Things can be found in the wish list."

Original article:
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/library_of_things

#CentralFlorida #ToolLibrary Wishlist:
https://sokindregistry.org/registry/CFLToolLibrary

Jacksonville Library of Things Wishlist:
https://sokindregistry.org/registry/JaxFLLOT
#LibrariesRule #Libraries #LibrariesOfThings #SharingEconomy #SolarPunkSunday #BorrowDontBuy #Degrowth #CircularEconomy #LibraryOfThings

via @arizonamirror

If #Hobbs is serious about protecting #groundwater, she must work to close the #mining loophole

by Russ McSpadden
February 12, 2024

"In her first State of the State address just over a year ago, Gov. #KatieHobbs was unequivocal about her commitment to tackling one of the state’s greatest challenges: our dwindling #water supply.

“Our groundwater should be used to support #Arizonans, not foreign business interests,” she said in that speech, referring to the Saudi Arabian conglomerate #Fondomonte. Over the past few years, Fondomonte has been pumping unlimited amounts of groundwater in La Paz County for alfalfa crops that it ships to feed cows on the other side of the earth.

"Though the Hobbs administration has already canceled one of Fondomonte’s four leases and says it won’t renew the others when they’re up this month, the problem doesn’t end with Saudi agriculture.

"It’s also mining companies that take advantage of loopholes in the state’s water laws to maximize profit at the expense of Arizonans — including mining giants #RioTinto and# BHP.

"Because of intense pressure from #lobbyists, when lawmakers adopted the much-heralded #ArizonaGroundwaterManagementAct in 1980 they exempted #mines from groundwater regulation, even when located in #ActiveManagement Areas — state-designated areas where groundwater pumping is controlled. That means that mines can pump unlimited amounts of water without paying the state a dime.

"This exemption was controversial in 1980. Today it’s existentially dangerous.

#ResolutionCopper, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and BHP, is a perfect example. Their proposed mine at #OakFlat — about 70 miles east of #Phoenix in the #TontoNationalForest and within the Phoenix Active Management Area — would pump 250 billion gallons of desert groundwater over the life of the project.

"That’s 17 million gallons of water every day for four decades.

"Under current water prices, that equates to $404 million worth of groundwater that Resolution Copper will get for free. Arizona won’t see a cent for it. And it’s more than likely that the copper ore from Oak Flat will be exported to China for smelting, again depriving local communities of economic benefit.

"This limitless pumping would happen even as the #megadrought that has plagued the #AmericanSouthwest for the past two decades is likely to worsen, straining the #ColoradoRiver and #Gila rivers even more and making us all more reliant on groundwater aquifers.

"If left intact, the mining loophole will facilitate construction of Resolution’s massive mine. The extreme water pumping from the #EastSaltRiverValley will lead to groundwater depletion and subsidence, threatening to deplete wells and damage infrastructure.

"The #CenterForBiologicalDiversity, where I work, has been fighting for decades to stop this mine, and Canadian mining company Hudbay’s disastrous plan to mine for copper in the #SantaRita Mountains south of #Tucson (in the Tucson Active Management Area).

"Both projects would devastate surrounding fragile #ecosystems, pushing endangered species like the #MexicanSpottedOwl closer to the brink of #extinction. They would also destroy sacred #TribalLands and gulp down massive amounts of water when other users are being asked to conserve.

"Handing mines unlimited access to Arizona’s precious desert groundwater would be an injustice to Arizona’s #Tribes and every resident of this state.

"Fortunately, Hobbs has the vision and courage to fight for a secure water future for Arizona. It is time for her to work with legislators to close the mining loophole in Arizona water law and subject mines to the same groundwater pumping limits that apply to other entities within the state’s Active Management Areas.

"We’re hopeful she will work to block #ResolutionCopperMine and other terrible mining projects like #Hudbay’s. At the very least, it’s time for mining giants to pay for the water they use just like the rest of us."

https://azmirror.com/2024/02/12/if-hobbs-is-serious-about-protecting-groundwater-she-must-work-to-close-the-mining-loophole/

Mention of @centerforbiodiv ! Follow them here on Mastodon!

Lawmakers need statewide #lithium plan, says #conservation group

By: Jennifer Sollis, Nevada Current
February 20, 2024

"There are more than 80 lithium projects proposed on #Nevada’s public lands as the nation races to power the #GreenEnergy transition. Now conservation groups are looking to state lawmakers to establish a rule-making process that would help reduce the establishment of mines in areas of greatest conflict.

"Despite a growing interest in lithium mining, Nevada has not developed a state-level plan for where lithium production should – and should not – be permitted to avoid impacts on local communities and resources.

"The United States produces less than 1% of global lithium production, all from a single facility, Albemarle Corp.’s Silver Peak mine in Esmeralda County, according to the United States Geological Survey. But that may soon change, making a statewide plan necessary, say conservation groups.

"#Mining on public lands requires federal approval. However, state approval is also required for various permits needed to advance mining operations. States — including Nevada — generally regulate waste management, #groundwater use and impacts, reclamation, surface water use, and air quality operating permits.

"Conservation groups argue that those permit requirements give Nevada an opportunity to help shape the future of lithium development in the state.

"Earlier this month, the #CenterForBiologicalDiversity submitted a letter to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, asking the committee to put forward a bill establishing a rule-making process that would help reduce the establishment of mines in areas of greatest conflict.

"The letter also includes a request that the bill include funding for a study by the #DesertResearchInstitute and state agencies to evaluate lithium resources in the state and determine which can be extracted with the least impact on communities and the environment.

"Lack of data around natural resources isn’t just an issue in Nevada, but nationwide.

"According to the Association of American State Geologists, the United States lacks an effective process for gathering, organizing, compiling, or publicly sharing geologic data that would help in the identification of valuable mineral deposits.

"Data collection on natural resources — like the one suggested by the Center for Biological Diversity — could improve the identification and development of critical minerals, while also identifying and avoiding sensitive resources that may be adversely affected by exploration or mining, according to a recent report on how to improve mining on public lands by the Department of the Interior.

"State Sen. Julie Pazina, the chairperson of the legislature’s Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, said the committee has yet to make any determinations for what bill draft requests they’ll make for the next Legislative session in 2025.

"'Over the next year, we will discuss and vet policy with the goal of protecting Nevada’s air, water and land for generations to come,' Pazina said.

"In Nevada, the clean energy transition has been marred by conflict with numerous projects in high conflict areas attracting litigation and public outcry.

"Earlier this year, federal land managers pulled their approval for a controversial lithium exploration project less than a mile from a treasured #wetland habitat after getting hit with a lawsuit and fierce opposition.

"Other mining projects in the state have faced backlash and delays, due to their proximity to #cultural and #ecologically sensitive areas. In one case, a small wildflower has been a source of conflict between conservationists and an #Australian mining company, seeking to build an #OpenPit lithium mine on the plant’s only known habitat.

"Last year, Washoe County commissioners withdrew a permit for a #geothermal exploration project near #Gerlach, after locals voiced fears the project could negatively impact the town’s #water supply, the structural integrity of their homes, and nearby natural hot springs.

"Permitting roadblocks, like the ones in Nevada, have been a major source of frustration for the #Biden administration.

"The potential for conflict in the state due to lithium mining is only growing. About half of the projects currently proposed in Nevada are in Esmeralda and Nye County, surrounding the town of Tonopah, a sizable population center.

"'We support domestic lithium extraction as well, if it is done in the right places and with the right techniques. We oppose business-as-usual mining, dewatering of open pits, pit lakes, excessive water consumption, #extinction of species or severe #degradation of #habitat, and regulatory shortcuts to permit bad mines faster,' wrote Patrick Donnelly, the Great Basin Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, in the letter."

https://thisisreno.com/2024/02/lawmakers-need-statewide-lithium-plan-says-conservation-group/

Center for Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, October 4, 2023

Contact:
Laiken Jordahl, (928) 525-4433, ljordahl@biologicaldiversity.org

#Biden Administration Waives Laws to Rush #BorderWall Construction Through #Texas Wildlands

STARR COUNTY, Texas — The Biden administration announced today that for the first time it will waive environmental, public health and cultural resource protection laws to fast-track construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Texas. The administration says it will take “immediate action to construct barriers and roads” along the border, including through fragile habitat near the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

“It’s disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation’s bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls,” said Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Starr County is home to some of the most spectacular and biologically important habitat left in Texas and now bulldozers are preparing to rip right through it. This is a horrific step backwards for the borderlands.”

The waiver sweeps aside 26 laws that protect clean air, clean water, public lands, endangered wildlife and Indigenous grave sites. The announcement marks the first time the Biden administration has used the REAL ID Act waiver authority.

“Every acre of habitat left in the #RioGrandeValley is irreplaceable,” said Jordahl. “We can’t afford to lose more of it to a useless, medieval wall that won’t do a thing to stop immigration or smuggling. President Biden’s cynical decision to destroy crucial wildlife habitat and seal the beautiful Rio Grande behind a grotesque border wall must be stopped.”

Wall construction in Starr County could harm recovery plans for endangered ocelots, which depend on contiguous wildlife corridors of protected habitat along the Rio Grande. Two endangered plants, the Zapata bladderpod and prostrate milkweed, are endemic to the area and will likely also be threatened by wall construction with their protections stripped by the waiver.

Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a damning report detailing the severe damage the border wall has caused to wildlife, public lands, and Indigenous sacred sites and burial grounds along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity.

Today’s action seeks to waive the following laws:

- National Environmental Policy Act

- Endangered Species Act

- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

- American Indian Religious Freedom Act

- Federal Water Pollution Control Act

- National Historic Preservation Act

- Migratory Bird Treaty Act

- Migratory Bird Conservation Act

- Clean Air Act

- National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act

- Eagle Protection Act

- National Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956

- Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

- Archeological Resources Protection Act

- Paleontological Resources Preservation Act

- Safe Drinking Water Act

- Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act

- Noise Control Act

- Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

- Antiquities Act

- Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act

- Farmland Protection Policy Act

- National Trails System Act

- Administrative Procedure Act

- Federal Land Policy and Management Act

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-administration-waives-laws-to-rush-border-wall-construction-through-texas-wildlife-refuge-2023-10-04/