Environmental attorney Sanders says, "Kentucky recycle that old analog television rather than throwing it in the dump."

After June 12, 2009 all full power television stations will only broadcast in digital, over-the-air signals. EPA encourages all U.S. citizens who own an analog TV set and who receive free broadcasts (via rabbit ears or a roof-top antenna) to extend the life of their TV by subscribing to a paid TV service or connecting it to a converter box. Energy Star-qualified digital converter boxes are available for purchase.

For consumers who choose to buy a new TV, EPA recommends purchasing Energy Star-qualified sets. EPA also encourages consumers to recycle their unwanted TVs, which recovers valuable materials from the circuit boards, metal wiring, leaded glass, and plastics.

Last year Americans disposed of more than 20 million TVs rather than recycle them, which represent millions of lost opportunities to conserve natural resources such as copper and iron. Consumers who are interested in recycling their old TVs can contact their local household hazardous waste collection and recycling program to find out whether they will be sponsoring an upcoming recycling event.

EPA is working through its Plug-In To eCycling program to promote the environmental benefits of recycling and provide the public with information on safely reusing and recycling obsolete electronics products, including televisions, computers, and cell phones. Plug-In To eCycling is a partnership between EPA and electronic manufacturers and retailers to offer consumers more opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics.

More information on the digital TV transition: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/tv-convert.htm
Important iore information on where to recycle a TV: http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/tv-challenge.htm

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says World Naked Bike Ride is novel way to protest gloabl warming and carbon emissions from mobile sources.

In May and June each year, you can take part in the World Naked Bike Ride in approximately 70 cities throughout the world. Upcoming rides in the United Kingdom, include rides through Belfast, Cardiff/Caerdydd, Brighton, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton, York and London. Check the below link for a city near you.

Over 1000 naked, body-painted and scantily-clad cyclists turn out for the annual World Naked Bike Ride in London, protesting against climate change and the tyranny of the automobile. Motorists stuck in traffic jams may get more than they bargained for during rush hour.

Nudity is optional – riders are encouraged to go “as bare as you dare” – while the route offers an enjoyable “naked sightseeing experience”, passing a number of city-centre landmarks. You can sign up for the ride at: http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/

Naked Bike Riding Tips
Smile and have lots fun with it.
Prepare for riding rain or shine!
If sunny, put on sunscreen!
You do not have to be naked to join the ride.
Wear shoes!
Keep your cloths with you — you never know when you may need them (like… after the ride.)
Decorate your bike! Come with signs and funky hats! Cover your bike seat with fun fur.
Ride safely and stay together as a group.
Tell your friends! Spread the word!

P.S. I don’t expect to see a naked bike ride protesting climate change or motor vehicle congestion being held in Cincinnati, Louisville, or Covington this century, or next! Somehow, this event sounds better than it probably looks.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders supports the American Clean Energy and Security Act and asks for your support with your Congressman.

developed nations must reduce global warming pollution and inspire developing countries to do their fair share as well. We as Americans must become involved in saving the planet from catastrophic climate change.

In May, the House Energy and Commerce Committee took the first big step toward achieving this goal by approving the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The committee’s vote helps build momentum for setting the nation’s first limits on global warming pollution, sending Americans back to work building a clean energy economy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

As currently written, the American Clean Energy and Security Act would reduce global warming pollution 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. It also sets a goal of producing 20 percent of America’s energy from renewable energy, a portion of which could be met with energy efficiency measures.

Finally, the bill would fund clean energy technologies and green jobs training programs to empower local communities to build these technologies. These measures would establish the United States as a worldwide leader in clean energy technologies and in efforts to prevent the worst effects of global warming from occurring.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act by the end of June; until then, the challenge is to ensure that the bill is not weakened or derailed completely.

What to do ==

Send a message right away urging your representative to support and vote Yes for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454). It is the responsible ethical action to take to protect the wonderful gift from God that is our planet. It is truly the right action to take to protect our planet for our children and children’s children.

== Contact information ==

You can send a message to your representative directly from NRDC’s Action Center at http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/L75VFUn1FqVv/

If you prefer to call your representative, the Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121.

We must secure energy independence for America, and this Bill is a good first step. Help end our dependence on foreign oil and make our country free of shipping trillions of dollars overseas in return for energy that we can make here on American soil.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says Knott County receives $1.1 million for Irishman Creek drinking water project

The Department for Natural Resources’ Division of Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) announced the commencement of construction for the Irishman Creek Phase IV Water Supply Project for Knott County, Kentucky.

Music Construction, Inc. has been awarded the approximate $1.1 million project contract, with RM Johnson Engineering providing engineering inspection services. On-site construction began the end of May.

A groundwater contamination study performed by the Knott County Fiscal Court, and funded by AML, found that much of the groundwater in the Irishman Creek watershed has been impacted by pre-1982 mining, making it eligible for assistance for water supply replacement from the AML program.

This will be the final phase of construction for the extension of public waterlines to serve the remaining 241 affected residences of the watersheds of Big Branch of Troublesome Creek, Irishman Creek and Trace Fork of Irishman Creek.

The project area will include Flax Patch Branch, Mill Branch, Alum Cave Branch, Madden Fork, Mill Creek, Lick Branch, Short Branch and Swift Shoal Branch and will be conducted entirely in Knott County. The project will involve the installation of approximately 13.7 miles of water main, one booster pump station and meters at approximately 208 residences.

Since the project’s inception, AML has installed approximately 37.5 total miles of water main and four booster pump stations within the project area. Moreover, AML has provided approximately 672 residences with access to a much needed public water supply.

AML is authorized under KRS 350 to abate hazards to public health, safety and the environment from abandoned coal mines. AML has a water supply replacement program that extends waterlines into areas where well water has been contaminated by past coal mining.

To date, AML has expended over $71 million dollars for waterline improvements and has provided over 11,316 households with potable water supplies in 24 counties in eastern, southern, and western Kentucky. AML funds a portion of the cost of these water replacement projects based on the mining impacts found in groundwater quality studies.

Kentucky environmental lawyer Sanders says U.S. EPA reaches settlement in Breslube-Penn Superfund site in Pennsylvania.

Thirty-six companies allegedly responsible for hazardous contamination of soil and groundwater at the Breslube-Penn Superfund Site in Coraopolis, Pa., have agreed to cleanup up the site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

According to the settlement filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies have agreed to fund and/or complete a $12 million cleanup at the seven-acre site. The settling companies have also agreed to reimburse EPA $3 million in past costs at the site, and to pay for EPA’s future costs, which include oversight of the cleanup.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which has also signed the consent decree, will be reimbursed $41,000 for its past enforcement costs and will also recover future response costs. The United States has collected more than $4.2 million in prior settlements with other parties, bringing the total value of the judicial settlements involving this site to more than $19 million.

According to EPA and the Commonwealth, industrial activities at the site contaminated soil and groundwater with volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, PCBs, metals, and cyanide.

The settling companies include nine (AK Steel, Alcoa, Inc., CBS Corporation, Elliot Company, Exxon Mobil Corp., Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Hussey Copper Ltd., and United States Steel) that have agreed to conduct the EPA-approved cleanup.

Under the settlement, these nine companies will remove oil and other pollutants and then install a cap and slurry wall containment system to prevent the release of any additional contaminants. These companies will also remediate the groundwater outside the containment area. The remaining defendants have agreed to help fund the cleanup.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public notice and comment period, and final court approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

Additional information about the Breslube-Penn Superfund Site is available at http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/PAD089667695/index.htm .

Kentucky environmental lawyer Sanders says U.S. Supreme Court rules that Massey Energy can't buy the appearance of a justice in West Virginia.

In a highly anticipated case involving the intersection of justice, politics and money, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Constitution can require an elected state-court judge to step aside in a particular case based on campaign spending in state judicial races.

In a 5-to-4 decision released on June 8th, the high court found that the circumstances surrounding Justice Brent D. Benjamin of the West Virginia Supreme Court and a lawsuit involving the Massey Energy Company, his major campaign contributor, were so “extreme” that there was no question that Justice Benjamin should have disqualified himself.

Because 39 states have legal systems in which judges are elected, the outcome of the West Virginia case has been eagerly awaited. Kentucky's judges are elected, so this case is relevant to judges in the Bluegrass state.

Justice Benjamin, who is the chief justice on the West Virginia high court, twice joined 3-to-2 majorities to throw out a $50 million verdict against Massey Energy, one of the country’s biggest coal companies. The cases involved a contractual dispute with another coal company, Harman Mining, and its president, Hugh Caperton. Massey’s chief executive, Don L. Blankenship, spent $3 million in the 2004 campaign to elect Justice Benjamin.

Once elected to West Virginia’s Supreme Court, Justice Benjamin refused to recuse himself from the appeal of the Massey case. So much for traditional notions of fair and blind justice in a court of law.

All of this sounds like the novel I just read from the local library, "The Appeal" by John Grisham. In the book, Mr. Grisham makes the important point about how the justice system in more than half of the 50 states is increasingly threatened by this kind of big-money, hard-core gutter politics.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says websites have paint calculators to estimate amount of paint needed for job.

An EPA study issued in April 2007 estimates that about 10 percent of the U.S. house paint purchased each year - about 65 to 69 million gallons - is ultimately discarded. To help you buy just enough, Earth 911 -- http://www.earth911.org – has tips on its Paint Wise page and there are several paint calculators online.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says lead paint poses dangers to children and pregnant women in Kentucky.

Lead-based paint is a major source of lead poisoning for children and can also affect adults. In children, lead poisoning can cause irreversible brain damage and can impair mental functioning. It can retard mental and physical development and reduce attention span.

It can also retard fetal development even at extremely low levels of lead. In adults, it can cause irritability, poor muscle coordination, and nerve damage to the sense organs and nerves controlling the body.

Lead poisoning may also cause problems with reproduction (such as a decreased sperm count). It may also increase blood pressure. Thus, young children, fetuses, infants, and adults with high blood pressure are the most vulnerable to the effects of lead.

Lead was used as a pigment and drying agent in "alkyd" oil based paint. "Latex" water based paints generally have not contained lead. About two-thirds of the homes built before 1940 and one-half of the homes built from 1940 to 1960 contain heavily-leaded paint. Some homes built after 1960 also contain heavily-leaded paint. It may be on any interior or exterior surface, particularly on woodwork, doors, and windows.

In 1978, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lowered the legal maximum lead content in most kinds of paint to 0.06% (a trace amount). Consider having the paint in homes constructed before the 1980s tested for lead before renovating or if the paint or underlying surface is deteriorating. This is particularly important if infants, children, or pregnant women are present.

For more information, go to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ lead abatement site http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/ach/abate.htm , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#remodeling or contact your local health department.

Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Again, children six years old and under are most at risk.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says Bobby Flay bringing his mastery of the flame to the Bluegrass in October 2009!

Like many Americans, I love a well-cooked meals and often enjoy watching a master chef at work. One of my very favorites to watch is Bobby Flay, who seems to wage war on bland food preparation and always seems to want to take his food up a notch or two from the ordinary. So, I am please to announce that Bobby Flay is coming to the Bluegrass State in October 2009.

The Incredible Food Show is coming to the Lexington Center and Rupp Arena October 3 – 4, 2009. The Incredible Food Show is two-day food lover’s dream is packed with more than 120 exhibitors including Kentucky Proud producers and growers, specialty food companies, cooking-related equipment and wineries.

In addition, cooking demonstrations and seminars by regional and local chefs will be presented by Sullivan University’s culinary school. The Incredible Food Show is highlighted by two presentations featuring Chef Bobby Flay, author and show host of Food Network’s “Throwdown” and “Boy Meets Grill” and one of the featured chefs on The Food Network’s “Iron Chef.” Catch one or both presentations in Rupp Arena at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets are required for Bobby Flay presentations. The Bobby Flay Celebrity Kitchen Theatre tickets, which also include admission to the food show exhibit halls, range from $35 – $75. The $75 ticket includes an autographed copy of Bobby Flay’s “Mesa Grill.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 10 at the Lexington Center Ticket Office, Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster Outlets. General admission tickets to the event are priced as follows:

Adult One Day Pass – $12
Children ages 4-12 One Day Pass – $5
Children 4 and under – Free

General admission includes cooking demonstrations, food and entertainment-related presentations and product sampling on the exhibit floor.

Maybe next year Alton Brown will come to Kentucky.

Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says General Motors files for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of Banktuptcy code.

An affiliate of General Motors filed for bankruptcy on Monday morning paving the way for GM to submit its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition to a federal clerk in Lower Manhattan. Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem Inc., sought bankruptcy protection today, the first of many filings in the bankruptcy process.

While GM hasn’t yet filed, the affiliate called the parent company a “debtor in possession under Chapter 11,” in court documents, a reference to the main U.S. bankruptcy law.

On May 31, 2009, the Company announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury had informed it that the support of more than 54% of the bondholders allows the Company to proceed with its previously announced 363 Sale Proposal under U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection.

GM’s bankruptcy filing is the fourth-largest in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company. The company has $172.81 billion in debt and $82.29 billion in assets.

GM’s common stock dropped 33 percent and closed at 75 cents per share on May 29, 2009. That price per share is the lowest level in 76 years, and less than the $1 minimum price normally needed for a New York Stock Exchange listing. The stock was valued above $40 less than two years ago.

GM’s stock may, however, soon be worthless. As currently discussed, GM’s plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take 12.5 percent, with the United Auto Workers getting a 17.5 percent share and unsecured bondholders receiving 10 percent. Existing GM shareholders are expected to be wiped out.

Under its plan, GM will sell substantially all of its global assets to the New GM. GM will use its cash-on-hand and a new debtor-in-possession financing of approximately $33 billion to ensure an uninterrupted supply of goods and services and provide for other cash requirements prior to closing of the asset sale; fund liabilities to secured lenders and provide contingency funding to handle any potential unexpected needs.

None of GM’s operations outside of the U.S. are included in the U.S. Court filings or Court-supervised process, and these filings have no direct legal impact on GM’s plans and operations outside the U.S.

How the might have fallen! Let’s take a minute and say a prayer tonight for the GM employees, parts suppliers, and dealerships, who will suffer financial and emotional harm from this bankruptcy. God help America!