Typical Illinois River tributary southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has siltation caused by Highway Department's dredging of roadside ditches

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of stream that enters the Illinois River. This one is near a highway and shows signs of dumping of assorted material in the creek. Worse, however, is that Arkansas Highway and Transportation workers mow and then dredge out ditches from which water from the highway carries silt into the stream. That reduces the success of many native species that inhabit the stream. It is easy to haul out the junk and debris. But silt is difficult to remove. Neither should be in the stream. Thoughtless people dump the junk into creeks. Well-paid workers dredge the ditches and cause the erosion at taxpayer expense!

Arkansas Supreme Court to hear major environmental case the week before Earth Day: Will the court do the right thing?

State Supreme Court Sets Hearing on Swepco Power Plant By The Associated Press - 2/9/2010 12:03:25 PM LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments on April 15 in a utility's appeal of a ruling that voided its permit to operate a $1.6 billion coal-fired electric generation plant in southwest Arkansas. (Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast published, rewritten, or redistributed.) Copyright © 2010, Arkansas Business Limited Partnership. All Rights Reserved.

State Rep. Lindsley Smith reports after second day of Arkansas legislative session

Legislative Session Update‏ From: LINDSLEY SMITH (lindsleysmith@msn.com) Sent: Tue 2/09/10 7:26 PM To: The Arkansas House of Representatives is ready to tackle the state’s first-ever Fiscal Session, which began yesterday, February 8, at 12 p.m. The House and Senate met in Joint Session in the House Chamber at 12:30 p.m. to hear an address by Governor Mike Beebe. As mandated by Amendment 86 to the Arkansas Constitution, establishing annual sessions, actions taken during Fiscal Sessions will be limited to appropriation legislation. In order for non-appropriation measures to be introduced, a concurrent resolution describing the bill must be approved by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate – a substantial hurdle. However, two non-appropriation bills are widely expected to be taken up for consideration. The Arkansas Lottery Legislative Oversight Committee has been reviewing lottery scholarship recommendations during pre-session meetings. Legislation recommending scholarship award amounts is expected to be introduced for consideration by the General Assembly. The Committee has recommended scholarships be set at $5,000 a year at four-year, and $2,500 a year at two-year colleges and universities. If passed, scholarships will be available starting this fall. The General Assembly is also expected to address the Revenue Stabilization Act, which prioritizes spending into categories and governs the flow of money to state agencies based on available revenue, which ensures the state does not spend money it does not have. In the event of a revenue shortfall, this mechanism protects the most vital programs, like education. Also this session, starting at 10 a.m. opening day, the House unveiled its newly renovated Website, ArkansasHouse.org. The site is designed to make it easier than ever for the public to access House activities and information. Broadcast-quality, real-time video of House proceedings are being streamed live to the Website, so that anyone with an Internet connection can now log on and experience a front-row view of their legislative process. In addition, archived video and audio of House proceedings, including all sessions, press conferences and some committee meetings will be stored on the Website in a comprehensive video archive. “Physical and geographic barriers no longer prevent Arkansans from following the work being done in their House of Representatives. This truly enhances Arkansans’ access to the legislative process,” said Speaker of the House Robbie Wills. Arkansans will see increased access to broadcasts of House proceedings, as well. For more than a decade, AETN has provided live broadcasts from the House floor to Comcast Cable in Pulaski County through a local access channel. This session, for the first time, television viewers across the state will be able to tune in and watch the same gavel-to-gavel coverage, thanks to an upgraded feed from AETN. Through their “Create” channel, AETN-2 will provide coverage to cable operators who take the standard definition signal. AETN-2 is a lifelong learning channel featuring special interest programming. The fiscal session can last 30 days, and may be extended one time, for no more than 15 days, with a three-fourths vote of the House and Senate. However, Members are committed to working quickly and efficiently to ensure this historic session is productive, and one of which Arkansans can be proud.

World Peace Wetland Prairie poster: Please click on image to enlarge and see full view

Please click on image to ENLARGE and navigate right and left to see full view.

Progressive think-tank opens door to new breed of leadership on climate change

http://www.trumanproject.org