UPDATE: The Monhan Lab Group web page is now live. Please click here to view the Monohan Lab Group page now. The Sierra Fund will soon launch a new web-based resource for current and former students of Dr. Carrie Monohan, TSF Science Director and Adjunct Professor at California State University Chico. The Monohan Lab Group […]
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A new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers Michael Singer, Lee Harrison and colleagues from the University of Michigan has identified how flooding frequency and duration affect mercury biogeochemistry along a 40-mile stretch of the Yuba/Feather River system. They found that about 5 percent of the total mercury in this lower section has the potential to become toxic. Their research appears in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Read MoreEnvironmental Working Group’s new study of over 250 women indicates that “US fish advice may expose babies to too much mercury.” EWG’s newly completed study enrolled 254 women who eat at least two meals of seafood, fish or shellfish every week and measured the amount of mercury in their hair to assess how much mercury was in their bodies. EWG’s study found that almost 30 percent of their participants had too much mercury exposure according to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for pregnant women.
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The Sierra Fund will again be hosting two full time AmeriCorps positions through the Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP): one Community Outreach Coordinator, and one Research Assistant. These one-year positions begin in November 2015 and are a fantastic way to gain professional skills and experience while serving important Sierra causes. Application materials for these and other SNAP positions are available here, and are due this Saturday, July 25, 2015.
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The Sierra Fund is proud to release a new report detailing activities, results, and lessons learned from a year-long pilot outreach program in four Sierra communities. The short term goals of this program were to prevent and reduce exposure to mercury from locally caught fish in Sierra communities, and to raise awareness about mercury in the fish and other mine-related toxins, among community members, leaders, and healthcare providers. The long term goal is to build a movement to clean up sources of legacy mining pollution in the Sierra.
Read MoreThe Senate Natural Resources Committee yesterday passed SB 1270 (Pavley), the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) Reform Act on a vote of 7 – 2.
Elizabeth Martin, CEO of the bill’s sponsor The Sierra Fund, spoke as an expert witness on the benefits of the bill. Senator Fran Pavley, Chair of the Committee and author of the bill introduced the bill with the note that this is the first time that SMARA has been revisited since legislation championed by California State Senator Byron Sher in the 1990s.
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