With ever more sensitive tests, it’s now possible to find tiny amounts of worrisome chemicals in water supplies just about anywhere. But do those trace amounts pose a human health hazard?

Endocrine disruptors are one sizable group of what the EPA calls “non regulated compounds. There’s an even larger group often labeled PPCP, which stands for pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Snyder says combining them is chemically inappropriate.

One often-overlooked aspect of providing clean water is not just what it costs, but which factors contribute to that overall expense. Dr. Snyder observes that cleaning up wastewater is a relatively small piece of the total.

Dr. Shane Snyder  was the R&D Project Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) for nearly a decade, and has  published more than 80 manuscripts on the occurrence and fate of organic contaminants in water. In 1998, he was credited with the first discovery of natural and synthetic estrogens in North American waters.

Dr. Snyder also linked the occurrence of steroids in wastewater to potential endocrine impacts in fish in the late 1990’s. Dr. Snyder was one of six experts to testify before the U.S. Senate regarding pharmaceuticals in U.S. waters in April of 2008. In 2009, Dr. Snyder’s research team published the first national survey of pharmaceuticals in U.S. drinking water. He is also is the co-founder and vice president of Total Environmental Solutions,  a  company offering consulting and laboratory services to a diversity of government, municipal, and private sector clients.

California has hundreds of small, family-owned wineries surrounded by vineyards. But the huge international companies that dominate the industry also trade on that image to promote their products, and their business interests.

Marin Institute Research and Policy Director Sarah Mart says their study of the biggest multinational figures in the US and California wine industry also dominate the California Wine Industry.

In the wake of prohibition, the alcoholic beverage industry in the United State was organized into three separate branches:  supply and production, distribution and wholesaling, and retail sales. Having substantially consolidated the ownership and production of wine in California, these multi-billion companies are now turning their attention to another branch of the industry, Mart says, and moving to assert their dominance over distribution.

Sarah Mart is the  Research and Policy Manager at Marin Institute. You can read a summery or download here entire report here.  Find out more about the California Wine Institute at their website.

Promoting educational opportunity for all is good economic policy, says Stanford  Professor Martin Carnoy, while perpetuating inequality is bad for business.

From an economic perspective, there are clear benefits for greater educational attainment, but in California, Carnoy says, policies to encourage that are lagging,

 Learning to read is a critical first step on the educational ladder, so Carnoy suggests emphasizing that key skill is more important in the long term than promoting bi-lingualism.

Dr. Carnoy has written more than 30 books on economic issues, racial inequality and education policy. He will give a free public lecture on April 1 at 7 pm in the Person Theater  at Sonoma State on the topic, “Educational Equity and Social Justice as Smart Economic Policy. Dr. Carnoy also blogs regularly for the Huffington Post. Read his blog here.

Buried among the ballot measures in California’s June 8^th primary election is one that could define the future of electricity in our state.

Finding land for sprawling solar trough farms, such as the one seen below, is often less difficult than securing routes for the transmission lines to carry the electricity from the generation site to the population centers that need it.

The electoral process is only beginning to unfold, but as the power behind placing Proposition 16 on the ballot, PG&E is certainly prepared to spend big to get it passed. Ann Hancock, Executive Director of the  Climate Protection Campaign notes that the utility has not been bashful about funding similar moves in the past.

Marin County Supervisors voted narrowly last month to create the Marin Energy Authority, a new and hotly debated distribution entity. that the and Other cities or counties would be blocked from creating such a clean energy facility if Proposition 16 passes, Ann Hancock warns, and MEA’s ability to operate could be severely constrained.

Learn about greening our electric supply and the impact of Prop. 16
Wednesday, March 31st from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Glaser Center:
547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. This event is free and open to all.

Renata Brillinger (left)  of the Climate Protection Campaign will describe ongoing  efforts to green Sonoma County's electric supply and the impact of Proposition 16 - if passed. Proposition 16 will be on the June 2010 ballot. It  would enact a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote of any community before spending public money to investigate or implement non-profit power options such as municipalization or Community Choice Aggregation.  Co-sponsors: Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Santa Rosa - Seventh Principle Working Group and League of Women Voters Sonoma County