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Golf Industry News
We scour the news wires to bring you up-to-date and relevant news about stewardship and the environment!
Last post Dec. 10, 2009 17:21
(14 Posts | 112570 Visits | Activity=2.00) Limited EPA Study Finds Low Level of Concern in Samples of Recycled Tires from Ballfield and Playground Surfaces
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released results of a limited field monitoring study of artificial-turf playing fields and playgrounds constructed with recycled tire material or tire crumb. The study was intended to gain experience conducting field monitoring of recreational surfaces that contain tire crumb. EPA will use the information to help determine possible next steps to address questions regarding the safety of tire crumb infill in recreational fields.
“The limited data EPA collected during this study, which do not point to a concern, represent an important addition to the information gathered by various government agencies,” said Peter Grevatt, director of EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection. “The study will help set the stage for a meeting this spring, where EPA will bring together officials from states and federal agencies to evaluate the existing body of science on this topic and determine what additional steps should be taken to ensure the safety of kids who play on these surfaces.” More ... http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/c8d28e3f9f3ca0a4852576880053bed4!OpenDocument Release date: 12/10/2009 Contact Information: Dale Kemery kemery.dale@epa.gov 202-564-7839 202-564-4355 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2009
The Pesticide Wars
From High Country News
By Felice Pace, High Country News, Guest Writer, 11-24-09 If the American Farm Bureau Federation has its way, the issue of whether herbicide spraying over water requires a Clean Water Act permit will be heard by the Supreme Court. A coalition of agricultural groups led by the Federation has petitioned the nation’s highest court to reverse an appellate court decision which found that such spraying requires an NPDES clean water permit. NPDES permits are required when pollution is delivered to a water body from a point source. What constitutes a point source for Clean Water Act purposes has been a major US legal issue for well over a decade with several previous cases reaching the Supreme Court. More ... http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_pesticide_wars/C559/L559/
Hybrid bluegrasses analyzed for use in transition zone
'Thermal Blue' and 'Dura Blue' hybrids put to the test
KNOXVILLE, TN—The transition zone can be one of the most challenging places to maintain high-quality turfgrass; changeable growing conditions in these regions often prove too hot for some grasses and too cold for others. Finding turfgrass that thrives in these challenging environments can be perplexing for turf management professionals and homeowners alike. Now, an answer to this growing dilemma may be found in new breeds of hybrid bluegrasses. Bred for their ability to tolerate heat and drought, these hybrids can outperform traditional bluegrasses in transition zone areas. A study published in a recent issue of HortScience tested two new bluegrass hybrids, 'Thermal Blue' and 'Dura Blue', to investigate optimal seeding rates, correct seed timing, and the interaction of mowing height and fertility requirements for both bluegrass cultivars. The study results show promise for both hybrids in the transition zone. More ... http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfh-hba110409.php Public release date: 4-Nov-2009 Contact: Michael W. Neff mwneff@ashs.org 703-836-4606 American Society for Horticultural Science
Chesapeake Bay Gets Clean Water Funding; $1.5B More for Stormwater Proposed
WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 2009 (ENS) - To pay for better clean water accountability and regulatory enforcement in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Congress has authorized new funding to reduce pollution in local rivers and streams flowing into the bay. Legislation passed by the House and Senate contains a record $50 million for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Bay cleanup efforts, with $19 million in new funding for regulatory enforcement and accountability.
More ... http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2009/2009-11-05-091.asp
EPA Proposes Labeling to Control Pesticide Drift, Evaluates Petition
WASHINGTON, DC, November 4, 2009 (ENS) – Pesticide labeling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift was proposed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The new instructions are aimed at improving the clarity and consistency of pesticide labels and help prevent harm from spray drift, the toxic spray or vapor that travels from treated agricultural fields and into neighboring communities. The agency is also requesting comment on a citizens' petition to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift. More ... http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2009/2009-11-04-092.asp
Driven by cost and conscience, Oregon's golf courses are going green
by Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian
Friday July 17, 2009, 7:00 AM It may be that golf's swing mantra — keep your head down — keeps players focused on birdies, not birds. But whether golfers notice or not, when the gallery along the ninth fairway at Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City includes a dive-bombing kestrel and a redtail hawk, it's apparent that change is making the turn. Specifically, golf is getting greener. Across the United States, but especially in the Pacific Northwest and particularly in the Portland area, golf courses are adopting environmentally sustainable practices. They are using far less water, fertilizer and weed-killer than before and employing grass varieties that can thrive without meticulous care. More ... http://www.oregonlive.com
Golf course putting greens show their age: Researchers seek to maintain healthy greens, reduce construction costs
LINCOLN, NE—Just like the rest of us, golf courses show their age—especially on putting greens, which experience more foot traffic than anywhere else on golf courses. Putting greens, which comprise only about 1.6% of the total area on most courses, require more intensive management than any other part of the course. To keep putting greens in top form, turfgrass experts study ways to provide proper nutrients to the root zone, a critical area for maintaining healthy turf.
Contact: Michael W. Neff mwneff@ashs.org 703-836-4606 American Society for Horticultural Science More ... http://www.eurekalert.org
Private Boca Raton club Broken Sound sees green in waste
Club turning to composting as part of environmental efforts
By Patty Pensa | South Florida Sun Sentinel 6:02 PM EDT, May 20, 2009 BOCA RATON - At the Broken Sound Club — where upscale meets earthy — solar panels heat its pool, water machines replace plastic bottles and motion-sensitive light switches save electricity. And then there's composting. The private club is turning to the age-old farm practice in its latest and most expensive effort to go green. More ... http://www.sun-sentinel.com
On Golf Courses, Sensors Help Save Water
By LARRY DORMAN
Published: May 20, 2009, New York Times In seven years of overseeing every root and blade of grass on the grounds at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., Matt Shaffer has built a reputation on innovation and conservation. An early advocate of course playability over aesthetics, he long lived by the maxim “the drier, the better.” But when a stifling heat wave threatened the club’s greens before the 2005 United States Amateur Championship — a record 17th U.S.G.A. championship at Merion — Shaffer turned to his old boss, Paul R. Latshaw Sr., for advice. Latshaw told him there was one way he could continue to cut down water use while keeping his turf dry and as fast as a microwave: sensors. More ... http://www.nytimes.com
Golf Course Irrigation: Save Up To 25% Of Water Using Wireless Sensors
ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2009) — A project carried out by the Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones of the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (UC3M) has resulted in the development of an irrigation management system of easy installation on golf courses based on networks of wireless sensors.
More ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090416185724.htm
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