HOUSTON - Walmart stores in Houston, Dallas and Austin, as well as in six other states, got some early trick-or-treaters this weekend. Instead of asking for candy, though, these environmental activists wanted Walmart to recycle electronic waste.

Decked out as zombie TV sets and other high-tech ghouls, Austin's "flash mob" serenaded shoppers and employees with their rendition of "Monster Mash." In Houston, they revamped lyrics of "The Adams Family" theme song. A flash-mob member explains, "What we're saying is if you don't recycle us, we're going to spew our toxins all over you as we're coming back from the dead to haunt you."

Stacy Guidry is Austin program director with Texas Campaign for the Environment, which has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at Walmart. The company sold nearly $53 billion worth of entertainment products last year, she says.

"We want Walmart to step up to plate, as the largest seller of electronics, to mirror the policies of Best Buy in taking back old electronics so they can be properly recycled, through our state law."

Texas law requires computer manufacturers to provide free recycling for customers. A similar law covering TVs takes effect next July.

Guidry says the laws are helpful, but major retailers could voluntarily offer much more convenient options. So far, only Best Buy has done so. If Walmart followed suit, Guidry says that would more than double available drop-off locations.

Walmart's website says the company is striving to become a "zero-waste" business, but it's a step-by-step process.

A recent letter-writing campaign has already collected nearly 25,000 online signatures, according to Guidry. But she says the campaign goes beyond pressuring Walmart. Flash mobs and other public demonstrations, she explains, educate consumers about the importance of keeping electronics out of the waste stream.

"People don't understand that whenever they put something on the curb, they're essentially poisoning themselves. Electronics contain toxics like lead and mercury. When this stuff hits landfills, it's crushed and those toxins start to leak out and get into the water supply."

Much of the waste winds up in developing countries that lack strong environmental, labor and health laws, she says, and these exports also cost U.S. jobs in the recycling industry. Federal legislation - HR 2284 and S. 1270 - has been introduced that would stop the export of e-waste to such countries.

The online letter campaign is at http://takeitbackwalmart.com.




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Latino Conservation Week is in full swing, with 330 events across the U.S. and 90 in California alone.

The 11th annual event runs through Sunday. The program is designed to draw people outside to enjoy public lands and work to protect the nation's air, land, water and wildlife.

Jessica Godinez, Latino Conservation Week manager for the Hispanic Access Foundation, explained the goal of the week.

"It was established to break down different barriers of access that the Latino community faces when it comes to accessing public lands," Godinez outlined. "And inspire the next generation of environmental stewards."

Godinez pointed out her group is encouraging authorities to improve access to public lands by making them less expensive, easier to reach via public transportation, more wheelchair-friendly and more culturally relevant.

Godinez added the events also promote a variety of environmental causes.

"Here at Hispanic Access Foundation, we focus our conservation work on climate change, ocean conservation, waterways and rivers and public lands," Godinez noted. "We try to amplify and elevate the voices of our community."

Latino Conservation Week was moved from July to September this year because of a record-breaking heat wave that gripped the state over the summer. The programming includes group hikes and other outdoor recreational opportunities, community film screenings and more.

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research.

The report, by two Columbia students, shows the university has taken in close to $48 million in donations from the fossil fuel industry since 2005. Around $16 million went to fund Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy.

Leel Dias, an environmental science major and report co-author, is convinced this funding has slanted the center's research. He cited a 2014 paper about the impacts of the U.S. ending its then-ban on exporting crude oil.

"A CEO of a natural gas company is listed as a contributor on this report. His name is Charif Souki; no disclaimers, no disclosures. All these reports by CGEP, I think the vast majority of them are not peer-reviewed, so there's no check. They're just published on the CGEP website," Dias said.

He added this study was a key factor when Congress ended the country's crude oil export ban in 2015. But Columbia isn't alone in this. Fossil fuel companies sponsor climate research at other schools, from Princeton and Stanford to George Washington University.

Other findings show some advisory board members for Columbia research centers are also on the boards of fossil fuel companies. Columbia University officials couldn't be reached for comment.

The research includes memos from fossil fuel companies suggesting Columbia University has been complicit in 'greenwashing' them.

Anika Kathuria, a computer science major and report co-author, said another conclusion is that Jason Bordoff, the Center for Global Energy Policy's founding director, might be swaying the center's research agenda.

"He has basically been talked about by numerous companies as this kind of 'corporate counselor' figure, where they will go to him to decide - to make decisions, decide what research paths they're going to go on. And it doesn't really make sense why the head of a center of research would be counseling corporate interests," Kathuria said.

The authors added that one goal of the report is to aid the newly formed student and faculty committee in examining fossil fuel research funding. The committee is slated to release a final report next fall, with guidelines for the university about this type of research funding.


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In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike.

Menhaden, often referred to as the "most important fish in the sea," are vital to the diets of predatory species like striped bass and osprey. Now, experts warn the decreasing menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay could disrupt the ecosystem and threaten the sportfishing industry.

Steve Atkinson, chairman of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, explained the ripple effect of the menhaden shortage on other species.

"The decline of menhaden in the bay is impacting the most important fishery that we have, which is striped bass," Atkinson pointed out. "That fishery has been in decline for over a decade now. Striped bass are overfished but we also believe they are underfed, because they rely heavily on menhaden."

The Chesapeake Bay is a primary spawning ground for menhaden and decades of overfishing have taken a toll on the species. The shortage is not only affecting sportfish. Research at the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William & Mary shows ospreys, which rely on menhaden to feed their chicks, have seen a dramatic reduction in nesting success.

Conservation groups said the problem stems from the current management of menhaden fishing. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has implemented catch limits but some experts believe they do not fully address the localized effects on ecosystems.

Jaclyn Higgins, forage fish program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said more needs to be done.

"A huge amount of menhaden that are being taken out of arguably the most important estuary in the United States, by the third-largest fishery in the United States, and we have no idea what those impacts are to the greater ecosystem," Higgins emphasized.

Higgins noted about 75% of the Atlantic coastwide quota for menhaden is allocated to Virginia. She believes the management framework is robust but needs to be more region-specific.

Last month, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to establish a workgroup to consider additional protections from industrial fishing of menhaden in the bay. These could include seasonal closures, to protect important fish and bird species.