The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to vote this summer on whether to allow a 50 percent increase in the amount of ethanol in the nation's gasoline supply, according to the Boat Owners Association of the United States, the nation's largest boating group.
Testing on whether the new gas works is scheduled to be done on a group of 2001-and-newer model vehicles. No testing, the Boat Owners Association says, will be done on older cars, boats, non-road vehicles or gas engine-powered equipment.
"Some of our members have advised us of performance, compatibility and possible safety issues with the current (ethanol) blend," said Margaret Podlich, the Boat Owners Association's U.S. vice president of government affairs. "To add 50 percent more ethanol to every gallon of gas without first knowing what it will do to the older vehicles and other gasoline engines we currently own is simply irresponsible."
The U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety also has raised concerns about higher levels of ethanol and the lack of independent testing.
Ethanol, a strong solvent, can accelerate the deterioration of fuel system components such as fuel lines, causing them to fail and increasing the level of risk for fire or explosions, according to the Boat Owners Association.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reported in a Jan. 28 "Report for Congress" that "currently, no automaker warranties its vehicles to use gasoline higher than 10 percent ethanol," and "small engine manufacturers similarly limit the allowable level of ethanol."
Forty-six motor sports, environmental, food and advocacy groups, including the Boat Owners Association, have joined to form an organization called followthescience.org, asking for "science first" before the EPA allows a new fuel on the market.
Doe hunting
The Quality Deer management Association has come out in support of a bill that would let youngsters hunt antlerless deer in Pennsylvania.
Senate Bill 1272, sponsored by Sen. Richard Alloway, an Adams County Republican, would allow hunters younger than age 12, who are participating in the state's mentored youth hunting program, to harvest up to one antlerless deer per year.
The Quality Deer Management Association noted that Pennsylvania is recruiting just 62 new hunters for every 100 it loses — a figure that's 10 percent below the national average — causing Pennsylvania to lag behind 28 states that boast a higher hunter replacement ratio.
The state's age and/or eligible species restrictions "limit youth participation and negatively impact the Commonwealth's ability to attract new hunters," the Quality Deer Management Association said.
"Increasing youth hunting opportunities is the preferred way to reverse this trend," it added in a press release.
Alloway's bill was introduced March 15. It's sitting in the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee awaiting action.
Trout in classroom
Once again this year, students in Brad Wetzel's classes at Greater Latrobe Senior High School successfully raised more than 250 brook trout from eggs to fingerlings in an aquarium.
The fish were released into Mill Creek in Waterford.
The fish were raised through a "Trout in the Classroom" project, which teaches students about coldwater conservation through a variety of disciplines, including science, social studies, mathematics, language arts, fine arts and physical education.
