Pickens Plans

Starting today boone pickens announced today and every month from now on, “I will do an event to show how many barrels of oil were imported in the previous month.”

The goal of the Pickens Plan is to get that number going down so that we are less and less dependent on foreign oil.

For example, the nearly $475 billion we sent overseas for foreign oil in 2008 could have been better spent right here in America building schools, wind turbines, solar farms and helping insulate houses and buildings.

We have created a new page on the website – http://www.pickensplan.com/oilimports – so you can follow this and invite your friends to take a look. We have widgets you can install on your own website to track our progress.

I’m doing my part. I need you do to yours. I need you to join your Congressional District group today. And get your family, neighbors and folks where you work to join, too.

As the new Congress and the new Administration begin to work on legislation to implement aspects of the Pickens Plan, I’m going to call on you to contact your U.S. Senator and Member of Congress to make sure they know how important this is.

— Boone

Instant Loan approval Checklist

                                                  Please Bring The Following Items With You

                                                      Or Enclose Them With Your Application. 

 

•1.      COMPLETE LOAN APPLICATION – Sign & Date by all applicants (Make any necessary corrections)

 

2.  INCOME – Need two years of employment history

a.  Salaried – Need two years W-2’s & pay stubs to cover a full month history

b.  Self-Employed Borrowers – Include the most recent 2 year’s busines & personal tax returns

& a year to date profit & loss statement (ALL PAGES needed for these documents).

c.  Retired – Include original Social Security Award Letter or Pension Award Letter

d.  Other – Child support/alimony must be documented for a least a year – printout from court, or copies of cancelled checks with a copy of divorce decree

e.  Rental Property – copies of lease agreements(s)

 

3.  RESIDENCES – list your addresses for the past 2 years

a.  The dates you lived there

b.  The landlord’s name, address, and phone

c.  Include current rental income

 

4.   ACCOUNTS – Past two month’s statements (ALL PAGES) for all checking & savings accounts, stocks,                       

           bonds, investments, IRAs, mutual funds, 401k….

 

5.  CONTRACT – Copy of fully executed purchase contract signed by all parties with…

a.  Legal/Property address

b.  Specifics of who is paying for what closing cots

*****(VA requires an original contract)*****

 

6.  INSURANCE – Proof of Insurance from Insurance Company (Declaration Page)

 

7.  VA LOANS – Please provide original VA Certificate of Eligibility

a.  Copy of your DD-214 if retired or original Statement of Service if active duty

b.  If new to area, a Copy of Orders must be provided

c.  Active duty requires a DD Form 1747 from Housing Office if your rank is E-4 or below

 

8.  REFINANCES – Bring/Mail a copy of your Warranty Deed, Title Insurance, Home Owner’s Insurance,

          Survey, & a Copy of Mortgage Note. 

          **If Mortgage is in a Trust, we will need Full Copy of Trust Documents**

 

 

 

  On occasion, other items may be requested to determine qualification.

We look forward to working with you soon….

  

Patrice Bobo-Miles

Mortgage Loan Officer

850-269-6724 – Direct Line

240-1364 – Cell Number

patricemiles@peoplesfirst.com

Obama announced Hud secretary

By Christi Parsons

RISMEDIA,  -(MCT/RISMedia)-A Harvard-educated architect is Barack Obama’s choice to head his housing agency, one which the president-elect says will play a key role in tackling the mortgage crisis in his administration.

Shaun Donovan will bring “fresh thinking” to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Obama said Saturday, pledging that his nominee will abandon “old ideology and outdated ideas” that have stymied some of the agency’s past efforts.

“We can’t keep throwing money at the problem, hoping for a different result,” Obama said in his weekly radio address. “We need to approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new energy, new ideas, and a new, efficient style of leadership.”

Donovan, 42, a former HUD official, is credited with increasing the affordable options in New York as head of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The announcement comes as Obama nears his informal Christmas-week deadline for assembling a Cabinet, a task that largely has been completed. A handful of key nominees is expected in the coming days, including appointees for the departments of Labor and Education.

But the HUD announcement effectively completes the team of advisers whom Obama intends to rely on most heavily to shape his administration’s response to the economic crisis, an agenda dwarfing all others as he prepares to take office in January.

Obama assembled his economic team as one of his first priorities after election, naming his treasury secretary, budget director and economic council director and setting them to work in recent weeks.

In naming Donovan, Obama said he wants his HUD secretary to take a lead role in stemming the tide of foreclosures and increasing the number of families who can remain in their homes amid the crisis.

“This plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated federal effort to make it a reality,” Obama said. “We need every part of our government working together-from the Treasury Department to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency that protects the money you’ve put in the bank. And few will be more essential to this effort than the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Donovan has worked in both business and non-profit sectors and at HUD during the Clinton administration, having served as deputy assistant secretary for the office of Multifamily Housing. He later worked at Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. as managing director of its FHA lending and affordable housing investments, before Mayor Michael Bloomberg named him commissioner of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development in 2004.

Today, Donovan leads the largest municipal affordable housing program in the nation. The agency’s $7.5 billion plan to build and preserve some 165,000 units of affordable housing reached its halfway point this fall.

He has been a visiting scholar at New York University, researching the preservation of federally assisted housing, and also has written about housing policy at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. He holds master’s degrees in public administration and architecture from Harvard.

If the Senate confirms him, Donovan would assume his post amid the worst economic climate in decades. American homeowners are reeling from plummeting home values and rising unemployment. One in every 488 households faced some form of foreclosure filing last month, and more borrowers are delaying mortgage payments for longer periods than in recent history.

Obama has made it clear that he thinks HUD can do more than it has done in the past. “Since its founding, HUD has been dedicated to tearing down barriers in access to affordable housing,” he said Saturday. “Too often, these efforts have had mixed results.”

Experts say Obama’s choice-along with the job description that he has offered-may signal a more sweeping role for HUD.

“What he may be speaking of, which would certainly be interesting and welcome by many sectors of the housing industry, would be a more direct role in the oversight of the affordable housing industry,” said Jim Parenti, a former HUD official and now associate dean at Georgetown University. Donovan would bring “street credibility” to that effort, Parenti predicted, because of his work in both public and private sectors.

“Strong leadership is needed at this critical time in our economy and in the housing market, and we believe Shaun Donovan will bring that leadership to the Department,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. NAR has noted that a proven leader is critical for HUD during these troubled times in the nation’s housing market and to ensure the current deteriorating environment is not repeated.

“Shaun Donovan is an acknowledged expert in housing with a record of solving challenges at HUD and the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development,” McMillan said. “In addition, his hands-on experience in the private and nonprofit sectors will be extremely helpful.”

NAR says that it recognizes the importance of Donovan’s experience in housing and the critical role he will play on President-elect Obama’s team as they prepare to grapple with the economic problems confronting the country. “NAR stands ready to work with Secretary-Designate Donovan to restore confidence in the housing market and rebuild the American dream of homeownership,” said McMillan.

Donovan has a record of boosting affordable housing options, particularly rentals, said John Garvin, who until recently worked as deputy assistant secretary for HUD’s multifamily housing programs.

“I’m impressed to see somebody with a multifamily focus in the job,” Garvin said. “There’s a huge need out there. … As people are losing homes, it’s important that they have an affordable option.”

© 2008, Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Nature Conservancy sells important puzzle piece to the state?

Nature Conservancy Sells Important Puzzle Piece, Top Conservation Connector Near Tallahassee 

State buys Wood Sink site in the St. Marks basin to protect wildlife habitat, water and provide recreation.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL  — December 12, 2008 — A high-priority conservation parcel of more than a thousand acres, located just 15 miles east of the Florida Capitol, was transferred to the state today by The Nature Conservancy. The 1,057-acre parcel called Wood Sink connects existing conservation lands north and south of U.S. Highway 27 and adds to a conservation corridor extending from just south of Interstate 10 and the headwaters of the St. Marks River to the Gulf of Mexico. The area provides Tallahassee with its potable water supply—the tract includes a karst feature directly connected to the Floridan Aquifer.

The land will be managed as an addition to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) L. Kirk Edwards Wildlife and Environmental Area. The Nature Conservancy bought the tract in March 2007 from the St. Joe Company and held it until state funds became available, selling it to the state today at below appraised value. The site is part of the Upper St. Marks River Corridor—an “A” ranked Florida Forever project consisting of 13,376 acres along 14 miles of the upper reaches of the St. Marks River. It is important to the water quality of not only the river but Apalachee Bay and the estuary at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

“We look forward to restoring and managing the Wood Sink tract for conservation of the upper St. Marks River systems, associated wetlands and resources, including habitat for imperiled species such as the wood stork, gopher tortoise and Sherman’s fox squirrel,” said Gary Cochran, FWC’s conservation acquisition and planning director. “FWC recognizes The Nature Conservancy’s long-standing commitment to acquiring land for conservation and is grateful to them for working to acquire the Wood Sink parcel from St. Joe during a time when Florida Forever Funds were committed to other important projects.”

“Wood Sink is such an important piece to the puzzle and adds so much value to the adjoining conservation pieces,” said Callie DeHaven, the Conservancy senior field representative on the project. The Conservancy recently helped the state acquire 2,615 acres nearby in the Upper St. Marks south of U.S. 27 from St. Joe and acquired the 611-acre Fanlew Tract, which connects to the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area.

In addition to being home to important species such as Florida black bears, river otters, bobcats and numerous species of Neo-tropical migrant birds during annual migrations, Cochran said Wood Sink will provide significant opportunity for public outdoor recreation.

Wood Sink is recognized as a priority target of Tallahassee’s Blueprint 2000. Executive Director Jim Davis was pleased with its protection. “This acquisition epitomizes what can be accomplished when government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private parties collaborate in the pursuit of a common goal: the protection of the headwaters of the St. Marks River,” he said at the time of the Conservancy’s purchase.

Letter to President Obama from Nature Conservancy

Dear President-Elect Obama:

On behalf of the nearly one million members of The Nature Conservancy, congratulations on your election as President of the United States of America.

Conservation progress in America has come in moments of national realization that our future is threatened by the destruction of our natural resources. Now is one of those times.

The Nature Conservancy’s long experience in helping to create conservation policy advances at the local, state, national and international levels and in carrying out tangible and practical conservation projects at every scale has led us to believe that the health of natural systems and the welfare of human communities are inextricably linked. We believe that diverse public and private interests must work together to achieve lasting conservation success.

The degradation of our environment is by no means inevitable. With your leadership, the United States can build on its rich conservation tradition to create a framework of healthy air, land and water that will protect natural systems, and around which the next generations of Americans can build secure and rewarding lives.

Initiatives already pending in Congress and the untapped potential of the professional staffs of federal agencies can be brought together with new ideas to achieve environmental progress right away.

The Nature Conservancy’s highest priorities for conservation action  include:

• Stabilizing Earth’s climate through the passage of greenhouse gas cap-and-trade legislation, investments in energy conservation and cleaner energy technology, and the design and siting of energy facilities to minimize environmental impacts.
• Conserving the most environmentally important natural resource lands for their multiple values in partnership with the states, conservation organizations and private landowners.
• Connecting and caring for our heritage of Federal lands to ensure that they are resilient to the pressures of unplanned development and climate change.
• Ensuring the health of water resources by committing the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation to new ways of managing our dams, by restoring wetlands and coastal ecosystems, and by using the Coastal Zone Management Act as an effective instrument for managing the many, often competing, demands on coastal lands and waters.
• Using environmental progress here in the U.S. as a platform for working cooperatively with other countries to negotiate a new global climate treaty, by securing ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and by increasing U.S. aid for conservation in developing countries.

All of these recommendations are achievable politically and practically. Much is already underway; more can be done with innovation and new ideas.

Yes, money is an issue, but the leasing of federally-owned energy resources, the conversion to a lower-carbon economy, and offsets to unavoidable environmental damage from energy and infrastructure projects can all be sources of funding. Our experience tells us that expenditures on the environment are not costs but investments in the future.

The actions we suggest here are inter-related, and our success in addressing environmental problems on a crowded Earth will depend on our ability to work across boundaries, to see things as a whole. This strongly suggests a more important role for the White House staff offices (including the Council on Environmental Quality) and for the new agency heads in helping federal agencies to find synergies and efficiencies in working more effectively together. And it suggests a central role for the President in convincing the public and private sectors, urban and rural interests that they all share and must take responsibility for our one connected environment.

While the path ahead is steep, the journey to saving America’s environmental heritage should never be thought of as a burden, but rather as the shared national privilege of passing on to those who follow us the healthy and beautiful natural systems that sustain the diversity of our native plants and animals and upon which our own lives depend.

We wish you all the very best in your Presidency in these challenging times and offer our help and support in implementing your environmental initiatives.

Sincerely,

Mark Tercek
President and CEO
The Nature Conservancy

Welcome oysters back to the shoreline

By Judy Althaus

From Florida to Canada, Atlantic bays and estuaries once boasted some of the world’s best oyster reefs. Today oyster reefs are among the most imperiled of all marine habitats.

The Nature Conservancy is restoring oyster reefs in the knee-deep waters of Indian River Lagoon, part of Florida’s Canaveral National Seashore and one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America.

The project involves thousands of volunteers making oyster mats that then provide nursery grounds for new oyster growth.

Nature.org spoke with Anne Birch, the Conservancy’s Indian River Lagoon program director, about this amazing project and why the oysters have captivated so many people.

 

Nature.org: What are “oyster mats” and how do they help restore reefs? 

Anne Birch: Oyster reefs face a variety of threats such as overharvesting, disease, and pollution. In Indian River Lagoon, we’re restoring reefs that have been damaged by boat traffic.

We are working with Dr. Linda Walters from the University of Central Florida. She found that over time, the constant wave energy from boat wakes will dislodge oysters from nearby reefs. They tumble into each other and eventually form “dead margins,” or barren islands made up of oyster shells.

An oyster mat is a simple solution: take a sheet of environmentally safe mesh, tie oyster shells to it and weight it to the bottom of the lagoon. The mats attract free-floating oyster larvae, which then settle and produce the backbone of a healthy reef within as little as a year’s time. And the mats are not dislodged by boat wakes.
Nature.org: Who makes all these oyster mats?

Anne Birch: Thousands of individuals have volunteered. We’ve had every group imaginable help out — from school kids to fishermen to the Red Hat Society. We hold several volunteer events for community groups each month, and students from fifth grade through college age make oyster mats in class and discuss the oyster’s role in nature.

Nature.org: What have you accomplished so far?

Anne Birch: The restoration began in 2005 with joint funding from the Conservancy and NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program. Since then, more than 9,200 volunteers have hand-tied oyster shells onto 8,200 environmentally safe mesh mats that have restored about 20 acres of reefs in the lagoon. The mats were placed in the water at prepared sites, and attached together to form a huge welcome mat.

We monitor the reefs regularly and results have been excellent! All 20 of our restored reefs have juvenile oysters settled on them. Three of them now have seagrass growing right up to their margins, connecting them with shoreline mangroves to create a perfect, natural ecosystem.
Nature.org: Is it hard work? Have you run into any challenges?

Anne Birch: Deploying these mats in the lagoon is messy and hot work, but volunteers love working in a stunning setting while dolphins and osprey feed around us. Volunteers have reef-naming rights, and one reef was dubbed “Sirenia” in honor of a visiting manatee.

The logistics alone — gathering materials, preparing shells, cutting mats, organizing weekly volunteer events, getting folks into boats and out to the sites — were a big challenge. Then we have saltwater complications, such as rusty tools. And, volunteers have to be out on the water all day with no restroom facilities.

A challenge that we didn’t foresee was how backbreaking it is to rake down the dead margins to prepare a site for its oyster mats. This was solved when partners donated the use of a floating backhoe that raked 12 sites in two days; the job would have taken volunteers two years! This will speed up our restoration of an additional eight acres next year.
Nature.org: Why did so many people come out to volunteer? What was the point of all this effort?

Anne Birch: Never underestimate the appeal of the oyster or the power of the community! The grey oyster is actually a very charismatic critter. We found ourselves surrounded by curious people with oyster stories to tell, and they all wanted to help.

Florida’s coastal communities “get it” about how reefs filter water and stabilize shorelines. A healthy ecosystem — made of oyster reefs, seagrasses and mangroves — offers prime nurseries for fish, crab and shrimp, and together these provide food for many other critters.

Oysters were once seen as only a commodity, something that people ate, and they still are in many areas. But oyster reefs provide valuable ecosystem services.
 

Nature.org: Can the lessons learned in Florida be applied at other locations?

Anne Birch: They certainly could, and we would like to test the oyster mat system in other areas. We’re using different methods in northeast Florida, the Loxahatchee River and the Gulf Coast area. The Conservancy communicates with others doing similar work; we share methods, pros and cons, success or failure. It’s an excellent way to go global with a local project.

Judy Althaus is a conservation writer with The Nature Conservancy in Florida.

Fewer than 5 percent have taken recommended green actions

More than 90 percent of Americans are recycling — but fewer than 5 percent have taken recommended green actions such as driving less or reducing their utility use, according to a new Harris Poll on green living.

The poll — for which The Nature Conservancy provided input and advice — found that 53 percent of those surveyed have taken steps to green their lives.

But it also found a substantial lack of knowledge about how to go green — and skepticism about whether greening one’s life makes a difference to the environment:

• 34 percent of those surveyed said they hadn’t changed their lifestyle because they “did not know what to do.”
• 29 percent of respondents believe that greening their lifestyle won’t make any significant difference on the environment.

“This poll shows that green living is certainly at the forefront of our minds,” says Stephanie Meeks, the Conservancy’s acting president and CEO.

“Yet people are getting lost in the maze of information on how to lessen our environmental impact. The bottom line is that even the smallest lifestyle change can have significant impact in the long run.”

Recycling and Paying Bills Online, But Not Changing Light Bulbs

While recycling is widespread in the United States and 73 percent of those polled are paying their bills online to save paper, other often-recommended ways to green your life are going largely ignored:

• 5 percent are driving less by combining errands, walking more, etc.
• 4 percent have reduced their utility use.
• 3 percent have purchased hybrid cars.
• 3 percent have changed out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones.

Yet if every American home switched out just one incandescent light bulb for a compact fluorescent one, the United States would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for an entire year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

“Making small changes to help save the planet can help your pocketbook as well,” adds Meeks. “In the case of compact fluorescent light bulbs, you’re paying more on the front end, but the cost savings in the long run will beat out the incandescent bulbs, hands down.”

Other poll results:

• 49 percent are trying to buy locally-produced food and/or goods.
• 47 percent are buying green household products.
• 39 percent are bringing their own reusable bags to stores instead of using paper or plastic.
• 16 percent are carpooling.

Optimism on Environmental Issues

The poll also found noticeable optimism on environmental issues among the American public. Seventy-two percent of the poll’s 2,605 respondents believe their personal actions are significant to the health of the environment.

And although only 42 percent of U.S. adults were initially familiar with the phrase “environmental sustainability,” two-thirds believe that it is possible to live in an environmentally sustainable way.

The phrase “environmental sustainability” was more familiar to younger poll respondents than older ones. More than 45 percent of those age 18-43 understood the term’s meaning, while only 30 percent of those aged 63 and older knew the term.

The Nature Conservancy Helps You Go Green

To help cut through all the noise, The Nature Conservancy offers easy ways to make science-based green changes in your life:

• Check out our Everyday Environmentalist home page to find a list of innovative and easy changes you can make to help save the planet.
• Use the Conservancy’s carbon footprint calculator to determine your carbon footprint — and find simple ways to reduce it.
• Consider offsetting your carbon emissions by participating in The Conservancy’s voluntary carbon offset program.

Cash back at closing legal?

By Ralph R. Robert-According to Realtor Lori Polin, she was totally unaware that what she was involved with consisted of real estate and mortgage fraud. If ignorance of the law was an appropriate defense, she could be off the hook. Unfortunately it’s not. According to a recent story in the St. Petersburg Times titled, “Unsigned letter accuses agent of mortgage fraud,” Polin was allegedly involved in classic cash back at closing schemes.

Here’s how a cash-back at closing scheme works: The buyer pays more for a property than it’s worth, and the seller agrees to kick back the surplus cash to the buyer at the closing. On its surface, cash back at closing seems to benefit everyone involved. The buyer pockets some extra cash. The seller unloads his house at or near the asking price. The real estate agent gets a bigger commission. The loan officer chalks up another successful loan. And the lender stands to earn more interest over the life of the loan. Everybody wins.

Or so it seems.

Unfortunately, as with most deals that seem too good to be true, cash back at closing schemes are just another way of scamming someone-in this case, the lender, who’s fooled into loaning more money than the collateral used to secure that loan is worth. If the borrower defaults on the loan (which is almost a sure thing in cash back at closing schemes), then the lender can’t recover the money by selling the property.

Cash back at closing also:

– Inflates housing values, making housing less affordable
– Artificially raises property taxes
– Hurts honest real estate agents because they lose business to dishonest agents who offer cash back deals
– Stimulates foreclosure and destroys neighborhoods that begin to buckle when homeowners default on the inflated loans

With cash back at closing, what may have seemed like a win-win situation leaves plenty of losers in its wake.

According to an anonymous letter distributed to the press and many of Polin’s colleagues, Polin artificially inflated the prices of nine homes in Tampa and North Pinellas, so buyers could get larger loans. In most cases, the homes were mortgaged for approximately $100,000 more than their true market value, and if the allegations prove true, then these transactions definitely fall into the category of cash back at closing. The perpetrators need to be brought to justice. The question is, did Polin do anything wrong?

Polin firmly believes she is innocent, because “All these deals were put together by attorneys and title companies and lenders.” All she did was list and sell the homes. Some of the evidence, however, makes it look as though Polin could not possibly be unaware of what was going on.

In the case of Iris Alfonso, for example, Alfonso’s house had been on the market for several months when Polin allegedly asked if she would accept a reduced price of $449,900. Shortly thereafter, Alfonso received a purchase contract offering her $540,000 for her home. Why would any buyer offer a seller $90,100 more than the seller was willing to accept? The only possible answer is cash back at closing.

According to Polin, she simply listed the homes for sale. What the buyer and seller agree to has nothing to do with her, according to Polin. If the reported incidents did occur, a law was clearly broken.

As the FBI states: “It is illegal for a person to make any false statement regarding income, assets, debt, or matters of identification, or to willfully overvalue any land or property, in a loan and credit application for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of a financial institution.”

Whether or not Polin broke the law and is guilty of conspiring to commit fraud is up to law enforcement and the courts to decide. Whatever the outcome, this case highlights the need for real estate and mortgage fraud training in the real estate and mortgage lending industries.

Attorneys and law enforcement agencies could also benefit from such training programs. Time and time again, I hear about professionals who should know better becoming involved in fraudulent transactions. Some are willing accomplices or even ringleaders. Others are unwilling accomplices or victims who are simply abused by savvy con artists. By receiving the proper training, these professionals can help defend themselves, their clients, and the housing industry from those who are committed to destroying the American Dream of homeownership.

Ralph R. Roberts is a real estate fraud expert and activist and co-author of Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud: Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership (Kaplan, August 2007).

Scarlet grey and green

I was watching the big ten network and ran across a story on the Ohio State University green programs I thought it was a great idea and hope that all campuses will follow the leader.

 

Transportation & Parking Services is committed to delivering valued products and services in a manner that meets the University’s present needs without compromising the needs of future Buckeyes. Below are some of the new Sustainability initiatives in Transportation & Parking Services:

IDLING GUIDELINES FOR UNIVERSITY VEHICLES
University employees have been asked to help minimize air pollution and maximize fuel efficiency by operating University vehicles and equipment in an environmentally and economically responsible manner. As of March 1, 2007, operators of University vehicles are being asked to follow the new Idling Guidelines, approved by the President’s Cabinet.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Recent legislation in the State of Ohio requires State Agencies to procure Flex Fuel Vehicles and B20 powered diesel vehicles as well as set requirements on using the fuels. While the university is exempt from the legislation, we have made a commitment to purchase more alternative fuel vehicles as well as increase our use of alternative fuels. Many of the University’s vehicles are capable of running on E85 (85% Ethanol and 15% Gasoline) and all of the University’s diesel vehicles are capable of running on B20 bio diesel. Transportation & Parking Services is currently exploring the possibility of offering E85 at our Columbus Campus fueling facility to the university as the procurement of Flex Fuel Vehicles increase. In the mean time, we encourage the use of alternative fuels whenever possible. To determine if your vehicle is capable of running on E85, consult your owner’s manual or contact Transportation & Parking Services at 614-247-7808 for more information.

For a list of vehicles that participate in the Scarlet, Gray and Green Flexible Fuel Program please click here (pdf).

If you have questions, concerns or need additional information, please refer to our Contact page or you can e-mail tpinfo@osu.edu.

PARTNERSHIP WITH MORPC BRINGS VANPOOLING OPTION TO CAMPUS
In an effort to provide our customers with more transit options and in support of Business & Finance’s Scarlet, Gray and Green initiative, Transportation & Parking Services has partnered with MORPC (the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission) to provide OSU faculty and staff a new alternate transit option, vanpooling. Vanpools can save riders money since several people will be sharing a ride to work, instead of the one rider per vehicle standard. Riders will share the cost of the ride, saving wear-and-tear on their vehicle and reducing the amount of money spent on gas. Participants ride in a comfortable van that is driven by a volunteer from the group, and a parking space is reserved for the vehicle in a location near the driver’s job site. In case of an emergency or unexpected overtime, a Guaranteed Ride Home service is also provided with this program. Interested? For more information, please visit osuvanpooling.morpc.org.

CAR SHARING
The University, through a competitive bid process, has selected “Connect by Hertz” as the new provider of car sharing services for OSU.  Details on this new program should be finalized very soon.

Olentangy river wetland research park

MISSION WHY A WETLAND RESEARCH PARK HISTORY AND FUTURE PLANS MOONLIGHT ON THE MARSH DISTINGUISHED LECTURES

 

MISSION The Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is a university campus facility in Ohio, USA, designed to provide teaching, research, and service related to wetland and river science and ecological engineering. At the research park, we seek to understand: 1) how wetlands function, and 2) if and how we can create and restore wetlands. It is a long-term, large-scale wetland research facility. There is no other facility of its kind on any other university campus in the world, so it also has as its mission the dissemination of wetland science and ecological engineering around the world.  The wetland research park is also a nature park for the residents of central Ohio, providing habitat for a wide variety of plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. WHY A WETLAND RESEARCH PARK Wetlands are shallow to intermittently flooded ecosystems that are more commonly known by such terms as swamps, bogs, marshes, and sedge meadows.  They are revered as important parts of the natural landscape because of their functions in cleaning and retaining water naturally, preventing floods, and providing a habitat and food source for a wide variety of plant and animal species.  It is estimated that more than half of the original wetlands in the world have been lost to drainage projects and human development projects.  Ohio has lost about 90 percent of its original wetlands. When we lose wetlands, we lose their ability to provide clean water, prevent floods, and enhance biological diversity.  Many organizations are calling for the creation and restoration of wetlands and stream and river restoration to clean up and repair our streams, rivers, and lakes.  The USA National Academy of Sciences (1) called for the restoration and creation of 4 million hectares (10 million acres of wetlands) in the United States. Two million hectares (5 million acres) of wetlands in the Mississippi River Basin have been suggested as necessary to help prevent the dead zone, or hypoxia, in the Gulf of Mexico (2, 3). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees a regulatory program that results in the creation and restoration of thousands of hectares of wetlands nationwide each year to replace wetlands that are lost to development. Furthermore, some of the largest wetland restorations in the world are underway in the Florida Everglades, the Skjern River Basin in Denmark, the Danbue Delta in Eastern Europe, the Louisiana Delta, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (4), the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Iraq, and Delaware Bay in the eastern USA. All of these projects need sound wetland science and qualified individuals to carry out the restoration and manage these ecosystems. A USA National Academy of Sciences panel (5) determined that much more research is needed before we can be assured that those wetlands that are constructed to replace wetlands destroyed for development can be successful. Even though the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (6) suggested that there was a net gain of wetlands in the United States from 1998 to 2004, the definition of a wetland remains controversial, as does the question of whether we can create and restore wetlands. index   HISTORY AND FUTURE PLANS The Wilma H. Scheirmeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is located on a 21-hectare (52-acre) site owned by The Ohio State University, immediately north of Dodridge Road and adjacent to the Columbus campus. The site has been developed in several phases: Phase 1 (1992-1994) —Construction of two experimental wetland basins and their water delivery system. Phase 1 of site development, the construction of two 2.5-acre deepwater marshes and a river water delivery system, was completed in 1994. Pumps were installed on the floodplain to bring water from the Olentangy River to the wetlands and pumping officially began on March 4, 1994. River water has been and continues to be pumped continuously, day and night, into the two wetlands. It then flows by gravity back to the Olentangy River through a swale and constructed stream system. In May 1994, one wetland basin was planted with marsh vegetation typical of wetlands in the Midwest (7, 8); the other remained as an unplanted control. Phase 2 (1994-1999) —Development of a research and teaching infrastructure. Phase 2, establishing the infrastructure for research and education of the site, began in 1994 with the construction of boardwalks in the two experimental wetlands (winters of 1995 and 1996) and ending with the dedication of the Sandefur Wetland Pavilion in 1999. That phase also included the creation of the 7-acre naturally flooded oxbow (called locally our billabong) and construction of the Mesocosm Compound for medium-scale research on wetland function. Phase 3 (2000-2003) —Development and construction of the Heffner Wetland Research and Education Building. Phase 3, the construction of the $2.8 million Heffner Wetland Research and Education Building at the ORWRP, began with the receipt of $1.18 million in two Hayes Investment Fund grants from the Ohio Board of Regents in 1999 and 2000. The grants were the result of an effort of a 5-university consortium of Ohio institutions—Ohio State, Wright State, Shawnee State, Youngstown State, and Kenyon College. Additional support for the building was obtained through donations, pledges, and a loan from OARDC.  The decision to go forward with building construction was made on December 13, 2001. Construction began in spring 2002 and staff and students moved into the building on March 6, 2003. As the building was created, three additional wetlands were created in the vicinity of the building, including a stormwater wetland that receives runoff from the roof of the Heffner building. Phase 4—Our current phase involves establishing Ohio and international collaborations, as well as the construction of a city bike path shelter, experimental streams , and research access to the Olentangy River . This phase also involves fund raising to establish long-term endowments that will ensure that the research and teaching site continues to be part of the Ohio State University for a very long time. REFERENCES 1. National Research Council (NRC). 1992. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 552 pp. 2. Mitsch, W. J., J. W. Day, Jr., J. W. Gilliam, P. M. Groffman, D. L. Hey, G. W. Randall, and N. Wang. 2001. Reducing nitrogen loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin: Strategies to counter a persistent ecological problem. BioScience 51: 373-388. 3. Mitsch, W.J. and J.W. Day, Jr.  2006.  Restoration of wetlands in the Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri (MOM) River Basin: Experience and needed research.  Ecological Engineering 26: 55-69. 4. Day J.W., Jr., D. F. Boesch, E. J. Clairain, G. P. Kemp, S. B. Laska, W. J. Mitsch, K. Orth, H. Mashriqui, D. R. Reed, L. Shabman, C. A. Simenstad, B. J. Streever, R. R. Twilley, C. C. Watson, J. T. Wells, and D. F. Whigham.. 2007. Restoration of the Mississippi Delta: Lessons From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Science  315: 1679-1684. 5. National Research Council. 2001. Compensating for Wetland Losses under the Clean Water Act. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 158 pp. 6. Dahl, T.E. 2006. Status and trends of wetlands in the conterminous United States 1998 to 2004.  U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, 112 pp. 7. Mitsch, W. J., X. Wu, R. W. Nairn, P. E. Weihe, N. Wang, R. Deal, and C. E. Boucher. 1998. Creating and restoring wetlands: A whole-ecosystem experiment in self-design. BioScience 48:1019–1030. 8. Mitsch, W.J., L. Zhang, C.J. Anderson, A. Altor, and M. Hernandez. 2005.  Creating riverine wetlands:  Ecological succession, nutrient retention, and pulsing effects. Ecological Engineering 25: 510-527.