From grist@gristmagazine.com Sun Oct 1 11:28:25 2000
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 12:03:07 -0700
From: Grist Magazine
Reply-To: daily-grist-owner@egroups.com
To: daily-grist@egroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, September 26, 2000
DAILY GRIST
September 26, 2000
News summaries from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
1.
TIME FOR A CZECH UP
Thousands of Austrian environmental activists blocked border
crossings between their country and the Czech Republic on Friday to
protest a new Czech nuclear power plant just 40 miles from the
Austrian border that is scheduled to start up soon. Austria, which
decided to be nuke-free in 1978, is also threatening to try to block
the Czech Republic's efforts to join the European Union if the
Soviet-designed Temelin nuclear plant goes online. On Sept. 7, the
European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging the Czech
Republic to carry out additional environmental studies before
activating the plant. Meanwhile, controversy is brewing in Taiwan as
newly elected President Chen Shui-bian decides whether to call for a
halt to construction of the country's fourth nuclear power plant,
which is already one-third finished. Many Taiwanese object to the
plant, noting that the country doesn't know what to do with the
nuclear waste it already has.
straight to the source: New York Times, Ladka Bauerova, 09.24.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/24/world/24NUKE.html>
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner, Associated
Press, Marcos Calo Medina, 09.26.00
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2000/09/
26/international0537EDT0474.DTL>
2.
SWAMP THING
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday in favor of a $7.8
billion plan to restore the Florida Everglades over the next 30 to 40
years, the largest environmental restoration undertaking in history.
The bill calls for a massive construction project by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to restore the water flow through the
300-mile-long ecosystem -- which, ironically, has been devastated by
decades of flood control efforts by none other than the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. The measure has backing from the White House,
enviros, agricultural interests, the sugar industry, and Florida Gov.
Jeb Bush (R). The bill now heads to the House, where supporters hope
they can get it through before this year's legislative session winds
up on Oct. 6.
straight to the source: Miami Herald, Frank Davies, 09.26.00
<http://www.herald.com/content/today/docs/089811.htm>
straight to the source: Salt Lake Deseret News, Associated Press, H.
Josef Hebert, 09.26.00
<http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,195016938,00.html>
3.
POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK GOLD
Explaining that he was tired of hearing Al Gore represent himself as
a crusader against Big Oil "over and over and over again," GOP vice
presidential candidate Dick Cheney said yesterday that Gore should
either recuse himself from Clinton administration energy policies or
divest the Gore family trust of its holdings in the Occidental
Petroleum Corp. In particular, Cheney said Gore had a conflict of
interest in June when he supported an extension of a tax exemption
that would benefit Occidental. Enviros have also protested the
veep's family ties to Occidental because the corporation plans to
drill for oil on rainforest land in Colombia claimed by the
indigenous U'wa tribe. A Gore spokeswoman responded yesterday that
the family trust, which contains about $500,000 in Occidental stock,
currently benefits the vice president's mother, not the vice
president, and that Gore has no control over investments in the
trust. Cheney himself has millions of dollars in stock options from
Halliburton, an oil services company of which he was the CEO until
tapped to run for vice president. He has said he will divest himself
of Halliburton stock if elected.
straight to the source: Washington Post, Lois Romano, 09.26.00
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16229-2000Sep25.html>
straight to the source: USA Today, Martin Kasindorf, 09.26.00
<http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000926/2685001s.htm>
do good: Take action and tell Gore to drop oil investment
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/politics.stm#gore>
4.
CRUISE CONTROLS
The U.S. Justice Department has joined Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles (D)
and environmentalists in criticizing proposed cruise ship legislation
sponsored by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), saying it would
legalize the dumping at sea of toxic chemicals like the dry-cleaning
solvent PERC. Department officials said the new legislation would
make prosecutions difficult or impossible by contradicting older laws
with more stringent language restricting dumping. The cruise ship
measure is part of a larger Coast Guard bill that has already passed
the Senate and House in slightly different forms and is expected to
be the focus of a Senate-House conference committee soon.
Meanwhile, following Alaska's lead, California Gov. Gray Davis (D)
has signed legislation setting up a task force to study whether
cruise ships are adequately complying with environmental laws.
straight to the source: New York Times, Matthew L. Wald, 09.26.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/26/politics/26CRUI.html>
straight to the source: Contra Costa Times, Mike Taugher, 09.24.00
<http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/california/stories/cruise_20000924.htm>
read it only in Grist Magazine: A week in the life of a crusader
against cruise ship pollution
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/schmidt072400.stm>
5.
TACO HELL
Kraft Foods announced a nationwide recall on Friday of Taco
Bell-brand taco shells found to contain small amounts of a
genetically modified corn variety not approved for human consumption
because it may cause allergies. The corn, known as StarLink, has
been approved as animal feed, but in an effort to reassure the
public, the manufacturer of the corn, Aventis Corp., announced today
that it will suspend sales of the variety unless the U.S. EPA
approves its use in human food. The recall is likely to put pressure
on the biotech industry and the government to more tightly regulate
genetically modified crops. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) is
sponsoring a bill that would require stricter safety testing and
mandatory labeling. But some experts are saying that accurate
labeling would be difficult, since it is hard to keep genetically
modified crops from contaminating and being mixed with other crops.
Meanwhile, enviros are criticizing a new preliminary report released
by the U.S. EPA that claims genetically modified corn is unlikely to
pose a serious threat to monarch butterflies, despite recent
high-profile studies that have found pollen from the corn plants can
kill monarch caterpillars.
straight to the source: New York Times, Andrew Pollack, 09.23.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/23/business/23FOOD.html>
straight to the source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Associated Press,
Philip Brasher, 09.26.00
<http://www.stlnet.com/postnet/news/wires.nsf/National/DF96D6B02210F46
886256966004CDD1F?OpenDocument>
straight to the source: New York Times, Andrew Pollack, 09.26.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/26/business/26FOOD.html>
straight to the source: New York Times, Carol Kaesuk Yoon, 09.26.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/26/science/26CORN.html>
do good: Take action and support the campaign to label genetically
modified foods
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/food.stm>
6.
MAKE A RUN FOR THE BORDER
A U.S. law meant to keep heavily polluting cars in Mexico from
entering California has yet to be enforced, even though it went into
effect 17 months ago. U.S. Customs Service officials in the state
admit they have not imposed any fines or denied entry to a single
vehicle, saying they are waiting for direction from Washington on how
to enforce the law. The law was meant to add strength to a
California act that requires that cars driven by cross-border
commuters meet the state's tough smog standards. Rep. Brian Bilbray
(R-Calif.), the measure's sponsor in Congress, said he would pressure
customs officials to pick up the enforcement pace, adding that "the
grace period darn well should be over by now."
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Ken Ellingwood, 09.25.00
<http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environ/20000925/t000090920.html>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
A new class of SUVs -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha092200.stm>
Oot and aboot in British Columbia -- a day in the life of Amanda
Gibbs, Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/gibbs092500.stm>
Species on the brink of a nervous breakdown -- a record pace of
extinction threatens American flora and fauna -- in our Books Unbound
section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/books091900.stm>
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From grist@gristmagazine.com Sun Oct 1 11:52:31 2000
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 12:03:56 -0700
From: Grist Magazine
Reply-To: daily-grist-owner@egroups.com
To: daily-grist@egroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, September 27, 2000
DAILY GRIST
September 27, 2000
News summaries from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
1.
CAPE CRUSADERS
South Africa outlined a sweeping conservation plan yesterday to
protect biodiversity and estuaries across 35,000 square miles of the
Cape Floral Kingdom, a region in the southwestern part of the nation.
The ambitious plan, which is being hailed by enviros, aims by 2020 to
set up a network of terrestrial and marine conservation areas,
including three "mega-reserves," while also integrating social and
economic concerns. South African Environment Minister Valli Moosa:
"We are making history as far as conservation is concerned. South
Africa is increasingly being viewed by the rest of the world as a
place where important conservation lessons can be learnt." Officials
hope that the plan, developed by the South African government and the
Global Environment Facility, will get some backing from international
funding organizations like the World Bank.
straight to the source: Cape Times, Melanie Gosling, 09.26.00
<http://www.iol.co.za/html/frame_news.php?click_id=143&art_id=ct200009
26204007904C12390&test=>
2.
BEACHY KEEN
Congress passed a bill yesterday to expand the testing of coastal
waters for pathogens and encourage states to warn beach goers when
water is contaminated, and President Clinton is expected to sign it
into law. The bill would offer states about $150 million over five
years as an incentive to establish beach monitoring and public
notification programs. Currently, only 11 states have drawn praise
from environmentalists for such programs, and enviros hope that
number will now grow significantly. The bill's chief sponsor, Rep.
Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), is in a tight race for reelection and is
pointing to the bill to burnish his green credentials.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Richard Simon, 09.27.00
<http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20000927/t000091698.html>
3.
GOOD IDEAS IN SHORT SUPPLY
Believing that Al Gore is vulnerable on the issue of high oil prices,
George W. Bush is planning to unveil an energy policy on Friday. It
will include steps to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and boost
domestic supply, said Lawrence Lindsey, Bush's senior economic
advisor. While Gore has proposed tax breaks and other incentives to
encourage people and companies to buy fuel-efficient cars and
energy-efficient technologies, Bush's plan won't rely much on
conservation. "We're more for supply," Lindsey said. But he did
point to one conservation idea -- charging higher prices for energy
use during peak periods -- which he attributed to Kenneth Lay, the
chief executive of Enron Corp. and one of Bush's "Pioneer"
fundraisers. Meanwhile, two of Bush's and two of Gore's
environmental advisors debated yesterday. Montana Gov. Marc Racicot
(R) and Florida environmental official David Struhs said that Bush
would bring with him "a new era of environmental protection" by
giving states more control, while Katie McGinty, a former Clinton
administration environmental official, and Maryland Gov. Parris
Glendening (D) argued for a strong federal role in environmental
protection and painted a grim picture of Bush's environmental record
as governor of Texas.
straight to the source: Washington Post, Glenn Kessler, 09.27.00
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23924-2000Sep26.html>
straight to the source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Associated Press,
H. Josef Hebert, 09.27.00
<http://www.stlnet.com/postnet/News/wires.nsf/Political/4AEBFDDB4BAAB6
3286256966007A7D25?OpenDocument>
straight to the source: Miami Herald, Frank Davies, 09.27.00
<http://www.herald.com/content/today/news/florida/digdocs/003586.htm>
4.
MTVP
In an MTV town meeting yesterday in Ann Arbor, Mich., Al Gore said
that after long deliberation he had sided with paper bags over
plastic, more out of personal preference than solid scientific
evidence that plastic was worse for the environment. On a more
serious note, one student tempted to vote for Ralph Nader in the
presidential race asked Gore to "assure me that a vote for Al Gore is
a conscientious vote, not simply a vote for the lesser of two evils."
Gore responded, "I want you to vote your heart, but I want to
convince you," and pointed to his environmental stances, as well as
his support for consumer protections, as reasons to support him.
straight to the source: Washington Post, John F. Harris, 09.27.00
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23826-2000Sep26.html>
straight to the source: New York Times, Kevin Sack, 09.27.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/27/politics/27GORE.html>
read it only in Grist Magazine: Paper or plastic? Who cares -- a
review in Books Unbound
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/brower043099.stm>
5.
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
Washington, D.C.-based Conservation International is trying a new
approach to saving natural areas in developing countries: leasing
trees. CI is working on a deal to buy the logging rights for up to
25 years for 200,000 acres of pristine rainforest in southern Guyana
in South America, planning to spend several million dollars to
protect the land with what it calls a "conservation concession."
Usually concessions, or development rights to land, are sold by
cash-strapped governments to logging and mining companies, often at
prices as cheap as a few dollars an acre. CI now intends to compete
with these private companies to buy concessions, also offering to pay
governments enough to compensate for any lost jobs or economic
activities. CI may take this model to Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, and
Peru.
straight to the source: New York Times, Reed Abelson, 09.24.00
<http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/24/business/24WORL.html>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Pounding the pavement -- fun with stats -- in our Counter Culture column
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/counter/counter092600.stm>
Never back down from a rumble -- a day in the life of Amanda Gibbs,
Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/gibbs092600.stm>
Get a free book and help out Grist!
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/signup/book_signup.asp>
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To subscribe to DAILY GRIST, click here <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/signup/subgist.asp> or send a blank email message to .
To unsubscribe, click here <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/signup/ungrist.asp> or send a blank email message to .
Gloom and doom with a sense of humor. Impossible, you say? Nah. Visit GRIST MAGAZINE, a beacon in the smog, at <http://www.gristmagazine.com>. GRIST MAGAZINE is a project of Earth Day Network, <http://www.earthday.net>.