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>

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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>

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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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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>.