From grist@gristmagazine.com Mon Feb 10 14:05:13 2003
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 13:41:17 -0800
From: Grist Magazine
Reply-To: daily-grist-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: daily-grist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, 06 Feb 2003
DAILY GRIST
06 Feb 2003
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
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1.
HER CUP RUNNETH OVER
Are you one of those well-meaning enviros who's been avoiding
Styrofoam cups, plates, and takeout containers for years? Well,
guess what: Umbra Fisk, environmental advice-giver extraordinaire,
has a newsflash for you: There's no such thing as a Styrofoam cup.
In her latest column, Umbra debunks The Great Styrofoam Myth,
counsels against cruises, and sheds light on the mysteries the jet
stream. Be in the know -- read Umbra's every word, only on the Grist
Magazine website.
only in Grist: Foaming at the mouth -- astute advice on all things
environmental -- in our Ask Umbra column
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask020603.asp?source=daily>
2.
SALEM SWITCH TRIALS
Massachusetts is sticking to its guns on clean air, Gov. Mitt Romney
(R) announced this morning. The state refused to extend a deadline
for heavily polluting power plants to reduce their emissions, meaning
they'll have to clean up their acts by 2004. In 2001, then-acting
Gov. Jane Swift (R) imposed the deadline on the state's so-called
Filthy Five power plants, ordering them to reduce emissions of
nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide by 50 percent. Since then, the
owner of one plant, Salem Harbor, has pressured the state to delay
the requirement, and the state Department of Environmental Protection
seemed ready to concede. But in a surprise development that is
cheering environmental and health advocates, Romney stuck to the
earlier deadline. He blamed Salem Harbor for 53 premature deaths,
570 emergency room visits, and 14,400 asthma attacks each year.
straight to the source: Boston Globe, Peter Howe, 06 Feb 2003
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/037/business/Romney_to_get_tough_on_power_plants+.shtml>
straight the source: Forbes.com, Reuters, 06 Feb 2003
<http://www.forbes.com/markets/commodities/newswire/2003/02/06/rtr872564.html>
3.
MILITARY MIGHT WHAT?
After failing last year to wrest from Congress a wholesale exemption
from many environmental laws, the Pentagon is trying to rally public
support for its campaign this year. The Defense Department says that
laws such as the Endangered Species Act have interfered with training
and other programs in the past. It's a hassle to have to worry about
the well-being of critters and ecosystems, the argument goes. At an
environmental forum yesterday at the National Defense University in
Washington, D.C., John Keane, a top Army official, said it was hard
to proceed with adequate training exercises on military bases because
the "Army hosts 170 federally endangered species on 94
installations." Greenies contend that enviro laws aren't preventing
the military from meeting its goals; they would prefer that the
Pentagon seek exemptions on a case-by-case basis, not through a
blanket exception. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) seems to agree:
"Using the threat of 9/11 and Al Qaeda to get unprecedented
environmental immunity is despicable."
straight to the source: New York Times, Katharine Q. Seelye, 06 Feb 2003
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/06/politics/06ENVI.html>
4.
INVASION OF THE HABITAT SNATCHERS
Invasive species are wreaking havoc on African wetlands to the tune
of billions of dollars per year, according to a new study by the
World Conservation Union (IUCN). For example, the water hyacinth,
introduced from the Amazon Basin as an ornamental plant, has spread
to most of Africa's lakes and rivers, choking out other flora and
fauna, making fishing impossible, and restricting water supplies.
Similarly, the IUCN says, the nonnative Nile perch has driven more
than 200 native fish to extinction. Meanwhile, across the world, the
Union of Concerned Scientists says that 122 harmful invasive species
-- some of them from Africa -- have set upon Texas, threatening
native species and agricultural lands.
straight to the source: BBC News, Alex Kirby, 05 Feb 2003
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2730693.stm>
straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, Dina Cappiello, 06 Feb 2003
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1767073>
only in Grist: Botanically correct -- a new language is needed to
win the day for native species -- by Kim Todd in our Soapbox section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/todd110602.asp?source=daily>
only in Grist: Lovey-dovey scientists, a cartoon by Suzy Becker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha092099.asp?source=daily>
5.
NO CREDENCE TO CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Stormwater runoff flowing into restored Seattle-area creeks and
rivers appears to be killing salmon, according to a groundbreaking
study by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Eighty-eight
percent of coho salmon studied last fall died within hours of
swimming into a stream that was being inundated by runoff. Rainwater
pours off streets, roofs, and parking lots into the waterways,
carrying with it oil, grease, pesticides, and loads of other
pollutants. The study suggests that federal efforts to protect
salmon and return higher numbers of them to rivers and creeks in the
Puget Sound region will face even more challenges than initially
anticipated.
straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Lisa Stiffler
and Robert McClure, 06 Feb 2003
<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/107460_coho06.shtml>
only in Grist: 12-step salmon recovery program -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha020402.asp?source=daily>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Almost famous -- a day in the life of Carolyn Raffensperger, Science
and Environmental Health Network
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/dearme/raffensperger020503.asp?source=daily>
How's the weather? -- a look back at heat spells and cold snaps
around the globe in 2002 -- in our Heat Beat section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/heatbeat/weather013103.asp?source=daily>
E is for environment -- new mysteries with an environmental bent --
in our Books Unbound section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books111302.asp?source=daily>
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From grist@gristmagazine.com Mon Feb 10 14:07:37 2003
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 13:15:00 -0800
From: Grist Magazine
Reply-To: daily-grist-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: daily-grist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, 04 Feb 2003
DAILY GRIST
04 Feb 2003
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
**Win our hearts and maybe some free footwear -- fill out the Grist
reader survey:
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1.
SOLAR, WITHOUT FLAIR
President Bush's proposed budget for the government's 2004 fiscal
year doesn't contain much good news for renewable energy advocates:
Total research funding for the Energy Department's energy efficiency
and renewable energy programs would increase just 0.1 percent. Last
summer, though, the feds apparently had enough money to purchase a
solar-energy system to heat the presidential pool and spa, among
other uses. With little public notice, the government bought 167
solar panels and installed them on the roof of a maintenance building
next to the White House. The administration declined to say how much
power the panels are generating or how much money they are saving
taxpayers. But experts agree that the total output is small: "I
think the symbolic nature of this exceeds the actual kilowatts
produced," said Michael Paranzino, a spokesperson for the Solar
Energy Industries Association.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 04 Feb 2003
<http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19694/story.htm>
straight to the source: Washington Post, Brian Faler, 03 Feb 2003
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16230-2003Feb2.html>
do good: Take action to perform a home energy audit of your own "White House"
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#audit>
2.
QUICKSILVER, SLOW KIDS
World leaders urgently need to take action to cut down on mercury
emissions to protect human health, according to a new report by the
United Nations Environment Programme. Mercury is released into the
atmosphere naturally from rocks, soils, and volcanic eruptions, but
mercury emissions have dramatically increased from pre-industrial
levels due to human activity. Seventy percent of all artificial
mercury emissions stem from coal-fired power plants. According to
the report, mercury causes central nervous system damage, including
numbness, loss of balance, fatigue, ringing in the ears, and problems
with vision, hearing, and speech; it has also been linked to
cardiovascular, thyroid, and digestive troubles. Pregnant women,
infants, children, and those whose diet relies heavily on fish are
especially at risk. In urging governments to reduce emissions, the
UNEP report noted that technologies to do so already exist.
straight to the source: BBC News, Alex Kirby, 04 Feb 2003
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2722629.stm>
see for yourself: UNEP's "Global Mercury Assessment" report
<http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/>
only in Grist: Mercury rising -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha091399.asp?source=daily>
do good: Take action to limit mercury emissions by supporting the
Clean Power Act
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#power>
3.
BEAM ME UP
The U.S. food industry is increasingly turning to irradiation to kill
deadly bacteria such as E. coli and listeria in meat -- a move
environmentalists, food-safety advocates, and others say could amount
to leaping from the frying pan into the fire. Irradiation uses
high-energy electrons, gamma rays, or X-rays to kill bacteria.
Critics say the process depletes vitamins and nutrients and leaves
chemical byproducts in food. They also deride irradiation as a
band-aid solution to the larger problems of filth and disease in the
meat-production industry. The American Meat Institute estimates that
under 5 percent of the 9 billion pounds of beef sold in the U.S. last
year were irradiated, but it also predicts "exponential growth" in
use of the technique. SureBeam, the largest beef irradiator in the
country, expects to treat between 300 million and 350 million pounds
of beef in 2003, up from roughly 15 million pounds last year.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, Jerry Bieszk, 04 Feb 2003
<http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19685/story.htm>
from the Grist archives: More than meats the eye -- fun with stats
in our Counter Culture column
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/counter/counter020900.asp?source=daily>
4.
TURNING UP THE HEAT
With 2002 behind us, it's time for Grist Magazine's annual wrap-up of
the biggest climate change stories of the year. The No. 1 slot
unquestionably belongs to the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by
nearly every industrial nation in the world -- sans the U.S., of
course. Next up is the climate itself, which continued to act
freakily all last year, with heat waves, droughts, and forest fires
making headlines around the world. In better news, California passed
a groundbreaking measure to limit carbon dioxide emissions from
automobiles, and the glitterati got excited about hybrid vehicles.
Leonie Haimson dishes the details on these top stories in This Just
In, and gives the rundown on the latest temperature stats in How's
the Weather? -- only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: This just in -- by Leonie Haimson in Heat Beat
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/heatbeat/thisjustin013103.asp?source=daily>
only in Grist: How's the weather -- taking the Earth's temperature
-- by Leonie Haimson in Heat Beat
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/heatbeat/weather013103.asp?source=daily>
5.
FIRST DOWN
The parent company of a power plant in eastern Ohio has become the
first of 36 energy utilities to be tried for causing smog and health
problems in the Northeast. In a lawsuit that began yesterday, the
U.S. Justice Department accused FirstEnergy Corporation of
significantly upgrading its W.H. Sammis plant without installing new
pollution controls, as required by the New Source Review rules of the
federal Clean Air Act. FirstEnergy and the other utilities that
stand accused by the feds say they only conducted routine maintenance
on their plants, not major improvements, and therefore were not
required to update pollution-control equipment.
straight to the source: Akron Beacon Journal, Associated Press, 04 Feb 2003
<http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/local/5100560.htm>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Don't throw the precautionary principle to the winds -- a day in the
life of Carolyn Raffensperger, Science and Environmental Health
Network
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/dearme/raffensperger020303.asp?source=daily>
Catalog of thrills -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha020303.asp?source=daily>
Lighten up -- Grist readers write letters to the editor
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/letters/letters012903.asp?source=daily>
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From grist@gristmagazine.com Mon Feb 10 14:13:04 2003
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 13:35:17 -0800
From: Grist Magazine
Reply-To: daily-grist-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: daily-grist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, 31 Jan 2003
DAILY GRIST
31 Jan 2003
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
1.
SURVEY SAYS
Back when Grist was first launched and our readership consisted of a
few dozen friends and family members, we had a pretty good sense of
our audience. Now, with tens of thousands of readers, it's gotten
tough to keep tabs on everyone -- but it's still just as important to
us to know who you are and how we can best serve your interests. So
in honor of our new status as an independent nonprofit, we've put
together a brief survey and would be forever thankful if you could
fill it out. It won't take more than four and a half minutes, tops.
By filling out the survey, you'll have a chance to win one of 10
pairs of outdoor shoes from Montrail, an innovative company just down
the road from Grist HQ in Seattle. Muchisimas gracias.
take the survey: More fun than answering that work memo, we promise
<http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?TH54ALLVARVDBQGFLT9M7QBK>.
read about Grist's newfound independence: Environmental news should
be timely, funny, motivating, and free -- we hold these truths to be
self-evident, baby
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/about/independence.asp>
2.
BORDERLINE INSANITY
Border Field State Park, the southwestern-most point in the
continental United States, has a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean --
and of the fence that separates Southern California from Mexico.
Now, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is fortifying
that boundary through the Triple Border Fence project, which entails
building additional fences and a high-speed patrol road, despite the
area's sensitive ecology. Critics include two federal agencies as
well as state, county, and local governments, the area's two
congressional representatives, and numerous environmental, human
rights, and archeological organizations. So why is the project still
going forward? Deborah Knight reports from the border, only on the
Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: An INS project threatens Southern California lands --
by Deborah Knight in our Main Dish section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/knight013103.asp?source=daily>
3.
THE BYE SIERRAS
The management of California's public forests will change radically
if U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester Jack Blackwell gets his way.
This week, Blackwell proposed allowing timber companies to cut more
medium-sized trees from 11 million acres of forestlands in the Sierra
Nevadas. The Sierras were heavily logged throughout the 1980s,
destroying crucial habitat for species. Echoing the Bush
administration's party line, Blackwell claims the revenue from
additional logging will enable foresters to clear brush and small
saplings that fuel massive wildfires. But environmentalists say
Blackwell and others are just using fear of fire as a smokescreen to
permit more logging. The logging proposal is part of Blackwell's
sweeping review of the Sierra Nevada Framework, a plan to restore the
region enacted during the last days of the Clinton administration.
straight to the source: Sacramento Bee, Stuart Leavenworth, 30 Jan 2003
<http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/6025256p-6981933c.html>
4.
MASS-IVE ATTACK
Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut will sue the U.S. EPA for
violating clean air laws and imperiling the health of citizens by
failing to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, the states' attorneys
general announced yesterday. In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, the
attorneys general will argue that CO2 emissions from burning fossil
fuels should be regulated under the Clean Air Act because such
emissions are the leading cause of global climate change. The states
have a pressing interest in such regulation because climate change
"will likely cause or contribute to wide-ranging, adverse changes to
just about every aspect of the environment, public health, and
welfare throughout the Northeast," according to a letter sent to EPA
Administrator Christie Whitman announcing the intent to sue. If the
states win their lawsuit, the EPA would be forced to set standards
for CO2 emissions, probably by tightening regulations on power plants
-- a move the Bush administration has refused to make to date.
straight to the source: Boston Globe, David Abel, 31 Jan 2003
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/031/metro/3_states_will_sue_EPA_over_emissions+.shtml>
5.
WHITE CLOUD, SILVER LINING
Twenty years ago, Rick Johnson was an idealistic young volunteer for
the Idaho Conservation League, trying to convince the U.S. Congress
to designate the White Cloud Mountains as a wilderness area. Now,
he's the head of the ICL, and, although the White Clouds remain
unprotected, they also remain a touchstone for Johnson's lifework:
the preservation of Idaho wilderness. As our featured diarist this
week, Johnson describes the highs and lows of running an
environmental nonprofit in a tough fiscal and political climate --
only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: Plan-tastic -- a day in the life of Rick Johnson,
Idaho Conservation League, in our Dear Me section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/dearme/johnson012703.asp?source=daily>
6.
TAKING A SMALLER BITE OUT OF GRIME
Polluting industries are getting off easy under the Bush
administration, according to U.S. EPA data released yesterday by Rep.
John Dingell (D-Mich.). In the two years since President Bush took
office, civil penalties for breaking environmental laws dropped by
almost 50 percent, to $55 million, while criminal penalties dropped
by more than one-third, to $62 million. During that same time, the
EPA has also gotten rid of 210 positions, or about 7 percent of the
enforcement staff, and on-site inspections have declined as well.
Dingell said the numbers represented "an extremely disturbing trend
toward weaker enforcement," but the EPA countered that it has forced
companies to spend more on pollution cleanup in the last two years
(roughly $8.4 million) than during the final three of the Clinton
administration (just under $7 million). Meanwhile, the EPA announced
yesterday that it will ask Congress for $503 million to enforce
environmental laws during fiscal year 2004, a $21 million increase
over the request for fiscal year 2003.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Elizabeth Shogren, 31 Jan 2003
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-epa31jan31.story>
only in Grist: Read a resignation letter from the U.S. EPA's former
top cop castigating the Bush administration -- in our Muckraker
section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck030102.asp?source=daily>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:
Lighten up -- Grist readers write letters to the editor
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/letters/letters012903.asp?source=daily>
Is it better to switch the lights off or leave them on? -- astute
advice on all things environmental -- in our Ask Umbra column
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask011603.asp?source=daily#off>
Hitting the bottle -- Michigan residents fight for control of the
state's water -- by Keith Schneider
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/schneider102302.asp?source=daily>
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Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/