From grist@gristmagazine.com Sun Aug 29 11:47:55 2004
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 15:13:16 -0700
From: Grist Magazine
To: daily-grist@lists.gristmagazine.com
Subject: DAILY GRIST, 09 Aug 2004
DAILY GRIST
09 Aug 2004
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
1.
PAUL IN A DAY'S WORK
Famed Ecologist Paul Ehrlich InterActivates
You wouldn't know it from his humble answers to our questions, but
Paul Ehrlich is one of the few bona fide "household names" in the
world of environmentalism. Since publication of his seminal book
"The Population Bomb" in 1968, Ehrlich has been hailed as a prophet,
criticized as a Chicken Little, and invited onto the Johnny Carson
show some 20 times. Oh, and all the while he's forged ahead with his
world-renowned work as a conservation biologist. Read his answers to
our questions in InterActivist -- only on the Grist Magazine website.
And ask him a question of your own by noon PDT on Wednesday.
only in Grist: Paul Ehrlich answers Grist's questions -- in InterActivist
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/interactivist/ehrlich080904.asp?source=daily>
2.
ONE-TRACK MINE
Bush Administration Packed with Coal-Friendly Bureaucrats
In his 2000 campaign, George W. Bush promised to make coal central to
his energy plan, and he was rewarded with millions of dollars in
donations from the coal industry and the votes of coal miners in
crucial swing states. Upon taking office, Bush appointed several
coal executives and lobbyists to positions overseeing the industry;
one, coal executive David Lauriski, was installed as head of the Mine
Safety and Health Administration. Under Lauriski, that agency has
rescinded more than a half dozen mining safety regulations, and his
latest proposal would allow the amount of coal dust in mines to rise
substantially and would allow mining companies to equip miners with
respirator helmets as a substitute for dust-lowering measures.
Breathing coal dust causes "black lung" disease, and the measure is
opposed by mine-worker unions, members of the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, a federal panel that studied the
issue in 1996, senators from both parties, and, no kidding, the
company that makes the helmets.
straight to the source: The New York Times, Christopher Drew And
Richard A. Oppel Jr., 09 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2804>
3.
FOOD-ALTERING SUBSTANCE
Umbra Dishes the Dope on Genetically Modified Foods
The subject of genetically modified foods is deeply contentious, and
public debate on the matter suffers from a woefully low
signal-to-noise ratio. Sounds like an area in need of illumination
from none other than Grist advice guru Umbra Fisk. A reader asks
point-blank: Are GM foods safe or not? Umbra answers point-blank:
I don't know. But there's more to it than that -- in Ask Umbra,
today on the Grist Magazine website.
today in Grist: Umbra discusses the murky subject of GM foods -- in Ask Umbra
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask080904.asp?source=daily>
sign up: Receive word by email when new Ask Umbra columns hit the scene
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/signup/subgrist.asp?source=daily>
4.
FLAGGING ENERGY
Kerry Talks Energy on the Stump; Bush Bashes His Plan
Kerry talked up his plan for energy independence over the weekend
while campaigning in swing states (does he go anywhere else?), saying
such swing-state-friendly things as, "You want to drive a great, big
SUV? Terrific. Terrific. That's America." That's America indeed.
Kerry's $30 billion energy plan includes, among other things, the
twin goals of deriving 20 percent of motor fuel and 20 percent of
electricity in the U.S. from renewable resources by 2020. Of course,
swing states being where they are, agriculture-based renewables
received the most doting attention. Bush -- whose energy plan is
based largely on increasing supply by drilling and building nuke
plants -- dispatched his people with dire warnings that Kerry's plan
could threaten jobs and hurt the economy, charges that Kerry's
campaign dismissed as hogwash.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Mark Z. Barabak, 07 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2805>
straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, John J. Fialka, 09 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2806>
5.
BLIND SPOTTED
Judge Rules in Favor of Owls; Forest Service Not so Owl-Friendly
Two recent developments on the spotted-owl front: On Friday, the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delayed and possibly killed several
planned timber sales in the Pacific Northwest by ruling that current
regulations meant to protect the northern spotted owl "blatantly"
contradict the Endangered Species Act by assessing possible threats
to critical habitat only in terms of their impact on the survival of
threatened species. Judge Ronald M. Gould reminded the feds that the
ESA was intended "not merely to forestall the extinction of species
... but to allow a species to recover to the point where it may be
delisted." This higher standard may prompt the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to reconsider several of its "biological opinions,"
or assessments of the possible impact of timber sales. Meanwhile, a
longtime U.S. Forest Service employee said that the agency has
exaggerated the impact of wildfire on the spotted owl in order to
justify logging large trees in Sierra Nevada forests.
straight to the source: The Oregonian, Joe Rojas-Burke, 08 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2809>
straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, Scott Sonner, 09 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2810>
6.
FINALLY, POLLUTION WE CAN BE HAPPY ABOUT
Prozac Found in U.K. Drinking Water
Denizens of the British Isles have a reputation for being somewhat
glum, but that may change soon: According to the U.K. Environment
Agency, the antidepressant Prozac is building up in the nation's
rivers and groundwater, a situation it called a "potential concern."
In the decade leading to 2001, prescriptions for antidepressants in
the U.K. rose from 9 million to 24 million a year. While the
government's Drinking Water Inspectorate -- which does not specify
limits for pharmaceutical residues in drinking water or test for them
in water quality assessments -- said that the drug was likely
sufficiently watered-down to be harmless, Liberal Democrat
environment spokesperson Norman Baker decried what he called "a case
of hidden mass medication." Said one U.K. enviro, "I know I should
be outraged about this, but really I just feel kind of mellow and
upbeat." Okay, we totally made that up. But the whole
Prozac-in-the-water thing -- that's true.
straight to the source: The Observer, Mark Townsend, 08 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2807>
straight to the source: The Scotsman, PA News, Jennifer Sym, 08 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2808>
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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE:
This land is your land ... for now -- Bush administration proposal
would give BLM more incentive to sell off public lands -- in Muckraker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck080604.asp?source=daily>
Lovins spoonful -- Hunter Lovins, thinker on sustainability, answers
readers' questions
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/interactivist/lovins080604.asp?source=daily>
Let it be me -- an interview with the Indigo Girls' Emily Saliers --
by Kathryn Schulz in Main Dish
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/ig040803.asp?source=daily>
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