[Mb-civic] "National Security" trumps environment and other environews briefs

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

POLLUTING THE VILLAGE TO SAVE IT
Bushies Cite "National Security" as Reason to Skirt Enviro Rules

While the Bush administration doesn't want to ask Americans to make 
any economic sacrifices for the war on terrorism, it doesn't seem to think
twice about asking for environmental sacrifices.  The Department of
Homeland Security recently proposed exempting a raft of agencies under its
control from environmental review requirements. If the feds log more trees
and spray more pesticides, will we be better protected from terrorists? 
Muckraker wonders -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

today in Grist:  DHS pushes for environmental exemptions -- in Muckraker
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck081204.asp?source=daily>

sign up:  Receive word by email each time a new Muckraker column hits the
scene <http://www.gristmagazine.com/signup/subgrist.asp?source=daily>



2.
TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS
Business Starts to Get Real About Global Warming

It's no secret that a broad consensus exists in the scientific 
community:  Climate change is a real, human-caused problem that needs to
be dealt with, quickly.  But it may come as a surprise that a similar
consensus is steadily growing in the business community as well.  Business
Week reports in a cover feature that companies in industries ranging from
insurance to -- believe it or not -- power are coming around to the idea
that getting proactive about lowering carbon dioxide emissions can open up
opportunities and have a positive impact on the bottom line, not to
mention help avert climatic disaster.  Many industry leaders are even
pushing for federal regulations, hoping for long-term predictability
rather than a patchwork of state rules.  As Wayne H. Brunetti, CEO and
chairman of Xcel Energy Inc., says, "Give us a date, tell us how much we
need to cut, give us the flexibility to meet the goals, and we'll get it
done."

straight to the source:  Business Week, John Carey and Sarah R. 
Shapiro, 16 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2832>



3.
WHO'LL STOP THE DRAIN?
Bush Policies Leading to Wetlands Loss, Report Says

Bush has trumpeted wetlands policy as the primary evidence of his 
environmental bona fides.  But four national enviro groups beg to 
differ, releasing a report today claiming that thousands of acres of
wetlands have been drained by developers under a policy adopted by the
Bush administration.  At issue is the feds' interpretation of a 2001
Supreme Court decision that said isolated wetlands -- those that do not
cross state borders and are not navigable -- are not subject to the same
federal protections as other wetlands.  Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the EPA issued a directive stating that they could not
protect such wetlands unless they were involved with interstate commerce,
a policy that Daniel Rosenberg, senior attorney for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, mocked as "mindless."  The report, based on Freedom of
Information Act requests, details more than a dozen cases where the Corps
approved development in ecologically sensitive areas.  James Connaughton,
chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, called the
report's findings "highly questionable."

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 12 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2831>



4.
A FOR INITIATIVE
Colorado Campaign for Renewable-Energy Initiative Kicks Off

In November, Colorado citizens will vote on the first-ever statewide
initiative on renewable energy.  The Colorado Renewable Energy Initiative
would require that the state's major utility companies generate 10 percent
of their energy from renewable sources -- solar, biomass, wind, hydro, and
geothermal -- by 2015.  A bipartisan campaign in favor of the initiative
kicked off this week, led by state House Speaker Lola Spradley (R) and
congressional Rep. Mark Udall (D), emphasizing the security and economic
benefits Colorado could reap.  A legislative effort to establish a similar
target was narrowly defeated in the state Senate last May.  Though a
recent poll found that 73 percent of respondents favored a
renewable-energy initiative, it is opposed by the state's energy
companies, which claim that its prescriptions are too detailed and leave
them too little flexibility to keep prices down.

straight to the source:  Colorado Daily, Bronson Hilliard, 10 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2833>

do good:  Help pass the Colorado renewable-energy initiative
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2834>



5.
FILET RETARDANT
Farmed Salmon Contain Flame Retardants

The same research team that found more PCBs in farmed salmon than in wild
salmon has found similar results for another scarily acronymed family of
chemicals:  PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, flame retardants
found in electronics and fabrics.  PBDEs have not been conclusively proven
to cause harm to human health, but they screw up hormonal systems of lab
rats, the European Union has banned the most common two, California is
banning them as of 2008, the sole U.S. manufacturer of the chemicals has
agreed to halt production, and their chemical structure is similar to that
of PCBs, which most certainly do mess with neurological development.  In
case you're not confused enough about the whole fish issue, the study
found that while in general farmed salmon had markedly higher
concentrations of PBDEs than wild salmon, wild chinook salmon from Oregon
and British Columbia was more contaminated than some farmed fish; also,
Chilean farmed salmon is better than North American, which is better than
European.  There will be a quiz.

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 11 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2828>

straight to the source:  Chicago Sun-Times, Janet Rausa Fuller, 10 Aug
2004 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2829>

straight to the source: Reuters, 11 Aug 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2830>

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