[Mb-civic] Another quick savethevote alert...and big environews!

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

Dear friend,

I just signed a petition to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, 
demanding that he give the city of Milwaukee sufficient ballots for the 
November 2 election. We must protect democracy wherever forces attempt 
to suppress and disenfranchise voters.

After receiving only 679,000 ballots -- less than the city was given in 2000 
and 2002 -- Milwaukee's mayor, expecting major turnout in this election, 
asked the County Executive for more ballots. "No way," said the county, 
telling the Associated Press that election-fraud "'chaos' could occur at 
understaffed polling places where voters could grab ballots."

There's strength in numbers - join me and sign the petition now! We need to 
put pressure on Scott Walker to give Milwaukee the ballots they need.


http://www.pfaw.org/go/letmilwaukeevote

Thanks! 

--------

RUN-RUN-RUN-RUN RUNAWAY
Scientists puzzled by accelerating CO2 buildup in atmosphere

A sharp acceleration in the rate of increase of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has climate scientists puzzled and sounding a bit nervous.
Mauna Loa Observatory, perched on a mountain in Hawaii, has been taking
atmospheric CO2 measurements for almost 50 years.  In recent decades, the
rate of increase has averaged about 1.5 parts per million (ppm) a year,
but in 2002 and 2003, the rate jumped up to 2.08 ppm and 2.54 ppm
respectively, an unprecedented acceleration. Climate researchers
acknowledge that it could be an anomaly -- perhaps due to increased forest
fires in the Northern Hemisphere or something of the sort.  But if the
acceleration continues, warns climate-research old-timer Charles Keeling,
it could herald "the beginning of a natural process unprecedented in the
record" -- the so-called "runaway greenhouse effect," wherein the world's
natural carbon sinks lose their ability to absorb CO2 and a
self-reinforcing cycle of rapid warming begins.  Yikes.

straight to the source:  The Guardian, Paul Brown, 11 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3298>

straight to the source:  The Independent, Michael McCarthy, 11 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3299>

in the Gristmill:  Glenn Scherer on how most U.S. media missed this story
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3300>



THY ROD AND THY STAFF, THEY DISTURB ME
Bush's EPA and Interior stocked with industry lawyers and lobbyists

New York Newsday is running a series called "Erasing the Rules" about the
Bush administration's coordinated efforts to remove or weaken regulations
on industry.  Of particular interest to Gristians will be the third
installment, about the administration's staffing of the U.S. EPA, Interior
Department, and Agriculture Department with lawyers and lobbyists drawn
directly from industries those agencies regulate.  While Bush has had
little luck persuading Congress to weaken the Clean Air Act or allow
drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- perhaps because
open debate on these unpopular measures draws undue public attention -- he
has been able to drastically alter the regulatory landscape, thanks in
part to agencies staffed with industry veterans.  Newsday's analysis of
public personnel records shows that Bush's appointments at the top level
have been markedly less diverse than Clinton's, who spread them more
evenly over lawyers and lobbyists, nonprofit workers, and academics. 
"With this administration, it seems like everybody at the political level
here has either a close attachment with industry or with an
ultra-conservative think tank or legal organization," said a long-time EPA
attorney who elected, probably wisely, to remain anonymous.

straight to the source:  New York Newsday, Dan Fagin, 12 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3304>


THE WHITE MAN'S HALLIBURTON
White House favoring Halliburton over clean water

OK, you might want to sit down, because we've got a real shocker 
here:  The Bush administration, headed by two former oil executives, one
of whom was the CEO of Halliburton, from which he still receives payments,
may be pulling strings to help shield the company against environmental
regulation.  The issue in question is "hydraulic fracturing," a relatively
new technique for extracting oil and gas that generates about a fifth of
Halliburton's energy-related revenue -- $1.5 billion a year.  Since a
group of Alabamans sued in 1995, saying the practice fouled their drinking
water and seeking to have hydraulic fracturing regulated under federal
drinking-water law, Halliburton has lobbied aggressively to avoid such
regulation.  The U.S. EPA recently finished a study of the practice,
concluding that it is benign, but agency insiders have heaped scorn on the
report, saying it was produced by a highly biased panel containing at
least one Halliburton employee.  One 30-year EPA veteran last week
submitted a statement to Congress and the EPA inspector general seeking
whistle-blower protection and calling the report "scientifically unsound
and contrary to the purposes of the law."

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Tom Hamburger and Alan C.
Miller, 14 Oct 2004 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3330>


MARTIAL FLAW
Bush admin fights off environmental restraints on military

In the presidential campaign of 2000, Bush vowed to force the 
military to "comply with environmental laws by which all of us must 
live," but according to a comprehensive investigation by USA Today, 
he has done the opposite.  Since assuming power, the Bush White House has
worked closely with the Defense Department to deflect military
responsibility for cleanup of polluted sites, ward off new regulations on
contaminants like perchlorate and trichloroethylene, and reduce the U.S.
EPA's power to investigate and enforce environmental violations at
military sites.  Though the $4 billion a year the Pentagon spends on
environmental compliance represents less than 1 percent of defense
spending, the administration is determined to reduce the number.  The
Pentagon has argued that environmental compliance reduces military
readiness, but has offered no evidence, and according to an internal
Pentagon memo recently obtained by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility, cuts in military environmental programs may actually cost
more, and have a more substantial effect on readiness, than compliance.

straight to the source:  USA Today, Peter Eisler, 14 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3326>

straight to the source:  BushGreenwatch, 14 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3327>

straight to the source: USA Today, Peter Eisler, 13 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3329>

straight to the source: USA Today, Peter Eisler, 13 Oct 2004
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3328>


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Action is the antidote to despair.  ----Joan Baez
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