[Mb-civic] Climate change and other fun environews

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

OH, RIGHT, I KNEW WE WERE FORGETTING SOMETHING!
Bush climate-change research won't research climate-change effects

According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, the "more
research" President Bush is always touting as his response to climate
change is overlooking an area some might consider important -- namely,
what effects global warming might have on people and the environment (oh,
that!). In fact, the GAO report to be released today says that none of the
21 studies of climate change the administration plans to publish by 2007
will include assessments of its possible effects on agriculture, water,
energy, or biological diversity (oh, those!). This is in violation of the
1990 Global Change Research Act, which requires the federal government to
produce a report on the consequences of climate change every four years.
Critics say the research program was deliberately jiggered to prevent it
from generating alarming findings that might increase political pressure
for action. But without accurate information, said the GAO, "it may be
difficult for the Congress and others to use
  this information effectively as the basis for making decisions on
  climate policy." You think?

straight to the source: The New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin, 22 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4846>


THE BEST "SCIENCE" MONEY CAN BUY
ExxonMobil plows millions into funding for 40 climate-skeptic groups 

In 1998, the American Petroleum Institute outlined a strategy to sow the
seeds of doubt about global-warming science "with Congress, the media, and
other key audiences." "Victory will be achieved," read an API memo, "when
... recognition of uncertainty becomes part of the 'conventional wisdom.'"
Since then, ExxonMobil -- one of API's leading members -- has been working
valiantly in pursuit of that strategy, even as other oil, energy, and car
companies bow out in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus or
public pressure. From 2000 to 2003, Exxon funneled more than $8 million
into a network of think tanks, quasi-journalistic media outlets, and civic
and religious groups, to great effect. While peer-reviewed scientific
journals contain virtually nothing that challenges the consensus on
anthropogenic global warming, a flood of "reports," press releases, and
op-ed columns has succeeded in creating the illusion of scientific
controversy, seized on by sympathetic lawmakers li
 ke Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who calls global warming a "hoax" and --
 whaddya know! -- also receives buckets of money from Exxon.

straight to the source: Mother Jones, Chris Mooney, May/Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4818>

THE KIDS ON THE BUS GO COUGH, COUGH, COUGH
Kids on school buses breathe more dangerous air than pedestrians

Kids who ride the bus to school may be exposed to higher levels of
pollutants than those outside on the street, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley measured the air
inside six school buses on a route through Los Angeles and found that
exhaust was leaking inside the passenger space. According to Julian
Marshall, the lead researcher, a child on a school bus may inhale some
seven to 70 times more harmful fumes from that one bus than a typical L.A.
pedestrian takes from the total school-bus emissions in the area. "Because
so many children ride school buses," Marshall says, "reducing the
emissions of a school bus would give policy-makers more bang for their
buck than the same reduction of emissions from other diesel vehicles."

straight to the source: Reuters, 05 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4738>


A MATTER OF GREAT EXPORT
Arctic Refuge oil could be sent overseas

A portentous U.S. commitment, sold with slogans about freedom and national
security, that turns out to be all about the oil industry. No, not that
one. We're talking about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Drilling proponents cite the fact that the U.S. imports most of the oil it
uses, thus leaving it dependent on some rather grumpy countries. Drilling
in the refuge, they say, would ramp up domestic oil supply, Make America
Safe, and Set America Free. Except, ahem, note the fine print: Turns out
the oil sucked out from beneath the caribou may be exported out of the
country. The 51-49 Senate vote that authorized the drilling carried no
provision banning export, though the House energy bill might. In terms of
the overall U.S. economy, particularly the oil industry, it doesn't much
matter, as oil is a fungible commodity. But in terms of the
much-ballyhooed national-security benefits, says Sen. Maria Cantwell
(D-Wash.), "the best solution is to get off of dependenc
 e on fossil fuels in general."

straight to the source: The Seattle Times, Warren Cornwall, 19 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4821>

(mha atma's note---the following item includes a member of Earth Action 
Network, Kristie Knoll)
UBIQUITY IS THE MOTHER OF REINVENTION
Labeling and certification move beyond organic in U.S.

With the U.S. organics industry going mainstream, a coterie of
anti-The-Man farmers are getting out, eschewing federally regulated
"organic" certification and creating terms and systems of their own to
address eco-friendly agricultural practices not covered by the federal
regs. The Food Alliance has created a certification process that focuses
on fair treatment of farm workers and preservation of wildlife habitat,
while Demeter USA certifies farms as "biodynamic," meaning they function
as intact ecosystems. Other labels like "local," "sustainable," and
"beyond organic" are also spreading, though they aren't overseen by
particular groups. California farmers Kristie and Rick Knoll have taken
the naming game to a whole new level, inventing their own word for their
unique farming practices: "tairwa," which translates loosely to "the
essence of the land." Says Rick of their distaste for the "O" word: "We're
trying to invent it all over again." 

straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, Katy McLaughlin, 19 Apr
2005 (access ain't free)
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4817>

also in Grist: Label Dancing -- Eco-label watchdog Urvashi Rangan answers
Grist's questions <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4592>

ICE HASSLES
Antarctic glaciers rapidly melting

Wanna travel to Antarctica, but worried about all that ice? Worry no more.
On the Antarctic Peninsula, a 1,200-mile-long mountain chain 600 miles
south of Argentina, about 212 of the 244 glaciers are retreating, fast.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic
Survey studied photos and satellite data from the 1940s to 2001,
concluding in the journal Science that, as temps have risen more than 4.5
degrees Fahrenheit on the peninsula since the 1950s, the glaciers that
wrap the mountains there have been retreating at an average rate of about
164 feet a year. "Fifty years ago most glaciers were slowly growing in
length," said BAS's Alison Cook, "but the pattern is now reversed and
they're shrinking." So now the research team is worried about another
problem if the glacial retreat continues apace: If bare rock is uncovered,
it could attract invasive species to the continent. Happy Earth Day!

straight to the source: Nature, Michael Hopkin, 21 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4839>

straight to the source: New Scientist, Fred Pearce, 21 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4840>

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Bloomberg News Service, 22
Apr 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4841>



SOUUUUEEEEE!
House passes pork-laden energy bill

The House of Representatives approved broad energy legislation April 21
by a vote of 249 to 183. The 1,000-plus-page bill contains some $12
billion in tax breaks and subsidies for energy companies, less than 5
percent of which go to clean energy or energy conservation. It contains a
provision that would funnel $2 billion to deep-water oil and gas drilling
in the Gulf of Mexico. It would open up the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil drilling. It would allow "downwind" states to delay meeting
air-quality standards until "upwind" states have met them. And it would
protect from liability lawsuits the makers of MTBE, a fuel additive that
has contaminated some 1,800 community water systems in 29 states, with
projected clean-up costs of $29 billion. All of these measures, say
critics, pad the pocketbooks of large political contributors but do next
to nothing to solve the country's long-term energy problems or current
high gas prices. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair J
 oe Barton (R-Texas) was philosophical: "well, isn't something better than
 nothing?" The bill's fate in the Senate is uncertain, but a supportive
 Bush administration is optimistic.

straight to the source: The New York Times, Carl Hulse, 21 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4842>

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Justin Blum, 22 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4844>

straight to the source: USA Today, Associated Press, 21 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4845>


IS THAT A FAT LADY WE HEAR SINGING?
The era of cheap oil is coming to an end soon; duck!

Cheap oil is running out. A report from the U.S. Energy Department's
Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves puts the problem in stark
terms: "The disparity between increasing production and declining
discoveries can only have one outcome: a practical supply limit will be
reached and future supply to meet conventional oil demand will not be
available." The exact moment when world oil production maxes out and
begins its inexorable decline -- known as "peak oil" -- is the subject of
wide disagreement. However, an emerging consensus places it some time
between, um, last year and 2020. Problem is, most of the world's big
governments aren't doing much of any prep to cushion the blow. Couple a
production peak with rapidly rising demand from developing powerhouses
like China and you've got a recipe for what analyst Colin Campbell calls
"the decline of oil and all that depends on it." Take a look around --
that's your lifestyle.

straight to the source: The Guardian, John Vidal, 21 Apr 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4832>


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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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