Monday, 31 Jan 2000

Duh.

The U.S. government is finally conceding that workers who helped make nuclear weapons at 14 plants have higher-than-normal rates of a wide range of cancers, most of them fatal. The conclusion comes from a draft report prepared at the request of Pres. Clinton. Since the Manhattan Project began 57 years ago, the government has until now talked down the hazards of radiation and chemicals, criticized studies that found cancer links, and spent tens of million of dollars defending itself against suits charging that bomb plants made workers sick. Now officials say that a compensation package for victims and their families might total tens of millions of dollars. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson on Friday also announced plans to spend more than $120 million to hasten cleanup and medical assistance at the government's two uranium enrichment plants.

Tickle Me, Elko

Hundreds of disgruntled Nevadans paraded through Elko, Nev., with 10,000 shovels on Saturday to protest a federal environmental policy that is keeping the U.S. Forest Service from rebuilding a washed-out road. The residents want to reconstruct a dirt road in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, but the USFS says the project would lead to erosion that would harm a nearby river's rare bull-trout population. Two hundred horse-drawn wagons, makeshift floats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and pickups loaded with tons of shovels donated from across the West paraded down Elko's main street to protest what is seen as federal intrusion in local affairs, while more than 3,000 people cheered on the parade and several protestors carried signs reading, "Stop Clinton's War on the West."

On With the No-Show

The environment has mostly been a no show in the presidential race, reports Grist's boy on the bus, writing this morning from New Hampshire, where the nation's first primary will be held tomorrow. The race has been unusually substantive, with banter on a host of issues, but the environment hasn't shared the limelight so far, despite the efforts of enviro groups like Ozone Action. Observers speculate that green issues aren't getting much play because Bradley and Al Gore have such similar views. "We've been building coalitions, bird-dogging candidates, call-in days, you name it -- everything to get the public's voice out -- and nothing has happened," said Doug Bogen, a local representative of Clean Water Action. All this and more from Grist's Muckraker, who spotted this on the back of the Forbes campaign bus moments ago: "Powered by corn alcohol via hydrofire controlled by computer by Drivermax. More power. Better Mileage. Less Pollution." Is conservative Republican Steve Forbes the true environmental candidate?

Ready, Set, Kyoto

While most industrial nations and developing countries are pumping out more greenhouse gases than ever, Japan's carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 3.8 percent in 1998. About 60 percent of the decline is attributed to the country's economic slump, but some resulted from efficiency improvements, according to Japan's Environment Agency. The nation intends to continue reducing emissions in order to meet its goal under the Kyoto climate change treaty of a 6 percent cut from 1990 levels by 2010. Japan is also working to assist China in cutting its emissions, not only to help avert climate change but also to decrease sulfur-laden pollution from China that contributes to acid rain in Japan. Japan is pursuing joint public-private projects, like a $170 million proposal by Hitachi Corp. to retrofit four Chinese coal-burning power plants to boost efficiency and cut emissions by 21 percent.

The Mod Squad

Delegates from more than 130 nations on Saturday adopted the first global treaty regulating trade in genetically modified products, the first time that environmental concerns and trade rules have been reconciled in an international agreement. The treaty allows countries to bar imports of genetically modified seeds, crops, and animals, even if scientific studies have not yet determined that they are dangerous, a provision that the U.S. had opposed. The treaty does not address whether food containing genetically altered ingredients, like corn flakes made with GM corn, should be labeled as such on store shelves. And disputes over GM foods could still erupt within the World Trade Organization. But many enviros were generally pleased with the agreement.

Free Trade Experiences Labor Pains

Pres. Clinton on Saturday talked up the importance of environmental and labor issues in global trade, speaking in Davos, Switzerland, to the World Economic Forum, an elite gathering of corporate and political leaders. Clinton, a major booster of globalization throughout his presidency, has modified his approach somewhat in the aftermath of the failed World Trade Organization talks in Seattle last month. He told the forum that the world now needs to reinvent the way it thinks about trade and globalization, and that concerns about environmental protection and workers' rights are legitimate and must be addressed if free trade is to move forward. But developing nations, including China and India, are not changing their tune; they insist that they have the right to set their own environmental and labor standards without interference from industrialized nations.