Friday, 08 Sep 2000

No Kenya Do

Community leaders in Kwale, Kenya, are deeply troubled by a Canadian mining company's plans to turn thousands of acres of forest and farmland on Kenya's eastern coast into a $150 million titanium strip mine. Opponents of the massive mining project charge that it is fraught with corruption and would devastate a fragile ecosystem, as well as force about 4,500 people out of their homes. The Canadian company, Tiomin Resources, has offered some compensation to locals who hold title deeds to their land, but critics contend that its offers are far below market rate and point out that most of the local farmers don't hold title to the lands they live and work on. The Kenyan government, which is desperate for foreign investment and widely considered to be corrupt, favors the mining project, though it has yet to give it the final go-ahead.

Thaw Shucks

Adding weight to arguments that global warming is upon us, a study appearing today in the journal Science concludes that 26 bodies of water in the Northern Hemisphere are freezing an average of 8.7 days later and thawing out 9.8 days earlier than they did 150 years ago. The study was a based on direct human observations and records, not on extrapolations or calculations. David R. Easterling, chief scientist at the National Climatic Data Center in the U.S., said the study "provides independent evidence that the warming we have seen over the 20th century is real." But the study authors noted that although some of the warming they found may be attributable to human causes, some of it "may be related to other drivers, such as changes in solar activity." Meanwhile, a draft report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the air temperature of the planet may rise between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius by 2100, an increase from its previous estimate of between 1 and 3.5 degrees, says the IPCC's Robert Watson.

Piping Hot

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill yesterday to require tougher safety measures for oil and natural-gas pipelines, hoping to prevent spills and leaks that pollute the environment and sometimes prove deadly. The bill would increase inspections and fines for hazardous accidents and require pipeline operators to disclose more info to government regulators. Still, some safety advocates say the legislation isn't tough enough. The Senate bill was introduced after a pipeline blast killed three people in Bellingham, Wash., in June 1999, and it was passed shortly after another pipeline explosion killed 12 people in Carlsbad, N.M., last month. Since 1986, there have been more than 5,700 pipeline accidents, killing more than 300 people and spilling 6 million gallons of oil, gas, and other substances. The bill now goes to the House, where its future is uncertain with only 21 working days left in this session of Congress.

We Kid You Not

Louisiana and Texas are the states that emit the most chemicals dangerous to children, according to a report released yesterday by activist groups. It found that about half of all toxic chemical emissions reported to the federal government are suspected to affect the way children's bodies and brains develop, and drew attention to a finding earlier this summer by the National Academy of Sciences that estimated that at least 360,000 children in the U.S. have developmental or neurological disabilities caused by toxic chemicals. The report by the National Environmental Trust, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Learning Disabilities Association was based on 1998 data from the U.S. EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, the most recent year for which such information was available.

Fishing for Votes

Commercial salmon fishing should be shut down in Washington state to save endangered salmon runs, says former radio talk show host John Carlson, the favorite to win the Republican primary for governor in the state. As governor, Carlson says he would ban nets used by almost all commercial and tribal fisheries. Carlson: "It makes no sense to call a fish endangered and then lay thousands of yards of gill nets to trap an endangered species while it's on its way to lay eggs." Commercial and Indian fishers, along with Gov. Gary Locke (D), who is running for re-election, said Carlson's plan would violate Indians' treaty rights and wouldn't go a long way toward helping the fish. Locke said most commercial fishing in the state is aimed at hatchery-bred salmon, not wild salmon. Both Carlson and Locke would leave in place four dams on the lower Snake River in southeastern Washington that scientists say are a major cause of salmon declines.