Tuesday, 13 Mar 2001

Franco, My Dear, I Don't Want a Dam

More than 100,000 protesters gathered in the streets of Madrid on Sunday in the latest of a series of protests against a massive $23 billion water diversion project in Spain. The plan, which is now before the country's parliament, would divert the Ebro River in the northeast and involve the construction of 120 dams to bring water to the dry southeastern parts of the country. Ecologists say water shortages in the south could be better solved through conservation and small-scale projects. And they fear that the proposed project would destroy the habitat of the Iberian lynx, a species nearing extinction. Organizers of the demonstration, including farmer organizations, labor unions, and environmental groups, estimate that 400,000 attended the rally, while police say 120,000 attended.

Right On!

Northern right whale births are at the highest level on record, according to researchers flying over calving grounds off the coasts of Florida and Georgia. The researchers have spotted 24 surviving newborns this calving season, a big jump over last year, when they only saw one. They think the rise might relate to the increased availability of plankton, the whale's main food source. Northern right whales were driven close to extinction by whaling, and fewer than 350 now exist. Their number one cause of death now is collisions with ships.

Cannon Bawl

The Interior Department under Gale Norton is quietly getting behind congressional efforts to roll back former President Clinton's legacy of national monuments. Today, for instance, the National Park Service is set to come out in support of legislation to restore hunting at the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The bill is expected to be the first of many to rework how monuments will be managed. Norton's staff has signaled that the Interior Department will also support changes to withdraw protections for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. "The word we got, essentially, is that they want us to come up with a plan, and they'll support it," said a spokesperson for Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), an ardent opponent of the monument.

Greens' Day

Germany's Greens emerged unusually unified this week from their party congress in Stuttgart, just a few weeks before two key state elections. The Greens, a partner in Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's coalition government, made steps to end longstanding divisions between radicals and moderates. Moderates were appeased when the party voted not to support blockades of nuclear waste shipments from France into Germany, throwing its weight behind a gradual nuclear phase-out negotiated last year by the country's environment minister, Juergen Trittin, who is a Green. Radicals were pleased that the party overwhelmingly elected a left-wing candidate to its leadership team.