Friday, 30 Mar 2001

Hogwash!

In a blow to environmentalists' efforts to stop pollution from large hog farms, a North Carolina judge has thrown out two lawsuits against Smithfield Foods, the nation's biggest pork producer. The superior court judge ruled that the plaintiffs -- environmental groups and river users -- lacked standing in the case and had not shown that the alleged wrongdoing damaged them directly enough to warrant a court challenge. The plaintiffs, who said they would appeal the ruling, counter that pollution-free rivers are a birthright for citizens. They hope to force Smithfield to clean up pollution in three rivers and stop using open pits to store hog waste. The company faces similar lawsuits in three other states in federal court.

I'm a Loser, Baby, So Why Don't You Drill Me

President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that he may lose the fight to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. In a press conference, the president said he will push to exploit oil and gas resources elsewhere in the nation if Congress doesn't sanction drilling in the refuge. Bush also defended his move to rescind a rule approved by former President Clinton to lower the amount of arsenic allowable in drinking water to the same level adopted by the World Heath Organization and European Union. He suggested that the level wasn't based on sound science. Responding to criticism about his decisions not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and to back out of the Kyoto treaty on climate change, Bush said, "The idea of placing caps on CO2 does not make economic sense for America."

The Bush Withdrawal Method

Loud international criticism of President Bush's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto treaty on climate change continued yesterday, and a broad coalition of U.S. religious groups urged Bush to revisit the decision. At a meeting in Montreal, environmental ministers from North and South America canceled a long-planned statement on how to proceed with implementing Kyoto and instead pressed U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman to explain the U.S. position. "Kyoto clearly is not perfect, but Kyoto is what we've got," said a top Canadian negotiator, Paul Fauteux. Whitman tried to reassure the officials, but had no alternative plan on global warming to offer them. She left the two-day conference a day early, citing "other commitments."

Surly, With Infringe on Top

A federal judge in Canada ruled yesterday that a Canadian farmer had infringed on Monsanto's patent rights because plants from the company's genetically engineered canola seed had been found on his property, apparently after pollen from modified plants on farms nearby had drifted onto his land. The farmer, Percy Schmeiser, was ordered to pay thousands of dollars to Monsanto, which filed the suit as part of an aggressive campaign to ensure that farmers purchase the genetically engineered seed each year, instead of saving their seed. Schmeiser argued that he had been saving his own seed for years and shouldn't be held accountable for pollen blown in from neighboring farms. In related news, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects that U.S. farmers this year will plant more genetically engineered soy and cotton crops than ever before.

Taking a Charge in the Paint

In an effort to force Rhode Island to abandon its lawsuit against the country's biggest lead paint manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has requested that state and Providence city officials produce 50 years of public records that have anything to do with lead poisoning. The chamber hopes the documents reveal mistakes and liabilities created by public officials dealing with the lead problem. State Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) called the chamber "shills for the paint industry" and said the state won't be intimidated by the request. Meanwhile, the paint industry has asked a superior court judge to throw out the state's case, which accuses the industry of knowing that lead paint was dangerous before it was banned in the U.S in 1978 and covering up the risk; a decision from the judge is expected soon.

Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark

A 550,000-gallon oil spill caused by the collision of a tanker and a freighter in the Baltic Sea reached the shores of Denmark yesterday. Strong winds broke the spill into dozens of separate slicks and high waves complicated clean-up efforts by the Danish, German, and Swedish governments. The tanker, which was carrying 9.7 million gallons of oil, has been stabilized and the leak has been stopped.