Wednesday, 27 Jun 2001

M'm M'm Good, That's What Campbell's Suit Is

A U.S. federal judge sided with environmentalists on Monday and reduced the authority of local officials to claim rights of way over trails on federal land. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell upheld a decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that three Utah counties did not have the rights of way on 16 routes. Enviros filed suit after the counties used bulldozers to grade roads in wilderness study areas and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Because lands with roads are ineligible for wilderness status, local officials in many Western states have claimed jurisdiction over routes to preserve access and disqualify areas from being designated wilderness.

Risky Business

Even if the Bush administration has its head in the sand, many businesses in the U.S. are treating global warming as a reality. Atmos Energy Co., a natural-gas distributing company, has spent millions on weather insurance. If Atmos's customers use less gas to heat their homes because of warmer temperatures, the insurance policy will offset the company's operating losses. Another example: Colorado ski companies are discounting tickets to coax people back to their resorts after two winters of little snow. And Great Lakes shipping companies are asking Congress for dredging to help them cope with falling water levels.

The Children's Crusade

In an unusual move, ABC News yesterday said it would remove correspondent John Stossel's interview with California children about global warming from an environmental special airing Friday night. A group of Los Angeles parents teamed up with the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group and revoked their permission for the interviews on Monday. They said that Stossel had asked the children leading questions to support his views, and that Stossel's involvement with the program had been hidden from them until moments before the interview began. In a version of the special sent to reporters, Stossel says some environmentalists are brainwashing children to believe the world is a scary place. Last year, Stossel was reprimanded by ABC and gave an on-air apology for a report criticizing organic produce that contained inaccurate information.

Mitigation Blank

A program allowing developers in the U.S. to destroy some wetlands if they create new ones or restore old ones is failing, according to a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences. The panel found that federal agencies weren't even tracking the country's wetlands accurately to see if the losses to development were being compensated. When he created the program in 1989, President Bush the Elder pledged there would be "no net loss" of wetlands. But the panel concluded that the promise was not being met.

Caught in the Jaws of Death

Marine scientists weren't successful yesterday in freeing an endangered northern right whale off Cape Cod from a fishing line caught in its jaw. The jaw has become infected and the 50-ton whale also seems to be malnourished, probably because the line is interfering with its feeding. The scientists didn't know if they'd be able to mount another rescue effort and weren't sure the whale would survive, even if the rope were removed. Only about 320 of the whales remain in the North Atlantic. "Every whale counts," said Nina Young of the Ocean Conservancy.