Thursday, 20 Sep 2001

Green Acre$

In a pleasant surprise, the Bush administration called yesterday for less money to be spent on traditional farm subsidies and more to be spent on boosting conservation efforts and gaining access to international markets. The administration said traditional subsidies have allowed wealthy cotton and grain farmers to expand their acreage without losing benefits because subsidies haven't been based on need. Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, said, "This could be a watershed in agriculture policy if the administration follows through with specific proposals for the new farm bill."

Adding Bite to Their Bark

Enviros in Brazil have created a certification organization to help consumers learn whether wood they are purchasing from the Amazon was cut on the up and up -- or whether it was cut illegally. The World Wildlife Fund said yesterday that the organization would function as an arm of the international Forest Stewardship Council. So far, the FSC has certified 70 timber companies in Brazil, and WWF said one goal of the group would be to "help enlarge the Brazilian share of the world's market while supporting good forest management." Last year, deforestation in the Amazon was at its worst in five years because of illegal logging and fires.

The Bee's Knees

Roxanne Quimby, owner of Burt's Bees natural products, is buying up land in Maine in the hopes of laying the foundation for a new national park in the state. So far, she has bought 8,000 acres at a cost of $3 million, with the purchase of another 5,700 acres pending, and she has contributed millions more to other land conservation efforts. Quimby is allied with the group Restore: The North Woods, which has proposed a Maine Woods National Park that would be larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined. The state legislature has adopted a resolution opposing the park concept, though some polls show that Maine residents support the idea. The timber industry says the park would mean a loss of jobs, while fans of the park say it would boost tourism and the local economy.

A Snow Job

In its first major move on air pollution since President Bush took office, the U.S. EPA yesterday proposed the first emissions rules for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, forklifts, and diesel-powered boats. The proposal, which is particularly aimed at reducing pollution in national parks, would cut total carbon-monoxide emissions from the vehicles by 56 percent and hydrocarbon and nitrogen-oxide emissions by almost 80 percent. Some enviros said the proposal wasn't strong enough because snowmobile pollution would have to be reduced by only 50 percent by 2010. They said a snowmobile used for one hour emits about as much hydrocarbon pollution as a car driven for a year.

Better Schemes for Better Living

The U.K. government is the first out of the gate with a scheme to allow trading in greenhouse gas emissions within its borders -- and U.S. chemical company DuPont and Japanese trading house Marubeni have made the first swap under the system. Dupont, which operates plants in the U.K., has sold to Marubeni the rights to emit about 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2002, the first year the trading system will be up and running. Meanwhile, in other pollution news, Britain's Environment Minister Michael Meacher has asked local governments in the country to help cut air pollution in half within 10 years by lessening traffic in towns and cities.