Friday, 05 Oct 2001

Rock On!

Canadian Minister of Health Allan Rock said yesterday that labels on genetically modified food should be mandatory in the country. In August, a national task force recommended a voluntary labeling system in Canada, but Rock said the country should instead follow the lead of the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and impose labeling rules on the food industry. "It is about time government caught up to the will of Canadians to be reasonably informed about what they are putting in their bodies," Rock said. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant Novartis confirmed yesterday that Greenpeace was correct in claiming that some baby food sold in the Philippines by Novartis subsidiary Gerber contained genetically modified soy.

If You Build It, Sprawl Won't Come

In the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center tower, environmentalists are calling for a rapid rebuilding of lower Manhattan as a way to fight increased urban sprawl and traffic congestion. They worry that the sudden shortage of office space downtown, combined with concerns about security and the economy, could drive corporations out of the city center, at the expense of air quality and open spaces. As a result, some environmental groups say they would turn a blind eye to streamlined building procedures. Meanwhile, Grist diarist and environmental justice activist Swati Prakash continues to fight the good fight while simultaneously trying to meet the city's new, post-terrorism needs. Read her account of this week in New York City on the Grist Magazine website.

Fill Up Yer Camel, Sir?

A court in Pakistan ruled yesterday that Britain's Premier Oil can go ahead with plans to test for natural gas in the country's largest national park, which is home to rare urial sheep, ibex, and chinkara gazelle. Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment and Friends of the Earth International say Premier's exploratory surveys would threaten the animals and disturb the 20,000 tribal people living in the park. They plan to appeal the ruling to the country's Supreme Court. For its part, Premier says it will minimize the environmental impact of the operation, going so far as to travel by camel where there are no roads.

Going With the Grain

In a closely contested vote yesterday, the U.S. House defeated an amendment to a massive farm bill that would have shifted $19 billion from crop subsidies to conservation efforts. The defeat, which was engineered largely by lawmakers from traditional farming states, paves the way for approval of a 10-year, $171 billion farm bill that would increase subsides for grain and cotton farmers. Critics, including the Bush administration, say the bill gives too much money to large farms and not enough to environmental efforts, but supporters claim it is the greenest farm bill ever considered by Congress, with conservation spending up 78 percent from past packages.

Driven to Drink

The average fuel efficiency of new vehicles has hit a two-decade low of 20.4 miles per gallon, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. EPA. The report attributed the decline in fuel economy largely to the popularity of sports utility vehicles, which get notoriously poor fuel economy and are regulated by laxer rules than other passenger vehicles. The report will add fuel to the debate over whether the government should impose stricter fuel-economy standards on automakers. This summer, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report that found that higher standards could be implemented at a relatively low cost, but automakers are disputing that finding at a hearing today. Academy officials say any factual errors corrected as a result of the hearing would be unlikely to alter the report's conclusions.