Friday, 02 Nov 2001

Fat City

Environmental problems ranging from toxic waste to air pollution have long been recognized as having human health effects -- but what about urban sprawl? A study released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says sprawl creates or exacerbates many common health problems, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. The report also blames sprawl for other negative health consequences, including deaths from flooding caused by filled-in wetlands and pedestrian fatalities on sidewalk-less, multi-lane roads. The report calls for the implementation of "smart growth" policies that redesign communities around people, not cars.

Another Bombshell

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Muhammad el-Baradei, warned yesterday that the events of Sept. 11 have increased concerns that terrorists might try to fashion nuclear weapons or launch attacks directly against nuclear facilities. El-Baradei's remarks came one day after the U.S. restricted airspace around all nuclear power plants due to security concerns, and just prior to a conference in Vienna on safeguarding against nuclear terrorism. The remarks were directed at the five acknowledged nuclear powers, as well as at India, Israel, and Pakistan, all of which are believed to have nuclear capabilities. Pakistan recently detained three atomic scientists for questioning about whether atomic weapons may have been obtained by Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

Grateful Lakes

In a move that pleased environmentalists but irked industry, the U.S. Congress voted yesterday to ban new oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes for two years. The measure, which was part of a $24.6 billion federal energy and water bill, was passed overwhelmingly in both chambers despite President Bush's recent calls to tap into more domestic energy sources. Under the bill, states would be prohibited from green-lighting new projects while the Army Corps of Engineers studied the environmental impact of drilling Although none of the Great Lakes states allow drilling from rigs on the water, there are currently seven slant wells that pipe oil and gas from under the lakes to the shore; Michigan Gov. John Engler (R), for one, has been looking to expand such drilling.

Insurance Adjustment

Insurance companies have joined the babel weighing in on climate change during negotiations being held in Marrakech, Morocco, this week and next. Speaking to conference delegates yesterday, some of the world's largest insurers and banks warned that global climate change would cause drastic increases in weather-related disasters like hurricanes and floods. Since the 1960s, insurance companies have seen a 400 percent increase in large weather disasters, with an accompanying 1,100 percent increase in insured losses, according to the company Munich Re. No surprise, then, that the insurance companies voiced their support for the Kyoto Protocol.

"Failure to Act" -- Can We Blame Hollywood?

A coalition of California environmental, health, and community organizations sued the U.S. EPA yesterday for neglecting to enforce clean air standards in the state's infamously smoggy Central Valley. An EPA official acknowledged that the agency had "failed to act" on a 1997 plan to improve air quality and said the lawsuit would force the agency to implement measures to reduce dust and smog. The 25,000-square-mile San Joaquin Valley ranks among the five worst places in the country for smog and among the six worst places for dust; poor air quality in the region has been linked to high rates of asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease.