Thursday, 13 Dec 2001

Water, at Your Surface

A water shortage in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, has grown so severe that authorities have called in the army to distribute drinking water to the city's residents. The shortage is fueled by 6 percent annual population growth, mushrooming housing complexes, and severe pollution of the nearby Buriganga River. Riverside industries dump hundreds of tons of waste and toxic chemicals directly into the water, making it unsuitable for human use -- but as the city's clean water supply runs short, some people have no choice but to drink from the river. Groundwater levels have been falling by six feet per year, largely because of pumping from deep wells for irrigation and other purposes. A surface water treatment plant scheduled to open next June could help matters, but it will only have a daily capacity of 59 million gallons of water, compared to the 420 million gallons needed each day by residents.

Weathering Heights

What with work, the holiday season upon us, and the daily exigencies of life, you might have missed the outcome of last month's climate negotiations in Marrakech, Morocco. Not to worry: In our monthly climate update, Grist climate correspondent Leonie Haimson tells you what happened -- and, more important, what it means (bad news for U.S. businesses, as they will be left out of emissions-swapping deals). No matter how busy you've been, you've doubtless noticed that most of the country has been experiencing unusually warm weather. What's up with that? Haimson takes a look, and also recommends a few eco-friendly holiday presents, only on the Grist Magazine website.

Suddenly Sizzlin'

Global warming is typically thought of as a gradual process, but a report released this week by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences warns that greenhouse gases and other atmospheric pollutants could cause massive, sudden, and potentially disastrous climate shifts. The authors of the report relied on paleontological evidence, the historical record, and computer modeling to demonstrate that in the past, gradual climate change was punctuated by sudden temperature increases. For example, the report concluded that roughly half of the warming that has taken place in the northern Atlantic Ocean since the last ice age occurred in just one decade, triggering floods and droughts across the globe.

Hummer Bummer

Oy vey. From the department of mad consumerism, reckless fuel consumption, and paramilitary chic comes this latest gem: the Hummer H2, the latest sports utility monstrosity from General Motors. Built to resemble the Humvees rumbling through Kabul, the Hummer H2 gets about 13 miles per gallon and, at 8,600 pounds, weighs just enough to evade federal fuel efficiency standards. It's not cheap to own the beast -- fifty grand sticker price, plus all that fuel -- but nonetheless, GM expects to sell around 40,000 Hummers per year. Enviros are outraged, but hope the new vehicle will help spur the fight for fuel-efficiency standards for SUVs.

Paine on the Ass

If you read yesterday's special issue of Grist Magazine on Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist, you know that the experts largely disagree with Lomborg's thesis that environmental problems are just hyperbolic hooey. So why does the mainstream media love him? Writing for TomPaine.com, Colin Woodard casts a critical eye at the glowing reviews in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Economist, and elsewhere.

Sound Effects

The Pacific Northwest's Puget Sound is not a great place to be a marine animal, according to a report released this week by the group People for Puget Sound. The report assessed dozens of scientific studies on toxic chemicals in the sound and concluded that although the water is considerably cleaner than it was a few decades ago, marine animals from orcas to herring continue to be contaminated by PCBs, DDT, dioxins, mercury, lead, and other toxins. Every level of the marine food chain in the sound is affected. People for Puget Sound hopes the report will help persuade the Washington state legislature and Gov. Gary Locke (D) to fund a state effort to phase out the worst chemicals and eliminate discharges into state waterways.