Friday, 26 Jul 2002

Great Burial Reef

It's not a great time to be the Great Barrier Reef. When sea temperatures around the famed Australian landmark hit record highs early this year, 60 percent of the coral on the reef suffered from heat-related bleaching, according to marine scientists. Warm water temperatures caused the algae that live on the reef to leave, disrupting the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae and sometimes resulting in the death of the coral. Janice Lough of the Australian Institute of Marine Science pointed to global warming as a possible cause of the bleaching. Meanwhile, the reef is facing another threat: shipping accidents. In November 2000, a 21,000-ton freighter loaded with fuel and other hazardous cargo ran aground on part of the reef; three coral areas had to be destroyed to free it. Now the Australian government is planning to implement 41 measures to protect the reef from shipping disasters, including using local pilots in the more difficult passages. Such measures could go a ways toward protecting the reef, but, as Lough said, "Reef managers can do all they can to reduce all the other threats to coral reefs, but they can't solve individually the global problem [of climate change]."

Radar Strange

Ever since Sept. 11, sophisticated surveillance systems have been the talk of the town, and fans have proposed installing them in all sorts of places -- airports, subway systems, sports stadiums. But rainforests? Yep. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso flew to the jungle city of Manaus yesterday to inaugurate the Amazon Surveillance System, a $1.4 billion network of radar stations and high-tech equipment. The system, built by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, will track everything from aircraft to climate conditions to soil composition. Its primary mission: to protect the Amazon from illegal miners, loggers, and drug runners, while unlocking the jungle's economic potential. Environmentalists question whether those goals can go hand in hand, and say the main focus of the surveillance system is national security, not environmental protection.

Put a Tiber in Your Tank

In the last two weeks, tons of dead fish have floated to the surface of the Tiber, the famed Italian river that was once one of the lifelines of the Roman Empire. According to environmentalists, two-thirds of the fauna in a three-mile stretch of the river have been wiped out since July 15; even eels, the hardiest residents of the Tiber, have leapt onto the river's banks to escape the water. City magistrates in Rome investigating the problem say it was caused by heavy rains earlier this month that flushed sewage, nitrates, and other pollutants down the Tiber. These pollutants led to a sudden boom in the algae population, which, the theory goes, sap oxygen from the water and cause the fish to choke to death. The magistrates claim there are no poisons, pesticides, or other toxic substances present in the river, but other city officials and environmentalists disagree and believe that the source of the problem is the Aniene, a badly polluted tributary of the Tiber.

I'm a Modeler, You Know What I Mean

Ah, the life of a model. What could be more glamorous? Stand around all day being admired, help determine environmental policy for years to come ... Yeah, that's right, we're talking about environmental models, and this week, Grist's diary features one of the people behind them: Jonathan Clough, Environmental Modeler Extraordinaire. A consultant to the U.S. EPA, Clough works with people from all over the country and Canada (from the comfort of his Vermont home, accompanied by two loyal office dogs) to synthesize scientific studies into the kind of information that public policymakers can use. Technology, the natural world, politics, power, high-stakes lawsuits -- we told you, glamour all over the place. Come bask in the glow, only on the Grist Magazine website.

Fool Standards

Automakers are gearing up to take California's landmark new vehicle-emissions law to court, even though they could face a public opinion backlash by doing so. Industry reps say they are "very confident" that the courts will agree with their argument that California is encroaching on federal jurisdiction by trying to set its own fuel-economy standards. The law, signed by Gov. Gray Davis (D) on Monday, does not specifically call for better fuel efficiency -- just for reduced carbon dioxide emissions -- but automakers say it would leave them no other choice than to boost the efficiency of vehicles. "The only way to produce less carbon dioxide is to combust less fuel," said Eron Shosteck, spokesperson for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the main industry trade group. Honda, which just won preliminary state and federal approval to sell fuel-cell vehicles in California, is the only major manufacturer not in the alliance and has not yet decided whether to join the lawsuit.