Friday, 25 Oct 2002

Sen. Wellstone Killed in Plane Crash

U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) was killed today along with seven others in a plane crash in northern Minnesota. Wellstone, 58, was one of the most outspoken liberals in Congress; he opposed the use of force in Iraq and was a longtime ally to environmentalists, earning a near-perfect 96 percent lifetime score from the Washington, D.C.-based League of Conservation Voters. Wellstone's wife and daughter were also killed in the crash, along with several of his aides. At the time of his death, the senator was facing a tough reelection battle against Republican challenger Norm Coleman, who was handpicked to run by the Bush White House. The race could have determined control of the Senate; now, with election day less than two weeks away, it is unclear who will replace Wellstone on the Democratic ticket. The staff of Grist is saddened by the deaths and extends its deepest sympathy to the Wellstones' loved ones.

The Savaged Breast

After years of announcing that the war on cancer was being won in the U.S., the National Cancer Institute acknowledged this month that it had previously underestimated the incidence of the disease, and that new diagnoses of at least one variant, breast cancer, have been increasing at a rate of 0.6 percent per year nationwide. That admission, coupled with a stunning 72 percent jump in the incidence of breast cancer in 46- to 64-year-old women in California's wealthy Marin County during the 1990s, has prompted environmental health advocates to call for more research into the role of pollution, radiation, and other environmental factors in causing the disease. Most major cancer research centers downplay the connection, and little federal research money goes toward investigating the relationship between cancer and the environment. But last week, California received almost $1 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study that relationship, making it the 20th state in the nation to do so.

No Respect

In a report released yesterday, the Governmental Affairs Committee of the U.S. Senate accused the Bush administration of "a predetermined hostility" toward environmental regulations initiated by former President Clinton. The withering 90-page assessment of President Bush's actions questioned the legality of a 60-day freeze, issued hours after Bush took office, affecting all pending federal environmental regulations. Among the initiatives halted by the directive were strict Interior Department rules for hard-rock mining on public lands, a U.S. EPA effort to lower the allowable levels of arsenic in drinking water, and an Agriculture Department rule barring most new logging and road construction on almost 60 million acres of national forest. The administration later relented on arsenic, but not on many other proposed environmental regulations. The committee said the directive was "an early warning of the administration's lack of respect for the process of developing regulations" and accused the White House of repeatedly placing politics ahead of science.

Electric Avenues?

What do Detroit billionaires do with their cash after they retire from the upper echelons of the auto industry? The answer, in the cases of Lee Iacocca and Robert Stempel, may surprise you: They start electric-car companies. Stempel, the former head of General Motors, helped create the emissions-reducing catalytic converter in 1966 and has always had a bit of an environmental bent. Now, as chair of Energy Conversion Devices, he is developing a prototype electric car -- one that will be a "real vehicle," he noted, as opposed to electric cars designed to go at slow speeds for short distances. The latter is more the territory of former Chrysler CEO Iacocca -- who, unlike Stempel, has been drawn into the electric-vehicle market by the profit motive, not by an environmental ethic. As founder and president of Lido Motors USA, Iacocca is selling a neighborhood electric vehicle that can go 25 mph and travel for up to 40 miles on a six-hour charge. He hopes the car will catch on among early retirees and residents of gated communities.

Hot Pea Soup

Fog and rain are as much a part of London as bobbies and Buckingham Palace -- but global warming will change all that over the next half-century, according to a newly released report on the anticipated impacts of climate change on the U.K. capital. The London of the future will likely be sunnier, but don't book your vacation just yet: It could be subject to serious regular flooding, worsening air pollution, and blistering temperatures, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Greater London Authority. As the weather heats up, demand for water will probably soar, parks and gardens are expected to suffer, and train transport may also run into difficulties as rails could buckle during heat waves. Summer temperatures may match those of New York City today, prompting nearly everyone to install air conditioning. In the winter, rainfall could be heavier and last longer and sea levels may rise, causing flooding. The report notes that the rich might profit by creating a lucrative market to manage the financial risk of climate change, but, as with everywhere else in the world, London's poor will likely be the least able to adapt to changing weather patterns and will suffer the most.

Fly the Unfriendly Skies

One-fourth of all North American bird species are at risk, according to a new study released by the National Audubon Society. The report blames increased urbanization and the resulting loss of open spaces for the decline; as cities grow, farmlands are converted to urban areas and grasslands are converted to farmlands, leaving birds with insufficient habitat. The Audubon Society now has more than 200 birds on its "watch" list and says 21 are endangered -- meaning that overall, nearly twice as many bird species are in trouble as were five years ago, the last time the report was issued. Frank Gill, the group's chief ornithologist, called birds a primary indicator of environmental health and warned that bad news for birds is also bad news for humans: "We should listen to what their declines are telling us about the ecosystems we both inhabit."