Monday, 10 Mar 2003

Niceland

The world's first commercial hydrogen filling station will make its debut next month in Iceland, the country where the hydrogen revolution is expected to first take root. Other hydrogen filling stations scattered around the globe are private or restricted, but starting April 24, the new Reykjavik station will open its doors to the public -- not that many average Janes and Joes have hydrogen-powered cars yet, even in Iceland. And maybe there need be no hurry to acquire them. A study released last week by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the environmental benefits of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, which are already on the roads, will likely outstrip the environmental benefits of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles until at least 2020. Hydrogen cars are ultra-clean and efficient once they get rolling, but at present most industrial hydrogen is produced using natural gas, an energy-intensive process that emits climate-altering greenhouse gases. Until hydrogen can be widely and affordably produced using renewable energy like wind and solar power, we're better off sticking to diesel hybrids, say the MIT researchers.

Chop Goes the Weasel

Timber companies will be given the chance to chop down many large, old trees on millions of acres in national forests if they also remove the undergrowth, brush, and small trees that fuel forest fires, thanks to a provision snuck into a massive spending bill that President Bush signed last month. Enviros are calling the program a giveaway to the logging industry, noting that bigger trees are precisely the ones that shouldn't be cut in the name of fire prevention because they resist wildfire. But the timber industry hopes to drown out those green voices with a new PR campaign that it's developing in close consultation with administration officials. The campaign is intended to sell the public on the president's plan to step up logging on public land as a way to stave off forest fires.

Shays Rebellion

In the Cool Bills That Will Never Fly Department, a bipartisan duo last week introduced legislation in the House that would designate as wilderness all roadless federal lands in Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and western Wyoming -- a total of 26 million acres. The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, championed by Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), has more than 100 co-sponsors, but little chance of passage in the current political climate. Likewise, prospects are dim for a bipartisan bill introduced in the House and Senate on Thursday that would reinstate a ban on the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. "There's no political will for this in Congress, we know that," said Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel (D-Penn.). "But we can raise hell and we can scream."

Storm Troopers

The Bush administration announced on Friday that oil and gas companies will not be bound by new regulations that require storm water runoff plans to be developed for small construction sites, a means of keeping dangerous chemicals and metals from contaminating waterways. Saying it needs more time to study the situation, the U.S. EPA has granted oil and gas companies a two-year exemption from the new rules, which go into effect today. "While small communities and small construction projects in every other sector of the economy must comply with strong storm water standards, the Bush administration is giving a free ride to the oil and gas industry," said Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), one of six senators who have fought the EPA over the issue.

Berry Good News

Organic advocates have long contended that food grown without pesticides is better for you than chemical-dependent crops. Now comes a new study that backs up the organics argument. Tests of pesticide-free strawberries, blackberries, and corn found that they contain up to 58 percent more polyphenolics, or health-boosting compounds, than conventional crops grown on neighboring plots. Polyphenolics have antioxidant properties and may help protect against cancer and heart disease. The organic produce also had more ascorbic acid, which the human body converts to vitamin C. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California at Davis, was recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.