Wednesday, 07 May 2003

Things That Make You Go Hummer

Yesterday, Grist reported that the average fuel efficiency of U.S. vehicles is at a 22-year low. Today, we're happy to report that at least people are upset about it. A survey of complaints about new vehicles, released yesterday by J. D. Powers and Associates, found that fuel consumption was the second-most-common complaint among all respondents. In the 17 years the survey has been conducted, fuel efficiency had never before ranked in the top five complaints. Interestingly, this year, it ranked as the number-one concern among two unlikely sets of people: owners of Toyota's highly efficient gas-electric hybrid Prius and owners of General Motors' highly inefficient Hummer H2. The survey, which asked 52,000 people whether any of 135 potential problems appeared within the first 90 days after they purchased or leased a vehicle, might force the auto industry to rethink its long-held theory that drivers do not feel strongly about fuel efficiency.

Let's Get Chemical

In a trailblazing effort to mitigate the dangerous effects of toxic substances on human and environmental health, the European Commission has proposed strict new standards for chemical production. Currently, those chemicals that were in use before the E.U. was established in 1981 are not subject to the same registration and testing standards as new substances. Under the new proposal, any company manufacturing, importing, or using any chemical would have to prove its safety by registering and testing it; chemicals that did not pass the safety standards would be banned. The commission estimates that the law would affect some 30,000 chemicals and cost companies $7.9 billion over the first decade. Environmentalists welcomed the proposal, which E.U. Enterprise Commissioner spokesperson Per Haugaard said would strike a "balance between protecting the environment and protecting the competitiveness of industry."

The Secondhand Ticks Us Off

The dangers of secondhand smoke are well documented -- but what about secondhand pesticide? A new report by the same name contends that pesticides and herbicides drifting off of agricultural lands endanger the health of hundreds of thousands of Californians. The report, issued today by Pesticide Action Network North America, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, and Pesticide Education Center, criticized the lack of careful monitoring and strict controls on pesticides and herbicides, and reserved especially strong words for molinate, an herbicide frequently used by rice farmers. The California Rice Commission and the state Department of Pesticide Regulation called the report alarmist, but the U.S. EPA praised many of its recommendations.

The Yellow Haze of Texas

Meanwhile, the state of Texas is plagued by its own air-quality issues -- and the state House and Senate are at loggerheads over what to do about it. On Monday, the Senate passed a bill to fund the Texas Emissions Reductions Program, the key component of a federally mandated state anti-smog plan. The bill would raise some $150 million per year for pollution control by raising fees on vehicle title transfers, while a House version would raise roughly the same amount by taxing bulk diesel shipments. When the House and Senate get together to draft a final version, though, a different, truly Texan, issue is likely to be the breaking point: How fast can you drive in the state? Currently, the House bill would prevent the state from lowering speed limits to reduce emissions, while the Senate bill would not. Opinions run strong on both sides: Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R), author of the House version, refuses to "raise fees on Texans and then tell them they might still have a lowered speed limit," while Sen. Chris Harris (R), author of the Senate version, warned against scuttling the entire clean-air process "just so motorists can zip through cities at 65 mph instead of 60 mph."

No Cruise Control

Within 24 hours of Friday's start of the 2003 cruise season, a ship owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines dumped more than 40 tons of raw sewage into the waters off the coast of Washington state. It's unclear whether the discharge from the Norwegian Sun was illegal, but the cruise line acknowledged that it violated company policy. The dumping came on the heels of months of disagreement among environmentalists, the Port of Seattle, and other government authorities over notification procedures for discharging waste. Currently, reporting is not mandatory as a condition of docking in the port, a situation environmentalists heavily criticize. "Right now, we want to take the money and turn a blind eye to the liabilities associated with this operation instead of making it easier for these companies to act responsibly," said Fred Felleman of Ocean Advocates. Last July, Norwegian Cruise Lines was fined $1 million for falsifying records, deliberately bypassing pollution-prevention devices, and dumping oil into the ocean.