Wednesday, 28 May 2003

Ride On!

Every environmentalist worth his or her salt knows that how you get around -- SUV, hybrid-electric, your own two feet -- is one of the most significant factors determining the size of your ecological footprint. But these days, there are so many ways to get around that it's hard to compare them from a green perspective. In her latest column, Umbra Fisk, Grist's environmental advice guru extraordinaire, tackles some thorny transportation questions. What's the most eco-friendly vehicle for a family of five -- when three of the five require car seats? Motorcycles get stellar gas mileage, so why are they so bad for the environment? What about scooters? What about jet planes? You get the picture. Now get the info -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Bottleneck

Evian, Perrier, Poland Spring -- bottled water has become ubiquitous in the U.S., and the resultant plastic containers are posing an increasingly serious problem by clogging landfills and contributing to air pollution. In California, where bottled water is particularly popular, the state Department of Conservation is unveiling a campaign this week to convince consumers to recycle rather than throw away their empties, and two state legislators are sponsoring a bill to double the refund on water bottles. To date, only 16 percent of plastic water bottles are recycled in the Golden State, despite the current cash refund of 2.5 cents for small bottles and 5 cents for larger ones. The unrecycled bottles -- some 3 million of them every day -- enter the waste stream, where they take up space in landfills or are incinerated, yielding toxic fumes. If recycled, that quantity of bottles could be used to make 74 million square feet of carpet or 16 million sweaters.

Santi-ugho

The city of Santiago, Chile, located in the shadow of the snow-capped Andes Mountains, is blessed with one of the most breathtaking natural surroundings of any urban area on Earth. But from May to September, you wouldn't know it; heavy smog obscures the Andes entirely and lends the word "breathtaking" a different meaning. A poll of Latin American business travelers by the magazine America Economia found that Santiago's smog was the biggest obstacle to would-be foreign investors, offsetting its stable economy and comparatively tranquil political situation. Although Mexico City and Sao Paulo have as bad or worse pollution problems, the perception in the business community is that Santiago is the smoggiest city in the region.

Mobil-ized

Gas and oil giant ExxonMobil has increased its donations to organizations that oppose government regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions and question the notion that humans cause global climate change. Although the company has pledged $10 million a year for 10 years to climate research at Stanford University, it is also giving generously to the likes of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Frontiers of Freedom, and other groups that challenge the scientific consensus on global warming. Exxon is the largest corporate donor to some of these groups, accounting in some cases for more than 10 percent of their annual budgets. In many cases, Exxon's donations to such organizations increased by more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2002. Exxon's stance marks a widening gap between it and other companies in the industry, such as BP, Shell, and ChevronTexaco, which have backed away from challenging global warming and developed strategic plans that include renewable energy, carbon trading, and emissions reductions.

Tulun: Too Late?

The tiny islands of Tulun and Takuu off the coast of Papua New Guinea are being swallowed by the Pacific Ocean, posing a danger so immediate that their 2,400 residents are being urged to evacuate at once. The islands, also known as Carteret and Mortlock, could become victims of global warming, which is thought to fuel the rising sea levels that threaten to drown them. The government of Papua New Guinea has sent emergency food supplies to the islands, because local crops are being inundated by salt water, leaving residents to live on coconuts and fish. Government officials are encouraging the islanders to move to the nearby island of Bougainville, but they acknowledge the solution is not ideal. The islanders are Polynesian, whereas residents of Bougainville are Melanesians, and many fear that when the people of Tulun and Takuu leave their homelands, their unique culture will disappear.