Tuesday, 24 Jun 2003

Confessions of a Dangerous Mine

Illegal gold-mining camps in Ghana provide impoverished locals with a means to earn some much-needed cash -- but at a high environmental price. The mercury that small-scale miners use to purify gold not only threatens the miners' own health but also the health of whole communities, as mercury concentrations build up in waterways and fish. But local leaders still prefer the camps with thousands of illegal miners to large, corporate-run mines, which have legal rights to most of the ore deposits in the nation. The multinational mining companies employ few locals, bulldoze hills and trees, pollute groundwater, and destroy streams. The companies channel a small percentage of their profits toward community improvements such as schools, but not nearly enough to help tackle the nation's numerous social and environmental problems. Josh Harkinson reports from the goldfields of Ghana -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

The Dirk Side of the Moon

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R), thought to be President Bush's top pick to head the U.S. EPA after Christie Whitman leaves the agency at the end of this week, has overseen a decline in environmental quality in his home state. Since he assumed the Idaho governorship four and a half years ago, the state's air has gotten dirtier and toxic emissions have increased, even as national trends have gone in the other direction. Kempthorne cut the state's environmental budget three times and reduced environmental enforcement efforts, leading to fewer inspections at polluting facilities. In November 2001, Kempthorne publicly clashed with the EPA when the agency wanted to expand cleanup efforts at the Coeur d'Alene Basin Superfund. "I have become so frustrated with EPA that I'm on the verge of inviting EPA to leave Idaho," Kempthorne said at the time. Kempthorne's press secretary, Mark Snider, defended the governor's environmental record, noting that he elevated the state environmental agency to cabinet status, boosted air and water monitoring, and tackled problems such as grass burning and dairy odors.

Weed Between the Lines

In a finding that undermines one key argument in favor of genetically modified (GM) crops, researchers at Iowa State University have discovered that a number of "superweeds" have developed a resistance to Monsanto's widely used Roundup herbicide. Monsanto has engineered crops that are tolerant of Roundup, the idea being that the chemical would kill everything in a field but the desired crop, thereby freeing farmers from using additional herbicides and leading to an overall decrease in the use of chemicals. But if superweeds gain a foothold, farmers will again need other herbicides. "Companies like Monsanto have spun GM crops and their weed killers as having less impact on the environment, but the fact of resistant weeds undoubtedly means more weed killers, and means the impact on the environment will be greater," said Pete Riley of Friends of the Earth. "These discoveries remove a central plank from the whole argument for GM crops."

More Than a Year of Living Dangerously

Indonesian citizens, particularly children, are suffering from a rise in industrial pollution that has accompanied the nation's rapid economic growth, according to a World Bank report released today. More than 6 million vehicles were added to Indonesia's streets between 1995 and 2000, and many of them use leaded gasoline. Lead in the environment puts an estimated one-third of Indonesia's kids at risk for brain and intestinal damage. Annual forest fires, set deliberately to clear land for agriculture, cause dangerous haze that spreads beyond Indonesia to neighboring nations. Air pollution in general takes an annual toll of at least $400 million on the nation's economy, largely in health costs, with respiratory-tract inflammation the sixth leading cause of death in the country. Solid waste disposal has also become a major problem in Indonesia, and substandard sewage systems are leading to pervasive pollution of surface and groundwater.

White House Whitewash

In a first-of-its-kind environmental survey released today, the U.S. EPA said that the nation's air, water, and land are cleaner and better protected than they were 30 years ago, though sprawl and air quality, among other problems, continue to pose challenges for the nation. But the survey's credibility was compromised by reports last week that the White House heavily edited the document, deleting information that pointed to climate change as a significant problem. The report also makes no mention of potential harm to humans and wildlife from pesticides and industrial chemicals, and it contains little data on environmental health risks that are especially threatening to children. Environmentalists, unsurprisingly, were skeptical of the report. "None of the improvements catalogued here reflect actions taken by this administration," said Greg Wetstone of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The report can be the baseline we use to measure the dramatic increases in air and water pollution, global warming, and ozone depletion as a result of the Bush policies."