Monday, 28 Jul 2003

Curtain Call of the Wild

The man who cleared the way for the lifting of the Iron Curtain now wants to transform the former cold war border region into a large, multinational nature reserve. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, now president of the environmental group Green Cross International, has joined with a number of European conservation organizations in pushing for preservation of the land that once separated the Soviet bloc from the West. Forty years of cold war tensions kept the border area free of people, allowing plants and animals to thrive; it's now the longest tract of undeveloped land in central Europe, stretching from Finland in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. At a recent conference in Bonn, Germany, representatives of all the former border nations gathered to discuss the feasibility of the park plan. Germany is farthest along in making a border reserve a reality; other countries are still in the early phases of planning.

Is That Your Final Answer?

The Bush administration surprised clean-air advocates and polluting industries alike on Friday when it announced that the U.S. EPA would reconsider parts of a decision to significantly relax air-pollution rules. In December, the EPA announced "final" revisions to the Clean Air Act's New Source Review rule -- changes that would have allowed tens of thousands of utilities, refineries, and factories to expand or update their operations without having to install state-of-the-art anti-pollution equipment. Now, thanks to lawsuits filed by environmental groups and attorneys general from Northeastern states, the EPA has agreed to revisit certain aspects of its rule changes as well as hold a public hearing and open up a 30-day public comment period. "I think the significance of this announcement is that the Justice Department looked at the case and realized they were very likely to lose in court because the rule changes are flatly illegal," said Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust.

Reservoir Dogged

Four elderly Pehuenche Indian women have thrown a big wrench into plans for a $570 million hydroelectric dam in southern Chile. Arguing that the hydro project would flood sacred land and destroy their traditional way of life, the four have refused to sell 103 acres they own along the Bio Bio River, land that would be submerged if the dam were finished. The Chilean government and the Endesa power company insist that the hydro project, which is 90 percent complete, is needed to meet Chile's energy needs and stimulate economic growth, but Indians and environmentalists have battled the project in court, saying it would destroy old-growth forests and habitat for endangered species as well as Pehuenche communities and ceremonial grounds. The four indigenous women and their lawyers vow they'll fight to the bitter end. "I'll only leave here when I'm dead," said 78-year-old Berta Quintreman. They've turned down offers of more than $1 million for their land.

Coming Soon: Organic Cheez Whiz

Mainstream food producers are diving into the organic market, which accounts for less than 2 percent of U.S. food sales but has been expanding by more than 20 percent per year. Salivating at this impressive growth rate, many large companies are gobbling up smaller organic producers. In just the latest example, Dean Foods Co., the largest milk producer in the U.S., earlier this month bought up Horizon Organic, one the biggest organic food producers in the nation. Horizon has met with impressive success by targeting its products toward parents with young kids, who tend to be particularly concerned about health. This fall, the company will introduce the first organic baby formula. Horizon is also in the midst of a major deal that would put its products into Costco stores across the nation. As more retail outlets stock organic products, industry experts predict that organic prices will start dropping.

It's Not a Gas, Gas, Gas

In a rare disagreement with his oil and gas buddies, President Bush is resisting pressure to institute a tax break that would pave the way for a 3,600-mile pipeline to carry natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48 states. The administration supports construction of a "commercially viable" pipeline, according to a position paper sent to Congress by the White House budget office, but believes "market forces should select the route and timing of the project." Many senators on both sides of the aisle disagree, and as early as this week the Senate could approve tax breaks worth an estimated $800 million a year and other measures intended to speed the pipeline's construction, as part of a big energy bill working it way through Congress. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), in a letter to Bush, said that if the tax credits aren't approved, it could mean "higher natural-gas prices and the loss of American jobs." A number of environmental groups have said they wouldn't oppose the gas pipeline as long as it follows the same course as an existing oil pipeline and is subject to environmental reviews.