Friday, 22 Aug 2003

No Palco of Mine

Controversial Logging Company Tries to Green Its Image

Pacific Lumber, one of the most reviled logging companies in the U.S., is trying to give itself a green makeover. The Northern California logging giant, recently renamed Palco, has a new logo featuring a recycling symbol shaped like a tree, a new mission statement in which it commits to being "a leader in environmental stewardship," and new newspaper ads featuring workers planting trees. The company earned the ire of environmentalists over the past 15 years by threatening to cut down ancient redwoods in the famous Headwaters Forest and clashing with tree-sitting protestors, among other actions. Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos sued the company earlier this year, accusing it of intentionally filing fraudulent logging reports, triggering landslides, and harming streams. "If Palco's green, I'm Princess Diana," said Kathy Bailey, a Sierra Club activist. "This company continues to be among the worst, most predatory timber companies in the state."

Air Devils

Draft Air Rule Could Be a Gift to Polluting Industries

Thousands of old, highly polluting power plants and other industrial facilities could get a free pass under a draft air-pollution rule that the Bush administration is expected to put in place before the end of the month. The rule, which represents a big win for oil, coal, and electric companies, would allow old plants to make significant upgrades without having to install new anti-pollution equipment. The result: Polluters would save millions or even billions of dollars while continuing to pump out hundreds of thousands of tons of air contaminants. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a leading clean-air crusader, threatened to file suit against the new rule as soon as it was issued. "This makes it patently clear that the Bush administration has meant all along to repeal the Clean Air Act by administrative fiat," Spitzer said.

There's No Business Like Snow-leopard Business

Brad Rutherford Gets Creative at the International Snow Leopard Trust

What do chocolate bars, woolen mittens, and The Wizard of Oz have to do with snow leopard conservation? Brad Rutherford, executive director of the International Snow Leopard Trust, is glad you asked. As this week's Grist diarist, he explores a number of unusual fundraising and conservation ventures involving a candy company, discounted theater tickets, Mongolian herders, knit products, and more. It's all for the good of the highly endangered snow leopards of Central Asia, whose numbers have dwindled to between 3,500 and 7,000 in the wild. Read all about creative approaches to saving this rare, big cat -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

At a Loss for Birds

FCC to Investigate Why Millions of Birds Fly into Cell-Phone Towers

The Federal Communications Commission is launching an investigation into the reasons why high numbers of birds are killed by flying into cell-phone and broadcast towers in the U.S. Each year, an estimated 5 million to 50 million birds die this way, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Researchers suspect that lights on communications towers somehow attract the birds. The inquiry is part of an FCC plan announced in May to study how the rapid spread of cell-phone and other towers affects the environment, historic sites, and Native American lands, and how those towers might be better designed.

Sittin' by the Schlock of the Bay

Troubled Chesapeake Bay Needs New Protections, Says Enviro Group

A long-running voluntary effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay has been a big flop -- that's the basic assessment announced yesterday by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group. "All the scientific data suggests that the bay is not improving," said foundation President William C. Baker. The group called for creation of a new governing body with the power to make and enforce rules and levy taxes in six states, including Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in order to pay for cleanup. One of the most vexing problems plaguing the bay is nitrogen runoff, which comes from livestock operations and wastewater-treatment plants. Due largely to nitrogen pollution, 40 percent of the bay is oxygen-starved this summer, meaning that fish and plants have a hard time surviving; this is the highest percentage of "dead water" in the bay since the foundation began keeping stats 20 years ago.