Tuesday, 23 Sep 2003

Kerry's Jubilee

Democratic Presidential Hopeful John Kerry Chats With

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has a 96 percent approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters, a spouse who is a powerful environmental philanthropist, and a long track record of fighting for everything from protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to higher fuel-efficiency standards to dolphin-safe tuna. But does he have what it takes to become president -- and an eco-exemplary president, at that? He thinks so, as he enthusiastically told Grist during an interview. Kerry's plan to green the country revolves around an aggressive push for renewable energy, incentives to get businesses on the right track, and, above all, optimistic solutions instead of doomsday predictions. Still, he's not ready to give up that Harley. Get the inside story on Kerry's environmental agenda -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Wheelie Great

Car-Free Day Helps Clear the Air in Europe

Citizens in more than 1,000 cities around the world were treated to cleaner air and less congested streets yesterday on the sixth annual car-free day. The event was particularly popular in Europe, where air pollution has had a higher profile since August, when poor air quality accompanied scorching hot temperatures, perhaps contributing to heat-related deaths. In participating cities, the streets were taken over by pedestrians, rollerbladers, and cyclists, and mass transit fees were lowered or dropped altogether. In Paris, police blocked most vehicles from the city center. In Britain, light-hearted phrasebooks were passed out to help car addicts adapt to using the bus, introducing them to helpful sayings such as "Is that seat free?" and "Is this the correct bus stop for ... ?" But not everyone warmed to the car-free idea. The mayor of Oporto, Portugal, refused to block auto traffic from his city's downtown area. "I'm not going to turn people's lives into hell," he said.

Babes Up in Arms

Study Finds Troubling Levels of Flame Retardants in Breast Milk

Fire-retardant chemicals used in household items from furniture to computers to coffee makers have been detected in American women's breast milk at worrying levels, according to the first national study of the issue. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which have been linked to developmental difficulties and a number of other troubling health problems in test animals, are being phased out in Europe, but the U.S. EPA has made no moves to curb their use. A new study released today by the Environmental Working Group urges mothers to continue breast-feeding their babies but warns that production and use of PBDEs should be stopped. "It's indicative of the broken system of chemical regulation in the country," said EWG's Bill Walker, editor of the report. "We release these chemicals into the environment and 20 or 30 years later we see the effects."

The Ice, Man, Cometh

Arctic's Biggest Ice Shelf Breaks Apart, Signaling Increased Warming

A 3,000-year-old ice shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere, has broken into pieces over the past two years, highlighting significant warming trends, according to new research published in Geophysical Research Letters. Scientists said they couldn't determine whether the melting was related to increased greenhouse-gas levels caused by human activity, but they said the disintegration of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf was just one of many signs of huge climate shifts in the far northern reaches of the globe. "We believe that these events fit into a bigger picture of climate [warming] in the Arctic," said Martin Jeffries of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, an author of the study. The ice shelf was the last big piece of a much more extensive shelf that once bordered the northern coast of Canada's Ellesmere Island, the northernmost landmass in North America; that shelf has shrunk by more than 90 percent over the past 100 years.

Do Good

Enviros Call for Citizen Action to Oppose Leavitt's Nomination to EPA

Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), President Bush's nominee to head the U.S. EPA, is facing tough questions today from members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. And he's stirring up lots of controversy outside Senate chambers, too. Pointing to Leavitt's mixed record on the environment and his history of collecting hefty campaign contributions from polluting industries, many conservation groups say he has no business at the helm of the nation's environmental watchdog agency. A coalition of groups has created a "Love It or Leavitt" website opposing his nomination, featuring an interactive game as well as a serious feature that makes it easy for people to send a message to their senators opposing Leavitt's nomination. If you don't like Mike, check it out.

West Side Story

West Coast Governors Step Up to Tackle Climate Change

Accusing the Bush administration of "foot-dragging" in the fight against climate change, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington teamed up yesterday to unveil a joint strategy for cutting emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Governors Gray Davis (Calif.), Ted Kulongoski (Ore.), and Gary Locke (Wash.), Democrats all, said they would coordinate efforts to develop renewable energy sources, reduce emissions from ships and trucks, buy fuel-efficient vehicles, develop uniform efficiency standards, and create standardized methods for tracking emissions. "My message today is if Washington, D.C., will not lead, then the West Coast of the United States will lead on global warming," said Davis. Environmentalists were enthusiastic about the effort, though the governors' plans lacked specifics and no new legislation or executive orders were announced.