Friday, 17 Oct 2003

Gadfly in the Ointment

Enviros Berate Bush Apologist for Inaccurate L.A. Times Op-ed

"Baloney -- baloney being rolled and deep-fried with cheese for purposes of partisan political bashing and fund-raising." That's how professional gadfly Gregg Easterbrook characterized criticism of Bush's environmental record in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times this week. Easterbrook has made a name for himself by arguing that environmentalists are Chicken Littles and the planet's health is peachy keen, but critics, including former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, say Easterbrook's facts are all out of whack. Get the whole story in our Muckraker column, plus the skinny on a potentially illegal EPA propaganda campaign that aims to sell Bush's Clear Skies initiative to the Hispanic community -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Calf-kaesque

Melting of South American Glaciers Leads to Sea-Level Rise

Glaciers in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina and Chile are melting so fast that they are leading to a tiny but notable rise in sea level, U.S. scientists report in the latest issue of the journal Science. The glaciers are melting twice as quickly as they were in 1975, an increase that the researchers attribute to global warming. Between 1995 and 2000, enough ice melted from the Patagonian glaciers to boost sea levels by 0.1 millimeters per year -- okay, not enough to drown anyone's beach home, but, combined with increasing melt from other glaciers around the world, nothing to sneeze at, either. Patagonia's so-called "calving" glaciers are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures. "Calving glaciers are more sensitive to climate change once pushed out of equilibrium, and make this region the fastest area of glacial retreat on Earth," said lead researcher Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Swing, Voter Voter Voter

Former Clinton Officials Gear Up to Fight Bush on Environment

A group of prominent ex-Clintonites -- including former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and former EPA Administrator Carol Browner -- are teaming up with enviros to raise money for a campaign that will bash Bush's environmental record in swing states. The Environment 2004 effort (clever name, eh?) will buy ads, schedule speakers, and conduct voter education in a handful of states where the 2004 presidential race is expected to be darn close: Florida, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Oregon, for starters. The group has amassed only $500,000 in donations and pledges so far, but it intends to reach the $5 million mark. Browner acknowledged that the environment is not a top concern for all voters, but, she said, "There are certain voters -- especially among women and swing voters -- that this issue is an important issue, and it can certainly frame their opinion about the election." For a whole lot more on elections and the environment, check out "Electoral Collage," Grist's latest special edition.

The Bees' Knees Are Knocking

Major British Study Pans GM Crops as Harmful to Wildlife

Bad news just keeps on coming for British backers of genetically modified foods, a group whose most high-profile member is Prime Minister Tony Blair. The latest: A three-year government investigation billed as the world's largest study of the environmental effects of GM crops has found that birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife in farm areas are harmed much more by the strong herbicides used with GM crops than by the weedkillers used in conventional farming. This could throw a wrench into British government plans to authorize the planting of GM crops in the country, and it's likely to bolster support for a Europe-wide GM ban. Also this week, biotech giant Monsanto, with its proverbial tail between its legs, announced that it is shutting down many of its European operations and laying off two-thirds of its employees in Britain.

Air Bawl

States Tighten Air Rules in the Wake of Federal Loosening

A number of states and cities are thumbing their noses at the Bush administration's moves to weaken air-pollution rules by imposing their own stricter regulations. Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and other states, as well as a few cities, announced yesterday that they are making or seriously considering plans to retain requirements that old industrial plants install state-of-the-art emissions-control technology before increasing production, though the federal government axed such requirements on a national level in August. Outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has already signed a bill that will keep stricter standards in place in his state. "We don't like your rule, EPA. We're doing our own," said Bill Becker, executive director of the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, two groups pushing this effort.