Wednesday, 22 Oct 2003

The Color of Money

Enviros Raise Dollars, and Dazzle, for the 2004 Presidential Elections

With the environment on the line in the 2004 presidential elections and the fundraising race well underway, greens are starting to get serious about greenbacks. Take Environment2004, a Democrat-backed media campaign designed to publicly shred the Bush administration's credibility on the environment (such as it is). High-profile environmental personalities are hitting up high rollers for dough, and feeling pretty good about their prospects. Get the bottom line on green fundraising in this week's Muckraker -- plus the skinny on the "Fire Griles" campaign and the end of "innocent until proven guilty" for Greenpeace -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

The Whole Shebang

Fix Whole Ecosystem, Not Bits and Pieces, Klamath Water Report Says

Both environmentalists and farmers were vindicated by a report released yesterday by the National Research Council on the contested waters of Oregon's Klamath Basin. The report, the final and most comprehensive one in an ongoing battle over the region's water sources, recommended sweeping repairs to a damaged landscape, including removing dams that inhibit fish migration, restoring wetlands, and returning water to rivers and lakes. "If there's one central theme, it's that the failures of the past are the result of not taking an ecosystem approach," said Jeffrey Mount, a professor at the University of California at Davis who helped write the report. That was welcome news to farmers, whose irrigation practices were not found by the council to be the major cause of declining water levels and dying salmon. Enviros were also largely pleased with the report, although they feared that insufficient water would be reserved for salmon runs until its recommendations were fully implemented.

Coal-hearted

New Stats On Energy Use in China Alarm Environmentalists

The most populous country on the planet may also pose the biggest threat to the global climate, according to recently released statistics about coal production and consumption in China. Until a few months ago, many energy experts hoped that the nation would have a relatively limited impact on climate change, because its state-owned companies were thought to be increasingly efficient and coal use appeared to be declining steeply. But with the release of the official government figures, cause for optimism has disappeared: Coal use in China is growing faster than almost anywhere in the world, and the International Energy Agency predicts that China's increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2030 will almost equal the increase in emissions in the entire industrialized world. At the same time, sales of cars -- another major factor in greenhouse emissions -- are also growing explosively in China, and home energy use due to televisions, air-conditioning, and other electronics and appliances is also on the rise.

Mouthing at the Foam

Rebel Foam Manufacturer Faces Difficulties in Greening His Industry

Bobby Bush is no relation to the current president, and when it comes to environmental practices, you can tell. Bush is vice president of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co., the largest maker of foam used in furniture. Now, he wants the company to become the first in the U.S. to eliminate brominated flame retardants, which are showing up in breast milk and may be disrupting the cognitive development of babies. Polyurethane foam has long been the most popular material for upholstered furniture. Trouble is, it burns quickly, so companies add brominated flame retardants, to the tune of 20 million pounds per year. Now Bush wants to follow the example set by Swedish furniture maker Ikea and phase out the dangerous retardant. That's proving difficult, because there's no ready substitute that the U.S. market is willing to buy. Still, he's determined to tough it out: "Sticking your head in the sand is not an acceptable response, in my book," he said.

Arctic Circle of Friends

Rebel Foam Manufacturer Faces Difficulties in Greening His Industry

A new international project to clean up the Russian Arctic was unveiled in London today, and enviros say it's about time. Although the entire Arctic suffers from contamination by poisonous heavy metals, radioactive leaks, and industrial chemicals, the Russian portion of the region is worse off than any other. The $30 million project will clean up abandoned military bases, investigate the feasibility of using algae to mop up oil spills, and seek ways to unite environmental protection and economic benefits for indigenous peoples. The Arctic environment is especially at risk from damage caused by pollutants, because the extreme climate prevents the breakdown of toxics.