Monday, 03 Nov 2003

Driving a Hard Bargain

Mileage-Based Auto Insurance Could Be a Boon for the Environment

Most enviros don't spend much time thinking about car insurance -- come to think of it, most other folks don't either -- but the environment might be better off if they did. By shifting to a mileage-based auto-insurance system, people who drive less would save money on premiums and everyone would have an incentive to leave the car home more often. Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in British Columbia estimates that so-called pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurance plans would reduce driving by about 10 percent. Such plans are being pilot tested or offered in a handful of U.S. states and Britain. Oregon recently passed a bill that gives insurance companies incentives to offer PAYD policies; leaders and activists in the state expect that such policies would lead to drops in congestion, auto accidents, and pollution. Get the word on this burgeoning insurance shift, from Elisa Murray on the Grist Magazine website.

Hollow Weenies

EPA Won't Restrict Use of Potentially Harmful Weed Killer

Talk about scary stuff: On Oct. 31, as people across the U.S. were getting ready to don costumes and pass out Halloween candy, the Bush administration announced that it would not impose new restrictions on the commonly used herbicide atrazine, which has been associated with low sperm counts and prostate cancer in men and sex-organ deformities in frogs. The European Union recently decided to ban atrazine, but the U.S. EPA said on Friday that it saw no grounds for restricting the chemical's use. The agency did announce a new plan for testing a handful of waterways for atrazine, but that testing will be done by the primary manufacturer of the chemical, Syngenta, a large agribusiness company. "Instead of requiring a polluter to stop polluting, EPA is cutting a deal with the corporation to let them off the hook," said Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

What a Drag

Coral Gardens in Alaskan Waters Spur Controversy Over Trawling

If you think coral is only to be found in warm, tropical waters, think again. Cold-water coral gardens contain a surprising array of biodiversity, and scientists discovered a particularly impressive coral bed in waters off Alaska's Aleutian Islands last year, containing numerous coral varieties not seen before. That finding is now spurring controversy over commercial fishing practices in the region, particularly the use of nets weighted down with chains that scrape the sea bottom, scooping up loads of sea creatures and sometimes loads of coral too. Enviros are comparing such trawling to the clear-cutting of old-growth forests. "It's a Neanderthal approach to fishing," said Jim Ayers of the environmental group Oceana, who previously served as chief of staff to former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles (D). "I think we have the brains and technology to catch fish without destroying habitat." State and federal officials are considering proposals to put some of Alaska's waters off-limits to trawling.

Country Bird, City Bird

Audubon Society's New Strategy Targets Urbanites and Minorities

The National Audubon Society, long respected as a defender of birds and their habitat, is adopting a new strategy aimed at ensuring its own health and survival: The 98-year-old conservation group plans to build 1,000 urban nature centers in cities around the U.S. by 2020, an effort aimed at engaging city dwellers and minority populations. The group's membership is now dominated by older white people, but its leadership wants to help a broader range of folks appreciate the nature that's in their backyards. Audubon opened its first urban facility last year in Brooklyn; a Halloween crow-counting event at the center last week was expected to attract up to 5,000 visitors. The group's second urban center will open its doors this week in Los Angeles, in a little-known park along the Pasadena Freeway that is home to 136 avian species. "We can't succeed in protecting distant wild places if we do not have urban constituencies that care," said Audubon President John Flicker.

Every Which Way but Loose

Bush Administration Plans to Ease Sewage-Treatment Rules

More disease-carrying microbes from doo-doo could contaminate U.S. waterways, lakes, and coastlines if the Bush administration proceeds with plans to loosen sewage-treatment requirements. This week, the U.S. EPA intends to unveil a proposed rule change that would let many communities skip a sewage-treatment step after storms cause an increased flow of wastewater; the public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal. Many local sewage-treatment plants don't have the capacity to handle storm-water surges and it would cost billions to make upgrades at these facilities. But the looser rules would lead to more viruses and parasites in water, says Nancy Stoner of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a group that's pushing for the federal government to help communities boost capacity at the nation's sewage plants.