Thursday, 04 Dec 2003

Putin: His Foot in His Mouth?

Russia Might Ratify Kyoto Protocol, After All

Mark Twain once famously commented that rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. Much the same could be said of the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change, which was pronounced dead by gun-jumping news sources (Grist among them, we regret to say) when Andrei Illarionov, chief economic advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, predicted that his country would not ratify it. Yesterday, however, the Russian government said it was still "moving toward ratification," providing worried environmentalists with a measure of hope. The treaty cannot go into effect without the support of 55 countries that account for 55 percent of the developed world's 1990 carbon dioxide emissions -- an equation that, in the absence of U.S. support, requires Russian participation. But according to a news analysis in The New York Times, the treaty has the potential to permanently alter international energy policy whether or not it's implemented.

Jumping for Joy

Famed Frog Rediscovered After Years of Presumed Local Extinction

Speaking of Mark Twain, the amphibian he made famous in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" has been discovered in the eponymous California region, 34 years after it was thought to have disappeared. A few of the threatened frogs were found by the 6- and 10-year-old children of a local cattle rancher, who were playing around water holes on their property in western Calaveras County. Biologists verified the species, last seen in 1969, and are seeking funding to develop a captive-breeding program to protect and expand the estimated current population of 10 to 20 individuals. The frogs have been hit hard over the years by habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and increased ultraviolet radiation due to ozone depletion. The mother of the two children who discovered the frogs said the creatures had "warmed the hearts of our whole family."

Through Sick and Thin

"Healthy Forests" Becomes Law While Endangered Species Rules Are Relaxed

President Bush signed his "Healthy Forests" initiative into law yesterday, a move that, never mind the name, left many environmentalists feeling sick. The Bush administration says the law will prevent fires by increasing the amount of logging permissible in forests, especially near populated areas, but enviros say the measure amounts to a holiday gift for the timber industry. The president further undermined his credibility among environmentalists by simultaneously adopting a rule that would remove protections for endangered species to speed forest-thinning projects. The federal Endangered Species Act requires all federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service before proceeding with thinning projects -- but the new rule would allow federal biologists to unilaterally decide that no endangered species would be affected by a proposed project.

News Flash: Air Pollution Bad for You

Exposure to Air Pollution Increases Risk of Developing Lung Cancer

Air pollution has long been associated with respiratory ailments such as asthma. Now, it seems that poor air quality may also increase the risk of developing lung cancer. A team of Norwegian experts studied more than 16,000 men over nearly 30 years and found that those who lived in areas with worse air pollution were more likely to be stricken with the disease. The increased probability correlated to rising levels of nitrogen dioxide, a common air pollutant; with every rise in concentration of NO2 around participants' homes over the three-decade period, there was an approximately 8 percent increase in risk. Smoking remains the single biggest risk factor, but Stephen Spiro of the British Thoracic Society echoed the general consensus when he spoke of "a small but significant link between urban air pollution and the risk of developing lung cancer."

Do Good

Step Up to Ensure You Get Clean Air to Breathe

If someone were polluting the air in your favorite local park with arsenic, lead, and DDT, would you be ticked off? What about the air in your favorite local restaurant? You probably think you understand the hazards of secondhand cigarette smoke, but you might not know that it contains a toxic soup of more than 4,000 chemicals, including arsenic, lead, and DDT, and that 69 of those chemicals are probable or known carcinogens. Protect your right to breathe clean air indoors as well as out: Tell Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson that you want eateries and other public spaces in the U.S. to be smoke-free.

Anglers Not Obtuse

Dismayed by Enviro Policies, Some Anglers and Fishers Turn Against Bush

Put President Bush in waders or camouflage and, what with his cowboy hat and rugged Western looks, he could easily grace the cover of Field & Stream. Yet the hunt-and-fish crowd, normally a loyal constituency of the Republican Party, is increasingly unhappy with the commander in chief. The president's efforts to roll back protections for clean water and open wild areas to industrial uses are drawing fire from hunters and anglers, who rely on protected areas to enjoy their chosen pastimes. Their displeasure could be a problem for the prez in '04, given that some 34 million Americans fish and 13 million hunt. In a startling example of their discontentment, hundreds of gun clubs recently signed a petition asking the Bush administration to keep Clinton-era old-growth-forest protections in place.