Monday, 08 Dec 2003

'Tis Better to Give to Grist Than to Buy Dumb Stuff

Grist Has a (Slightly Self-Serving) Fix for Your Holiday Woes

Holiday gift giving got you down? Feeling oppressed by teeming malls, fake pine scent, and the pressure to buy, buy, buy? Put your mind at ease -- Grist can show you the way out of this madness. Instead of giving your dad another tie, and your aunt more stationery, and your cousin a gory new Xbox game, sign 'em up for the 2003 Grist Grapefruit Challenge. No, this doesn't involve shipping citrus across state lines. It simply involves donating to your favorite environmental magazine in the name of a friend or loved one who cares about Mama Earth. They'll get a warm, green, fuzzy feeling, we'll get the funding we need to hire an additional editor and keep pumping out top-notch environmental news, and you'll get to feel virtuous about your gift-giving -- all without having to go anywhere near a Wal-Mart. In fact, you don't even need to leave your desk; you can give to Grist online with just a few clicks and a little tappity tap. So what are you waiting for?

The Grazers' Edge

Bush Administration Wants to Roll Back Grazing Rules

You'd think Bush administration officials might want to spend their Friday afternoons planning happy hours or trying to sneak out of the office early, like normal people, but no: They like to spend their Friday afternoons quietly rolling back environmental protections, hoping that the news will get lost over the weekend. This past Friday was no exception: Interior Department officials proposed rule changes that enviros say would let ranchers return to overgrazing and other unsustainable grazing practices on millions of acres of federal land in the Western U.S. Among other things, the proposed rules would limit the public's ability to participate in the process of determining where and how grazing is conducted. Citizens who don't like the sound of that have 60 days to make public comments on the proposal.

Yeah, I'm the Tax, Man

British Think Tank Proposes a "Kyoto Tax" for the U.S.

With Europeans none too happy about the U.S. having ditched the Kyoto Protocol, a British think tank has come up with an idea for making the U.S. pay its fair share to deal with climate change: trade sanctions. The New Economics Foundation has proposed that the European Union tax imports from countries that refuse to cut their emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, arguing that these countries -- the U.S. being the most notable among them -- are getting an unfair competitive advantage as energy costs rise in nations that are working to curb their emissions. "There are very few signals the United States understands -- they do understand economic signals," said Andrew Simms of the foundation.

A Case of Influence-a

Enviros Say Pesticide Makers Are Illegally Influencing EPA

Northwest salmon and other endangered species could suffer because pesticide manufacturers are acting illegally to weaken rules on the use of dangerous chemicals, enviros are charging. A coalition of environmental groups, including the National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club, last week warned the U.S. EPA that they would file suit if the agency didn't act within 30 days to change the operations of an industry task force that they say has been pushing for looser rules on pesticide use near endangered species. The task force was created to provide the EPA with data on the use of pesticides near endangered species; enviros say it has overstepped its bounds and illegally assumed an advisory role, while the EPA and industry representatives deny the charges.

Fres-yes!

Fresno Launches Big Solar Project

Fresno, Calif., is aiming to put itself on the clean-energy map with a major new solar-power project that will be one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast. The Fresno City Council voted last week to spend $4.7 million to put solar panels on a number of large city building and install energy-efficient lighting, heating, and cooling systems in the facilities. The plan is to have the solar panels up and running by April, to take advantage of that famous California summer sun, and the city expects to start saving big on its electric bills immediately thereafter. "This is one of the rare occasions where you can save taxpayers' money in the long run and be pro-environment," said City Council Member Henry Perea.