Tuesday, 09 Dec 2003

Billions and Billions Observed

World Population to Level Off at About 9 Billion, Says U.N.

Population growth is expected to slow dramatically over the coming decades, but the number of people on the planet is still likely to reach 8.9 billion by 2050, up from 6.3 billion today, according to a new U.N. report released yesterday. Granted, that's not the sort of runaway growth experienced during the 20th century, when the world's population nearly quadrupled, but that's still 2.6 billion new people on what many feel is an already cramped planet. By 2300, the population level is expected to stabilize at 9 billion. That's notably smaller than U.N. forecasts from just two years ago, when demographers predicted a population of 9.4 billion by 2050. The slowdown in growth will likely be driven by women bearing fewer children; fertility rates have dropped from about 6 children per woman in 1900 to about 2.7 children today, and they're expected to fall further. On a darker note, the AIDS epidemic is also a factor in the slower population growth.

Crime and No Punishment

Pollution Enforcement Has Dropped Dramatically Under Bush

President Bush talks tough about going after the bad guys, but it seems he's been letting one set of lawbreakers off the hook: polluters. Enforcement of environmental laws under Bush has been far weaker than it was under his father and under President Clinton, according to records from the last 15 years. The number of violation notices sent to polluters each month has dropped by about 58 percent since Clinton's days, and pollution fines have dropped as well, though not as steeply. U.S. EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt says the administration tries to work with companies to fix problems instead of focusing on punishment, but current and past EPA officials and members of the first Bush administration see lower enforcement levels as a serious problem. "It's a sign that this administration is flat-out falling down on the job," said Dan Esty, who served as deputy assistant EPA administrator under the first President Bush and now directs the Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy.

His Park Is Bigger Than His Bite

Chile Dedicates New Nature Park on Land Purchased by Rich American

Some 738,000 acres of pristine rainforest in southern Chile will get official billing as a nature sanctuary today, thanks to a deal between U.S. tycoon Doug Tompkins and the Chilean government. Tompkins, cofounder of the sportswear company Esprit, paid more than $30 million for the land and spent many years trying to get it officially protected. Now that the government has agreed to do so, control of the area, dubbed Parque Pumalin, will be handed off to a seven-member Chilean directorate. Tompkins created a huge controversy when he first purchased the land, and some Chileans still bristle at the notion of a wealthy outsider buying up a sizable chunk of their country. In all, Tompkins has created 11 wilderness parks encompassing almost 2 million acres in Chile and Argentina. Most other rich foreigners operating in the region are inclined toward less noble pursuits: building resorts, drilling for oil, and mining for gold.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Nevada Appeals to Federal Court to Stymie Nuke Waste Site

Nevada is digging in its heels and promising a bitter fight to keep the nation's high-level nuclear waste from being shipped to an underground storage facility at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Last year, President Bush signed a bill designating the site as a permanent nuclear-waste repository, but next month Nevada will ask a federal appeals court to block that move. The federal government is trying to consolidate the most dangerous nuclear waste -- from nuclear power plants, Navy ships, and research reactors -- in one spot; such waste is currently stored at 77 temporary sites in 31 states. Nevadans, understandably, don't want their state to become the nuke-waste dumping ground for the rest of the nation; they argue that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable and that shipping waste in from around the country is just asking for accidents and terrorist attacks. Bush's position on the issue could affect his electoral prospects; he carried Nevada in 2000, but a recent poll in the state found only 26 percent of voters saying they were planning to vote for Bush in 2004.

Bridge Over Bottled Water

Recycled Plastic Bridge Proves Inexpensive as Well as Eco-Friendly

You may have heard of plastic bottles being recycled into fleece jackets, park benches, and, of course, more plastic bottles -- but bridges? Yep; that's one of the latest creative uses for old milk cartons, soda containers, and the like. A 56-foot-long, one-lane bridge over the Mullica River in southern New Jersey, built almost entirely of a special, super-strong plastic blend, has held up well for more than a year, and the team of Rutgers University scientists behind the project see a big potential market for small plastic bridges, though they say the technology isn't yet ready for large, heavily traveled spans, such as those that are part of the interstate highway system. The New Jersey bridge was erected for just $75,000, compared to the estimated $350,000 that a standard wooden bridge would cost. Plastic bridges are also preferable to wood ones because they don't need to be treated with chemicals to ward off insects.