Thursday, 05 Feb 2004

Do the Domenici

Senate Republicans, led by Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), are trying one more time to get the Bush administration's energy bill passed, but growing worries over the massive federal budget deficit are making it difficult. You see, Domenici and crew larded the bill up with billions of dollars worth of tax incentives and subsidies (on top of Bush's already-larded $18 billion original) in order to buy the votes needed ... oops, did we say "buy"? We meant "persuade"! With deficit worries reaching an election-year fever pitch, Domenici has promised to trim the fat, but doing so may cost him the votes of the pork's original recipients. It's a delicate dance, but hey, you do the Domenici and you turn yourself around; that's what it's all about! Follow the bouncing ball in Muckraker -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Greensylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) unveiled a $22 billion state budget yesterday with numerous eco-friendly provisions that promise to protect green space, return abandoned mine sites to productive use, improve state parks, and revitalize aging city centers, asserting that such measures would spur economic development. Enviros hailed the budget, saying it would make Pennsylvania the top state in energy and environmental policy, but Republicans in the state legislature grumbled that it sent the wrong message to business. "He's a tax-and-spend liberal," said Rep. Jerry Birmelin (R). Despite the complaint, Rendell's "Growing Greener II" initiative would be paid for not with new taxes but with $800 million in bonds, along with hikes in fees for both municipal and industrial waste disposal. Other states will watch Pennsylvania in coming years to find out whether environmentally forward-thinking policies are, as naysayers naysay, incommensurate with economic growth.

I'd Like to Buy the World a ... Juice?

Soft drinks made in India by PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. contain levels of toxic pesticides -- including lindane, DDT, malathion, and chlorpyrifos -- high enough to cause cancer or immune-system failure over time. Such was the conclusion of an Indian parliamentary report released yesterday, confirming similar findings by the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment released last summer. Tests showed that Pepsi's fizzy drinks contained 36 times the pesticide levels allowed under European Union standards, Coke's 30. Although the companies denied that their drinks are unsafe, the report is widely expected to hurt the $1.6 billion Indian market for soda and lead to more stringent public-safety regulations in the world's most populous democracy. Says CSE head Sunita Narain, "Their report is historic and reads almost like a manifesto for environmental action in the country."

Nano, Nano

A new paint set to go on sale in Europe in March promises to absorb the most noxious gases from automobile exhaust. Invented by British company Millennium Chemicals, Ecopaint contains spherical nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate, suspended in a base of polysiloxane (a silicon-based polymer). Hey, wake up, the good part is coming! The base is sufficiently porous to allow nitrogen oxides to permeate it and attach to the nanoparticles, which convert the NOx to relatively harmless nitric acid. The paint is expected to last five years in a heavily polluted city before becoming discolored. The nonoparticles are so small -- so darn nano -- that the paint is clear, which means it can be dyed any color. The first color sold will be white. We look forward to green.