Tuesday, 06 Apr 2004

D'oh! Rey: Me?

USDA Drags Feet on Releasing Info About Forest Policymaking

Two environmental groups were curious about just how the U.S. Forest Service developed its recent proposal for making sweeping changes to forest-management policy -- changes that read like a timber industry wish list. The office of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees the USFS, refused to reveal who administration officials met with while drawing up the proposal, or when, or why, so Defenders of Wildlife and the Endangered Species Coalition sued the agency under the Freedom of Information Act. (If all this sounds vaguely familiar, the words you're looking for are "Cheney" and "energy task force.") In response to the lawsuit, Rey told the court he had no records at all of meetings with industry groups -- no emails, notes, memos, calendar records -- nuthin'. Read about the D.C. District Court's response to what looks to some like a remarkable case of amnesia -- in Muckraker, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Seas the Day

Enviros Push California to Buy Ocean Areas and Fishing Boats

Environmental groups, buoyed by their success in channeling government money to buy large swaths of California coast to protect it from development, have set their sights on the Pacific Ocean. They hope to secure funding to buy boats, fishing permits, and even plots of ocean floor off the California coast in an effort to mitigate the destructive effects on the ocean of overpopulation, pollution, and overfishing. What the groups -- including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oceans Conservancy -- are after is money set aside by the state's Proposition 50, a $3.44 billion bond measure passed in 2002 to protect California's coastlines and wetlands. The groups hope to expand the measure's bailiwick to include tracts of ocean off the coast. To succeed, their proposal to expand the bond measure's scope would have to pass the Senate and Assembly by June and be approved by California voters in November. The measure is opposed by oil companies and commercial and recreational fishers. Ron Aliotti, owner of a 34-foot fishing boat, said angrily, "They want to keep it all pristine, just like God made it."

Liquid Launch

Liquefied Natural Gas Boom Sparks Safety Worries

The surging popularity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has local communities where LNG terminals are planned worried about safety. Ships carrying five LNG tanks contain as much energy as a nuclear weapon. If even one of the tanks spilled and the gas ignited, it could cause a fire up to half a mile wide, and the resulting thermal radiation could burn people up to half a mile beyond the fire, say some researchers. Currently there are only four LNG terminals in the U.S., but more than 30 are under consideration, many in densely populated areas. The Bush administration, which is backing expanded use of LNG, points to the fuel's clean safety record -- there have been no dangerous incidents involving LNG in the U.S., though a January explosion at an LNG terminal in Algeria killed 22. In response to local attempts to block construction of new terminals, the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are attempting to assert sole authority over approvals for new LNG facilities.

Control-Alt-Recycle

How to Compute with a Clear Conscience

The personal computer you're using right now likely contains lead, brominated fire retardants, polyvinyl chloride, and the heavy metals cadmium, chromium, and mercury. These nasties threaten the workers who manufacture PCs as well as the groundwater in areas where they are landfilled -- and some 12 million are landfilled annually in the U.S. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and other environmental groups have joined forces on the Computer TakeBack Campaign, compiling report cards that rank computer manufacturers on environmental practices and creating guidelines for eco-friendly purchasing, use, and disposal. The Green Guide has pulled together some of the most helpful tips in Earthly Possessions -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Molybdenum? I Barely Know 'em!

Feds Sell Colorado Land to Mining Firm at Rock-Bottom Price

Citing a provision in the federal Mining Act of 1872, the Bush administration has sold 155 acres of federal land near the resort community of Crested Butte, Colo., to a multinational mining company for $875. "For less than $1,000, Phelps Dodge has acquired 150 acres of federal property next to a resort town where a tenth-of-an-acre lot is selling for $100,000," said Crested Butte Mayor Jim Schmidt. The Mining Act requires the federal government to sell mining patents -- which function, effectively, as a deed to the land -- at $5 per acre, provided the mining company shows that the mine will be a viable business. Crested Butte officials and environmentalists, who have been fighting against the prospect of a mine on neighboring Mount Emmons for more than 30 years, say Phelps Dodge has itself acknowledged it is unlikely, under current market conditions, that a molybdenum mine on Emmons would make economic sense. They say the company simply wants the rights to the land, should market conditions change. There is currently a nationwide moratorium on mining patents, but federal courts ruled that the Emmons patent, proposed in 1992, could be grandfathered in.