Friday, 09 Apr 2004

Hello, Nu Man

China's Prime Minister Unexpectedly Suspends Dam Project

Well, knock us over with a feather. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has just suspended -- pending further study and review -- the massive hydroelectric dam system planned for the Nu River, which runs through an unspoiled, richly biodiverse area in western China dubbed a World Heritage Site by the U.N. The dam was opposed by China's nascent environmental movement, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Environmental Protection Agency, but few observers held out much hope that the project could be stopped. Wen's move seemed to signal a new concern for environmental protection on the part of the Communist government. In a written order, Wen said, "We should carefully consider and make a scientific decision about major hydroelectric projects like this that have aroused a high level of concern in society, and with which the environmental protection side disagrees." Chinese enviros and scientists were shocked and pleased. Said professor and dam opponent He Daming, "I don't think I've ever heard of anything like this ever happening before."

Extreme Prejudice

Bush Campaign Manager Accuses Kerry of "Environmental Extremism"

Speaking before a crowd in Michigan, Marc Racicot, chair of President Bush's reelection campaign, characterized Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry as "incredibly environmentally green" and an environmental extremist; it was unclear whether he saw any distinction between the two. Racicot criticized Kerry's support for a plan to raise the average fuel efficiency of America's car and light-truck fleet to 36 miles per gallon by 2015. Claiming the plan would cost the nation 450,000 jobs and Michigan alone 105,000 jobs, Racicot said, "Environmental extremism is not something that the people of Michigan are going to support." Kerry spokesperson Bill Burton dismissed the criticism and pointed out that the state has lost 300,000 jobs since Bush became president. Michigan, home of the Big Three automakers and thousands of autoworkers, is a crucial swing state whose electoral votes went to Al Gore in 2000.

White Heat

InterActivist Fights Back Against Ranching Myths

Courtney White, head of the Quivira Coalition and this week's InterActivist, tackles reader questions with brio. Read along as he describes what a sustainable ranch looks like, takes on the "native vs. non-native species" question, posits that ranches are preferable to subdivisions, and argues that we should all unite to bash the feedlot system. Find out if White slaughters any of your sacred cows -- in InterActivist, today on the Grist Magazine website.

News Flash: Pesticides Are Bad for Kids

Pesticide Use Impairs Abilities of Children in India

According to a study just released by Greenpeace, children from villages in the cotton-cultivating northern states of India, who are exposed to high levels of pesticides, suffer from poor memory and impaired analytical and motor skills. A control group of children not exposed to pesticides performed 80 percent better on a series of tests than the exposed kids. Farmers in northern India make heavy use of pesticides, sometimes several different kinds, spraying up to 30 times a day. Greenpeace called on farmers to move to organic cultivation, and called on global pesticide manufacturers to stop dumping products in India they wouldn't sell in Europe or the U.S. In other bummer kid news, UNICEF reports that water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases (and here we pause to shudder) kill some 2 million children each year, or about 5,000 a day.

Might and Maine

Maine Pushes Ahead With Pair of Pioneering Green Laws

Maine -- known, we found out via Google just moments ago, as the Pine Tree State -- is leading the state pack with a couple of eco-friendly laws. A bill approved this week by the state legislature will make Maine the first state to ban the sale of products containing the brominated flame retardant known as deca by Jan. 1, 2008. Deca is the most commonly used of the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), several of which have been found in elevated levels in the breast milk of women in the U.S. and Europe. (Maine also banned two other PBDEs, penta and octa, but they got scooped by California -- the Golden State -- on that one.) Also soon to become law in Maine is a bill regulating the discharge of so-called "gray water" -- dirty water from sewage systems, showers, sinks, laundries, and such -- from cruise ships off the state coast. Maine is the second state in the nation to take on the cruise ship industry this way, narrowly edged out by Alaska -- the Last Frontier State. Yup: It's a slow news day.