Tuesday, 13 Apr 2004

Keep on Truckin'

Taxpayers Could Get Stuck with Tab for New Diesel Rules

When President Bush revived a Clinton plan to slash emissions from diesel trucks -- a plan the Bush administration itself had suspended -- he proclaimed it a great environmental victory. Now, though, there are signs that it could be taxpayers, rather than trucking companies, that end up footing much of the bill for cleaner diesel engines. Read about erosion of the "polluter pays" principle in Muckraker -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Caveat Pescor

In U.S., "Organic" Label on Fish Means Very Little

The "organic" label on some salmon in supermarkets these days doesn't mean much. The National Organics Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the official organic seal on produce and other foods, has not developed standards for fish. "We may someday address aquatic species. It just hasn't happened," says a USDA spokesperson. This means fish producers and supermarkets label fish based on their own standards -- and the "organic" salmon they're selling is, in fact, farm-raised. While it differs from standard farmed salmon in some ways, there's no evidence that it contains lower levels of contaminants. Some stores refuse to use the label at all, pending official standards. The Whole Foods natural foods chain, for example, declared in a press release, "we believe that to represent such product as organic to our customers would undermine the integrity of the organic label." In Europe, official standards for organic fish have been in place for five years; some stateside stores have begun importing it to offer customers a genuine organic alternative.

Back to the Salt Mines

Desalination Plants Cause Controversy on U.S. Coasts

With water sources increasingly under pressure -- running low, contaminated, or too costly to transport -- some cities on the U.S. coasts are turning to desalination plants to provide their drinking water, eliciting protests from some enviros and consumer advocates. New filtering technology has made the once-prohibitive costs of desalination more reasonable, and while there are fewer than 100 desalination plants currently in the U.S., more and bigger facilities are planned, especially for southern California. Objections to the plants fall into two categories. Consumer advocates -- still ticked off about the California energy-deregulation fiasco -- question whether so vital a public resource should be put into private hands. Enviros, for their part, point out that the intake pipes for such plants frequently pose a danger to fragile aquatic ecosystems, and that a cheap source of water might discourage conservation and encourage unsustainable population growth in areas that many say were never meant for human habitation in the first place.

Bloody Mediocre

New Report Critiques U.K. Environmental Performance

Efforts by the U.K. government to address environmental problems show promise, but it must try harder, says a new report entitled, um, "Shows Promise: But Must Try Harder" issued by the government's Sustainable Development Commission. The commission was established by Prime Minister Tony Blair five years ago to assess the nation's environmental progress and is headed by renowned U.K. enviro Sir Jonathon Porritt. The report conceded that "in comparison to most governments around the world, the U.K. government is doing a lot ... and there's clearly genuine intent to do more," and gave Blair's administration high marks for progress on water and air quality. However, it took the government to task for its piecemeal efforts to address global warming and lamented the "dreadful" state of U.K. traffic congestion. The broad theme of the report was that the U.K. government is "adrift" on environmental policy, and that it must embrace a fundamental shift away from economic growth at any price, away from consumption as a road to happiness, and toward "sustainable growth."

What Are We Gonna Do, Walk?

Rising Gas Prices Don't Keep Americans Out of Their Cars

Enviros hoping that rising gas prices would change Americans' driving behavior have been bitterly disappointed. Although gas prices have reached a national average of $1.80 per gallon, American drivers are buying more gas than ever, and big, gas-guzzling SUVs are flying off showroom floors like never before. Explanations for this phenomenon vary. For one thing, gas prices are not nearly as high, in relative* terms, as they were during the energy crisis of the late 1970s, when demand for fuel-efficient cars and public transportation spiked. For another, the U.S. economy as a whole continues to grow. Experts differ on what price level would cause enough pain to change behavior. Some speculate that the $2 per gallon mark would do it, but gas has exceeded that level in California without denting driving habits. Others say $3 per gallon -- which could be reached as soon as Memorial Day -- might be the magic number. Still others speculate that even when the world is reduced to a post-apocalyptic hellscape, Americans traveling in lawless gangs will still prize their cars above all else. Wasn't there a movie about that?


*[Correction, 13 Apr 2004: Originally, this article stated that gas prices were not as high, absolutely, as they were during the 1970s energy crisis. In fact, they are not as high in relative terms.]