Wednesday, 04 Aug 2004

Barack Star

Barack Obama's Got Green Cred

At the Democratic Convention last week, Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama shot out of nowhere to become the darling of the party. Adoring rhetoric flew thick and fast, with enviros happily joining in the chorus. Suspicious, Muckraker -- ever the grizzled, hard-headed cynic -- delved into his record, searching for the reality behind the green rhetoric. Well, the investigation is over and Muckraker has emerged ... swooning. Turns out Obama's work on behalf of the environment has been consistent, vigorous, principled, and gutsy. We feel faint. Are we blushing? Read all about the newest green hero in Muckraker -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Funds in the Sun

Landmark California Solar Initiative Sitting on Schwarzenegger's Desk

If California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signs off on the "Million Solar Homes Initiative" in its present form, some $100 million in subsidies will go toward insuring that 50 percent of all new homes in the state be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels by 2013. The landmark plan would cash out Schwarzenegger's campaign promises to protect the environment and support alternative energy. The money would be raised through a surcharge on customers of privately owned utilities; the energy produced would go to replacing that from "peaker plants," the heavily polluting generators that kick in during times of highest demand. The governor is under steady pressure from enviros to deliver on solar, but the state's building industry is ambivalent and there is pressure from inside his administration to water down or delay the plan. If passed, the plan could help solar reach the tipping point at which it would become an affordable energy alternative for average citizens.

Spare the Rod or You'll Spoil the Child

Half of All Freshwater Fish in U.S. High in Mercury

In the 21st century, it seems, having kids and eating fish do not mix. The bad fish news just keeps on coming: Yesterday, a new analysis showed that more than half of the freshwater fish in the U.S. contain levels of mercury unsafe for children or women of childbearing age. An analysis by the environmental coalition Clear the Air, based on raw data released by the U.S. EPA last year, revealed that 55 percent of fish samples from U.S. lakes and reservoirs contained mercury levels unsafe for women of average weight to eat twice a week; 76 percent of samples were unsafe for children three and under of average weight to eat twice a week. The group used a press conference yesterday to lambaste what it called the Bush administration's "too little, too late" efforts to decrease mercury emissions from power plants

Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Any More)

Mountains in Peru, Italy Falling Apart; Global Warming to Blame

Global warming is destroying some of the world's tallest and most stunning mountains. In Peru, the glaciers capping 18 peaks in the Andes are melting, and if "climatic conditions remain as they are, all the glaciers below 18,000 feet will disappear by around 2015," said Patricia Iturregui, president of Peru's National Environment Council. Already 20 percent of the 1,615 miles of glaciers running through the central and south Peruvian Andes have been lost. Not only does this threaten the tourism that sustains the country's fragile economy, but mud slides and avalanches threaten climbers and entire villages. Meanwhile, in Italy, peaks in the famed Dolomites are collapsing due to "thermoclastic" erosion, whereby water melts and seeps into fissures in the rock and then freezes and expands, cracking the rock -- a process accelerated by the freakishly fluctuating temperatures and severe storms in Italy of late.

X-Trees

Scientists Genetically Engineer Trees for Environmental Mitigation

The fledgling practice of genetically engineering trees for specific traits or purposes is starting to catch on, but despite the potential for mitigation of some environmental problems, enviros remain wary. Richard Meagher at the University of Georgia engineers trees that absorb mercury from the soil. Steven Strauss at Oregon State University designs fast-growing trees with low lignin content -- attractive alternatives for the paper and wood-pulp industries. He's also trying to make trees that will sequester carbon in their roots. All the researchers involved stress the need to design tress that will not breed or accidentally spread, but enviros aren't buying it. They worry, as with GM foods, about unintended consequences. For his part, the University of Colorado's Yan Linhart recommends "biological caution and common sense," but says, "One has to not make sweeping judgments that say this particular type of activity is all good or all bad."