Friday, 10 Sep 2004

This Exstinks

Number of Threatened Species May Be Drastically Underestimated

The number of species in danger of extinction may be some 50 percent higher than currently estimated, according to a new study in the journal Science. The International Conservation Union's Red List cites 12,200 species teetering on the brink, but researchers say at least 6,300 may be "co-endangered," meaning their survival depends on threatened host species. These parasitic species are often overlooked because they are less charismatic than their hosts (to say the least). For example, while seabirds are celebrated, the mites and lice that live on them don't get a lot of press. However, if the seabird disappears, the mites and lice go along with it. There's not always a one-to-one correspondence between host and parasite, so the "trick was in trying to determine how many other species could act as hosts and factoring that degree of dependence into the study," said researcher Heather Proctor. "While coextinction may not be the most important cause of species extinctions," the study concludes, "it is certainly an insidious one."

Eww De Toilette

Canadian Cities Dump Lots of Doo-Doo in Waterways

Port cities in Canada dump thousands of tons of virtually untreated sewage into bodies of water every year, according to a new report compiled by the Sierra Legal Defense Fund on behalf of three enviro groups. Montreal, it seems, dumps 950 million gallons of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River every year. If you think that's gross, well ... you're right. It really is. But it's not so bad when you consider that Victoria dumps 9 billion gallons of entirely untreated sewage a year into the Pacific Ocean. Canada's sewage-disposal standards are far behind those in the U.S. and Europe, said Margot Venton of Sierra Legal. An Environment Canada spokesperson said that Ottawa (the seat of Canada's federal government, for all you clueless yanks) and the provinces are working together to develop a joint wastewater treatment program by 2006, with national standards -- standards that will presumably frown on dumping billions of gallons of untreated poop, along with oil, grease, cyanide, and who knows what else, into waterways.

Going With The Wind

A Wind-Power Advocate Answers Reader Questions

Luisa Colasimone, communications director for the European Wind Energy Association, is obviously accustomed to addressing doubts about wind energy. Turns out that the latest wind turbines don't actually kill that many birds (compared to, say, buildings), don't actually generate much noise, and don't actually pose much of a problem for existing transmission lines. And did you know that North Dakota alone could provide a third of U.S. electricity needs through wind power? Learn lots more about this fast-growing form of renewable energy in InterActivist -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

In Cold HUD

State Attorneys General Sue HUD Over Pesticide Use

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D), who sues more evildoers before breakfast than most lawyers sue in a lifetime, has joined the attorneys general of four other states (and the plucky U.S. Virgin Islands) in suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over its use of pesticides. At issue is a 1996 law instructing HUD and other federal agencies to use integrated pest management (IPM) -- non-chemical pest-fighting techniques -- in public housing units, with pesticides a last resort. The suit charges that HUD has flouted the law and uses far too many pesticides, endangering children and expectant mothers. It does not ask HUD to eliminate pesticides, but to "think in a mindset that is preventive rather than reactive," said Spitzer. IPM involves sanitation improvements, basic repairs, caulking holes, and traps, and according to one recent study can reduce roaches by 50 percent and pesticide use by 90 percent. HUD responded that it has been reducing pesticides, that it encourages a "holistic" pest-management strategy, and anyway, the law says it has to "promote" the chemical-free strategy, not require it.

The Status D'oh!

Salon.com Delves into Global Warming

A new trio of articles on Salon.com does a nice job of laying out the current state of play on global warming, though its conclusions will come as no surprise to regular Grist readers: President Bush has been playing what the National Wildlife Federation's Jeremy Symons calls "whack-a-mole" with federal scientists, trying to obscure their consensus opinion that human activity is driving climate change. He promotes technological miracle fixes like hydrogen cars while refusing to rein in the extractive industries that have given him record amounts of money. John Kerry is more forthright about the science and the problem, but on the campaign trail he has muted his support for CAFE standards and trumpeted his support for "clean coal," mainly as a sop to swing state West Virginia. The press, meanwhile, generally refuses to report on climate change in a way that might enlighten readers. And in northern climes like Alaska, cold seasons are shrinking, glaciers are melting, flora and fauna are either growing out of control or dying off, traditional forms of life are being lost, and oil and gas exploration continues merrily on. Whoopee!