Wednesday, 10 Nov 2004

Sol Train

Spain makes solar panels on new homes mandatory

Hoping to catch up to solar powerhouse Germany, sunny Spain has announced that as of next year, solar panels will become mandatory on new and renovated buildings. The government is shooting for a tenfold increase in the total square footage of solar panels by 2010. Domestic solar usage is low in Spain, though the country is a leading manufacturer of solar panels. With oil above $50 a barrel, the government claims that solar power could save each household more than $100 a year just on water heating costs. The initiative could also make a notable dent in the nation's greenhouse-gas emissions. Industry Minister Jose Montilla promised subsidies to ease the transition, but gave no details. Spain's socialist government is headed by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, upon whom a Grist editor who shall remain nameless has a considerable crush. This solar business is only going to fan the flames.

EPA Denies Poor Families Camcorders

Controversial EPA pesticide study put on hold

A proposed study of pesticide exposure in children to be run by the U.S. EPA has been suspended in response to growing controversy inside and outside the agency. In exchange for participating in the study -- i.e., allowing their children to be exposed to pesticides -- families in Duval County, Fla., would have received $970 each, plus a camcorder and some clothing. "Since the study was announced last month, many have raised concerns, including scientists within EPA. We want to be responsive to those concerns," said EPA spokesperson Cynthia Bergman. The agency will convene a panel of independent experts to assess the study, though it's already been approved by several such panels. Says Jeff Ruch of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, "Regardless of the number of reviews, paying poor parents to dose their babies with commercial poisons to measure their exposure is just plain wrong."

We Was Cobbed!

NAFTA panel says U.S. GM corn is invading Mexico

A panel of scientists convened by NAFTA at the request of Mexican farmers and officials has concluded that genetically modified corn grown in the U.S., where it is legal, is crossing the border and contaminating crops in Mexico, where it is not, and that the contamination constitutes a threat that needs to be addressed. (It is legal to use GM corn for food in Mexico, but not to grow it.) "How would Americans feel if we started getting living transgenic seeds that had been judged to be safe by the Cuban government but not the American government?" asked Norman C. Ellstrand, a panel member and a geneticist at the University of California at Riverside. The report includes a series of recommendations for stopping the illegal corn migration. The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Trade Representative issued a joint statement calling the report unscientific and broadly rejecting the recommendations, basically saying that Mexico should get over it.

Meet the Newmont, Same As the Oldmont

Mining company looks bad in report on pollution of Indonesian bay

The saga of Newmont Mining Corp.'s mine in Buyat Bay in Indonesia is long and full of drama, like a soap opera, only with more dead and disfigured Indonesian children. The company has been accused by local villagers of polluting the bay, and the government went as far as arresting five Newmont senior employees (later released). The company claimed that subsequent studies vindicated them, showing no pollution in the bay. Of late, all parties have been awaiting a comprehensive study by a government panel, leaked to The New York Times before its official release. The results are mixed. The report shows conclusively that the sediment in the bay contains high levels of arsenic, which has entered the food chain via bottom-feeding organisms, and that fish in the bay are contaminated with dangerously high levels of arsenic. However, Indonesia has no guidelines governing heavy metals in sediment, and the water itself falls within Indonesian standards. The company is now in talks with the villagers. Newmont didn't help its PR case by seemingly attempting to bribe reporters for favorable coverage.

European. Small. How Can They Fail?

European automakers target the U.S. with itsy-bitsy cars

European automakers hope to make inroads in U.S. markets with small, fuel-efficient cars, but they have quite a task ahead of them, despite gas prices that now exceed $2 per gallon. While a segment of the U.S. market is gaga for hybrids like the Toyota Prius, which gets about 44 miles per gallon, some small European cars like the Smart two-seater get nearly 70 mpg. Three problems: One, many U.S. drivers feel insecure in small cars, competing on freeways with gargantuan idiotmobiles like the Cadillac Escalade. Two, small cars have lower horsepower, and U.S. drivers rank high horsepower above fuel efficiency on their list of desired features. And three, Euro mini-cars are diesel-fueled, and U.S. drivers still view diesel as noisy, smelly, and highly polluting, despite recent technological advances that address those problems. Good luck, Fiat!