Monday, 13 Dec 2004

License to Bill

Bill Clinton set to emerge as voice of clean energy

Bill Clinton is warming up to global warming. His impassioned words last week on energy and climate change at a conference hosted by his foundation may have been just the beginning. Observers say the former president has seen the light on the importance of shifting to renewable energy and is poised to say a lot more on the matter in the future. Read about Bubba's new crusade in Muckraker -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Leavitt to Leave It

Leavitt to move from EPA to HHS

President Bush announced today that he intends to move U.S. EPA chief Mike Leavitt into a new position as secretary of health and human services, ending Leavitt's tenure of just over a year at the agency. Leavitt, a rising star in the Republican Party and a fierce Bush loyalist, managed to raise the ire of environmentalists numerous times during his short stint at EPA as he pushed the Bush administration agenda of a more biz-friendly environmental regulatory system. Amusingly, a Sierra Club press release on Leavitt's job change included a repeat of a line the group used in 2003 when Leavitt's predecessor, Christine Todd Whitman, tendered her resignation: "Given the administration's track record on the environment, we have little hope that President Bush's next EPA administrator will be allowed to do a better job of cutting pollution and keeping families safe."

Hire Learning

Green-career guru Kevin Doyle InterActivates

If there's one question virtually every Grist InterActivist gets, it's, "How can I get a job like yours?" So readers will be happy to hear that this week's featured enviro is Kevin Doyle, a 20-year veteran of the Environmental Careers Organization. He works to get people into internships and other such opportunities where they can pursue their green passions, and he's just co-written a book on the matter. Get the word on green career options in InterActivist -- today on the Grist Magazine website. And send Doyle a question of your own by noon PST on Wednesday, Dec. 15.

Another Refiner Mess

EPA brags about oil-refinery cleanups that haven't happened

"Settlements under EPA's Petroleum Refinery Initiative have reduced emissions of air pollutants by 200,000 tons per year at 48 refineries in 24 states," said top U.S. EPA enforcement official Tom Skinner in October. Turns out that was a lie. Oh, wait, did we say "lie"? Actually, says Skinner, it was a "poor word choice." The truth, uncovered in an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is that the initiative has resulted in reductions of only about a fifth that size. Of the deadlines set for refineries to reduce their emissions under the program, some two-thirds have been extended. Furthermore, even in cases where legal settlements require the EPA to notify states, environmental groups, or courts of deadline extensions, the agency has not done so. Skinner acknowledged that the EPA should have been more forthcoming. "I think we should be telling the public what we're doing," he said. The hundreds of thousands of people whose exposure to dangerous pollutants has been secretly prolonged no doubt agree.

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Low-impact gifts can make holidays more eco-friendly

This year, holiday sales in the U.S. are projected to hit $219 billion -- up 4 to 6 percent from last year. That's a lot of ties and trinkets. And while that might be good news for some retailers, it's anything but a holiday for the earth; between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, Americans generate an extra 5 million tons of trash -- not to mention emissions from all those trips to the mall. So this season, many green-leaning folks are getting creative and giving non-material gifts. Whales are adopted, acres of rainforest are saved, blocks of wind power are acquired on behalf of family and friends, and even pollution credits are purchased for loved ones so power companies can't use them to pollute the air. But if someone on your list insists on a tangible gift, this year's hot eco-friendly items include recycled rubber-tire handbags, canvas shower curtains, organic textiles, and LED outdoor holiday lights that use 1/50th of the electricity and last 20 to 30 years.