Wednesday, 12 Jan 2005

The Fabulous Baker Boy

President to bake up crisp decisions, answer environmental issue

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal -- his first newspaper interview since winning re-election -- President Bush pledged to, among other things, renew the push for his long-stalled energy bill and aggressively promote nuclear power, saying he looked forward to "making good, crisp, sound decisions." Bush spoke of nuclear energy in near-mystical terms, saying it "answers a lot of our issues," including the "environmental issue" and the "dependency issue." "It's a renewable source of energy," he said, which may come as news to many enviros. On the subject of his administration's energy legislation, he said, "The price of energy is such that I don't think any energy bill ought to provide that many incentives for people to go find oil and gas," raising some doubt about whether he's read the bill. Bush said he doesn't mind the controversy and debate around his favored initiatives: "I mean, I think that's part of how something gets baked."

Red and Blue Make ... Green?

New York announces historic power-plant agreement

Yesterday, New York Gov. George Pataki (R) and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D), whose ambition to replace Pataki is no secret, stood amicably side by side to make a joint announcement. If that news wasn't shocking enough in itself, what the Dynamic Bipartisan Duo announced was pretty impressive too: Six New York power plants have agreed to substantially cut emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which cause acid rain and smog. The cuts will amount to removing 2.5 million cars from New York roads, said state officials. New York-based power plants (many of which also agreed to pay substantial fines) will achieve what one utility called "regulatory certainty," state residents will endure thousands fewer asthma attacks and dozens fewer premature deaths, and, say state officials, power costs will not rise. The deal is historic, said Pataki, and "not just because I'm holding a press conference with Eliot Spitzer."

And to Sprawl a Good Night

Urban sprawl imperils species, report says

If you needed one more reason to hate urban sprawl, we're happy to help: It's imperiling species left and right. According to a report by the National Wildlife Federation, Smart Growth America, and NatureServe, the next 25 years will see more than 22,000 square miles* of habitat lost to development in 35 of the sprawlingest metropolitan areas in the U.S. This comes as bad news to the 553 species the groups identified as unique to those areas. "The bottom line is that these species are at risk of extinction due to habitat destruction," said John Kostyack, an NWF lawyer and one of the report's authors. "And in these metro areas, the leading cause of habitat destruction is sprawl -- development of homes and office buildings and roads in outlying forests and farm fields." To ease the imperilment, the groups recommend preserving open spaces, giving incentives to build in already-developed areas, and encouraging developers to construct more high-density projects.

*[Correction, 13 Jan 2005: This summary originally stated that the next 25 years will see more than 22,000 acres of habitat lost to development. This is an error we repeated from the AP story. In fact, the actual estimate is 22,000 square miles.]

Please Pass the Hemp, Billy

DEA drops resistance to hemp food products

Hemp may be the new soy. Recently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency quietly ended its attempts to ban hemp oil and sterilized industrial hemp seed in food products. (Yes, these products are taken from the Cannabis plant, but no, they won't even get your little brother high.) "It's a victory [for the hemp industry]," says food studies professor Ellen J. Fried, "except for the fact that you can't grow it in the United States. ... But hemp's there. It's in Trader Joe's. It's in Whole Foods." That's right, hemp enthusiasts: When you really, really need a snack (we're not implying anything), you can reach for a growing variety of hemp food products including energy bars, pretzels, waffles, bread, salad dressing, coffee, and beer. The hemp food industry touts the crop's low impact on the environment and its nutritive value -- it's a great source of essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, and protein, backers say. But no major food producers have gotten into the game yet, so don't expect to see Honey Bunches of Hemp cereal any time soon.

Howl's About That?

Enviros celebrate 10th anniversary of wolf release

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park, an area from which they were eradicated by the 1920s. The transplant experiment, meant to help restore wolf populations protected under the Endangered Species Act, stirred strong feelings, both positive and negative, in 1995, and much of that controversy lives on today. While ranchers say their livestock suffers -- the wolves killed 278 cattle and some 800 sheep in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho from 1995 to 2003 -- biologists and wildlife activists say the reintroduction has benefited whole ecosystems. The 900-some wolves now thriving in the area may have helped bolster other populations, including aspen and cottonwood trees, beavers, and possibly songbirds and red foxes. The wolves' success story is an important one, say enviros like Mike Phillips of the Turner Endangered Species Fund: "In many ways it has stimulated a dialogue that's good for the country and the western United States."