Wednesday, 02 Feb 2005

Are Too!

Judge says Bush admin wrong in claiming NW wolves aren't endangered

Yesterday, a federal judge rescinded the 2003 federal rule downgrading gray wolves in the Northwest U.S. from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act, saying the Bush administration's decision was "not based on the present or future threats to the wolf or the best available science." Interior Secretary Gale Norton based the move on thriving wolf populations in the Northern Rocky Mountains -- in effect, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, "gerrymander[ing] the entire contiguous 48 states so that wolves in a few areas would make up for the absence of wolves in much-larger regions." The judge's decision also reverses a rule allowing ranchers in some parts of the West to shoot wolves that threaten their livestock. Ranchers upset by the ruling hinted that they might break the law. Glen Stonebrink of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association said ranchers "have to keep [wolves] from becoming established here, and I only know one way to do that."

See Hotspot Run

Ecologists identify nine new biodiversity "hot spots"

The world's biodiversity, it seems, is in trouble. A new report compiled over four years by some 400 ecologists has identified nine new "hotspots" where animal and plant biodiversity is both high and imperiled. The 34 total hotspots identified since 2000 cover only 2.3 percent of the earth's surface but are home to three-quarters of the most threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians. Hotspots are "the environmental emergency rooms of our planet," said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and coeditor of the report, and they make conservation, if not easier, at least more focused. Conservationists and governments wondering where to invest their limited resources now have 34 excellent candidates, including newcomers in the mountains of central Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the entire nation of Japan.

The Altima Sacrifice

Nissan CEO not happy about making new hybrid Altima

Automaker Nissan is releasing its first hybrid model, a version of its Altima sedan, next year, but it doesn't have to like it. In a speech at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said hybrids aren't profitable enough to make economic sense for the company. "They make a nice story, but they're not a good business story yet because the value is lower than their cost," he said. So why make hybrids at all? Oh right, that global-warming thing. Ghosn told reporters after the speech that a primary reason for going ahead with the hybrid Altima is California's impending greenhouse-gas emission standards for autos, intended to slow the accumulation of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, seems no one told Toyota that hybrids weren't profitable. In addition to leasing its hybrid technology to behind-the-curve companies like Nissan, Toyota plans this year to nearly double U.S. production of its popular Prius sedan to some 100,000 vehicles.

It Takes a Six-State Caucus to Raise a Child

Midwest states announce effort to protect children from eco-hazards

Youngsters in six Midwestern states may soon be safer from environmental dangers ranging from pesticide use in schools to toxic fumes from school-bus tailpipes. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin lawmakers in the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators have agreed to work together to create stricter laws to prevent ill health effects in children stemming from pollution and toxic chemicals. The legislators also want to instigate a study into the long-term effects of chemicals on kids. "It seemed logical that we should work across state lines to pursue these proposals," said Iowa state Rep. Lisa Heddens.

Reid Between the Mines

Senate Democratic leader Reid is a friend to the mining industry

Sen. Harry Reid, the new leader of the Senate Democrats, knows full-well that his home state of Nevada isn't a liberal or environmental stronghold. Thus he has had to balance his party's political agenda with his state's economic interests, and one of those big interests is mining. Reid has repeatedly fought environmental regulation of the mining industry while championing its access to public lands, and the senator relies on the industry for political and financial backing. But despite this lacuna in his eco-credentials, Reid is on board with other planks of the Democrats' environmental agenda, most notably opposition to the proposed nuke-waste facility at Yucca Mountain in his state. Although her group doesn't always agree with him, says Sierra Club legislative director Debbie Sease, "Harry Reid over the years has been a very strong, solid friend of the environment." Just not necessarily those bits of the environment with shiny, valuable resources beneath them.