Friday, 04 Feb 2005

On the Right Track

New GOP leaders emerging in battle against climate change

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a leader in the Senate fight against Kyoto in 1997, has now got legislation in the works to address the global-warming problem. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) also plans to introduce a number of climate-related bills. Other senators, from Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) to Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), are joining the growing consensus that something must be done to stop the planet from overheating. You may have noticed the R's after all those names. How long can the top R hold out? Get the full story in Muckraker -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Shocked, Shocked to Find Politicization in This Establishment

EPA inspector general finds proposed mercury rule biased for industry

Brace yourself -- your entire worldview is about to be shaken. Turns out, in coming up with its new rules on power-plant mercury emissions, the U.S. EPA violated agency protocol and ignored scientific evidence in order to stay in line with a predetermined goal that favors industry. Such is the conclusion of a new report from EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley. Said one EPA staff member present at meetings between administrators and staff, "Everything about this rule was decided at a political level. ... The political level made the decisions, and the staff did what they were told." The rules ended up exactly in line with those proposed in Bush's Clear Skies legislation, which would institute a cap-and-trade system and give power plants until 2018 to reach targets on emissions reductions. The report was promptly attacked by industry groups, Senate Environment Committee Chair James Inhofe (R-Okla.), and EPA Assistant Administrator (and former industry lobbyist) Jeffrey Holmstead, who said the rule-making process isn't even over and accused Tinsley of being politically biased.

Babbling Brooks

Greenpeacer chats with readers about TP, shopping, and more

As a forest campaigner for Greenpeace Canada, Richard Brooks is a big promoter of recycled paper products, but he's quick to assure one reader that being green doesn't have to mean resorting to scratchy, chafing toilet paper. Brooks also dispenses advice on starting an office recycling program, discusses the merits of forestry-certification programs, and offers plenty of ways to be a smart, ancient-forest-mindful shopper in InterActivist -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

The God of Small Savings

Ex-millionaire surrounded by trees, little else

Former real-estate mogul Xing Yiqian is well-known on the Chinese island of Hainan for his dedicated conservation of the area's dense rainforest. Called the "tree god" by locals, Xing spent his fortune -- once valued at $24 million -- paying individual landowners not to cut down their trees, financing expensive transplants for unwanted trees, and creating China's first private nature reserve. But sadly, though Xing tried to keep up with the Bill Gates and Ted Turners of the world in the charitable-giving realm, he fell far behind in the accounting department. Xing spent so much of his time and energy on his cash-for-trees strategy that he neglected his real-estate business and had to sell his assets when the market crashed, leaving him with little more than occasional bus fare and enough money to support the three-pack-a-day smoking habit that he says keeps him sane. But Xing's rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags-again story is far from over; he has big plans to turn some of his land into a lakeside resort.

If Any Man Eat of This Bread, He Shall Live Pesticide-Free

Church of England going green

The Church of England has joined the battle against global warming. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will unveil his green vision for the church and begin discussion on the issue of climate change during a General Synod meeting scheduled for Feb. 17, the day after the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect. In an accompanying report titled "Sharing God's Planet," Williams asks that each parish complete an "ecological audit" and introduce green policies, such as using organic bread and wine for Holy Communion, selling fairly traded products at church events, car pooling, and recycling waste. He also recommends that Christians adopt "sustainable consumption" and recognize their duty to "celebrate and care for every part of God's creation." Amen, brother.