Tuesday, 08 Feb 2005

Collapse Dance

Diamond's book says societies' fates tied to treatment of environment

It is said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to re-elect, er, repeat it. In Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond digs deep into this truism, reviewing the history of societies ranging from Easter Islanders to the Inuit of Greenland to present-day Montana. His conclusion? It's best not to doo-doo where you eat -- or deforest, or deplete fisheries, or generally make a mess. But we knew that, didn't we? Right? People? Michael J. Kavanagh assesses Diamond's best-selling new work, in Books Unbound -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Imaginary Numbers

Bush's new budget relies on imaginary Arctic Refuge revenue

You're the president, you've promised to cut the country's enormous deficit in half by the end of your term, and you're required to produce a budget showing how you're going to do it. You've got a Congress that hasn't consented to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, enormously expensive wars going in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a plan to privatize Social Security set to cost over a trillion dollars. What to do? Pretend! In Bush's budget plan unveiled yesterday, no expenditures for the wars or Social Security privatization are accounted for, but projected revenues include $1.2 billion in two years from leases to drill in the Arctic Refuge. Even if the drilling gets approval -- despite staunch opposition from Democrats and some moderate Republicans, and threats by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) to filibuster it -- realistic projections put actual drilling revenue at least three years out and full production some eight years out. In related news, Grist projects 2006 revenues of $1 kajillion.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Kayaking

Greenpeace to give Americans a good paddling, pretty pictures

Greenpeace USA -- known for daring, in-your-face environmental protests -- is planning its big action for 2005: a kayak and trekking trip through the threatened, melting Arctic to ... take pictures. No big plans in the works to scale skyscrapers or face off with Exxon tankers on the high seas, just a mellow paddling trip up north -- a strategy that Greenpeace Executive Director John Passacantando believes could help win Americans' hearts and minds. Read about a kinder, gentler (but not softer! don't say softer!) Greenpeace -- in Muckraker, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Seeing Is Believing

Dramatic weather convinces many Westerners of global warming

As the Western U.S. increasingly suffers from what many scientists believe are the effects of climate change -- reduced snowpack, massive forest fires, alternating drought and torrential rain -- more and more residents are accepting the reality of the phenomenon. "Do I believe in global warming? Absolutely," said Reese Woodling, who last year abandoned his ranch along the New Mexico-Arizona border because of crippling drought. A decade-long drought has Arizona's economy drying up as well, costing cattle-related industries $2.8 billion in 2002. But current conditions are just a taste of what's to come, says researcher C. Mark Eakin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "When you've got an increased tendency toward drought in a region that's already stressed, then you're just looking for trouble," he said. "Weather is like rolling the dice, and climate change is like loading the dice."

Libby, Libby, Libby on the Liable, Liable, Liable

W. R. Grace faces stiff federal charges over asbestos at Montana mine

Mining company W. R. Grace & Co. was formally charged yesterday with knowingly exposing mine employees and residents of Libby, Mont., to asbestos and concealing evidence about its potentially dangerous health effects. The indictment marks the closing chapter of what U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer calls "a human and environmental tragedy" in the small mountain town and surrounding area, which have a death rate from asbestosis some 40 to 80 times the national average. The federal charges also accuse Grace executives of conspiring to disrupt and delay investigations by the U.S. EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services. The EPA has spent $86 million in cleanup efforts at the mine site, a nearby processing facility, and surrounding homes, and officials project another $20 million in spending this year alone. For its alleged crimes, Grace may face a $280 million fine, twice the after-tax profits from the mine. "We need to tell corporate America, you need to be held responsible," said Libby resident Mike Noble.