Thursday, 24 Feb 2005

A reader's train-traveling girlfriend inspires him to ask whether trains really are better, eco-speaking, than cars. To answer, green advice maven Umbra Fisk turns to page 57 of her favorite book. Find out how trains stack up against automobiles, and what Umbra says you should be reading -- in Ask Umbra, today on the Grist Magazine website.

The Country Above Us

Canadian government unveils green budget

Ottawa -- that's where the Canadian federal government lives, people -- unveiled a budget yesterday with some $2.4 billion in new environmental spending. At the center of the eco-money is an $805 million Clean Fund that will dole out cash for private-sector projects that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, as well as municipal or private initiatives that produce emissions credits under the Kyoto Protocol. There are also tax incentives for private home retrofitting and renewable-energy generation, along with a host of other green incentives, regulations, and infrastructure investments. Ottawa also says it is considering a program of "feebates," whereby purchasers of gas-guzzling vehicles would pay a fee and buyers of fuel-efficient cars would receive rebates -- a revenue-neutral program that could spur the sale of more eco-friendly autos. Said Mark Rudolph of the Clean Air Renewable Energy Coalition, "This budget is so green it should have been announced on St. Patrick's Day." Nice, eh?


Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), chair of the House Resources Committee, last week released a report asserting that coal-fired power plants shouldn't be blamed for health-threatening mercury contamination, and that Americans shouldn't be so anxious about mercury anyway. Wouldn't want to let reams of scientific evidence get in the way of a good narrative! Read about Pombo's preemptive strike in the coming fight over Bush's mercury-reduction plan -- in Muckraker, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Hazed and Confused

Appeals court rejects five-state plan for clean park air

A market-based program used by five Western states to control haze in national parks and wilderness areas was rejected by a federal appeals court Friday. Brought to court in a challenge by a coal and utilities industry group, the states' efforts to cut sulfur-dioxide pollution and improve air quality and visibility in the parks was dealt a blow when a three-judge panel concluded that the program used EPA methodology that was thrown out three years ago for being "inconsistent with the Clean Air Act." The states involved in the now-defunct plan -- Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming -- will head "back to the drawing board," said Joseph Mikitish, an assistant attorney general for Arizona. "We are disappointed," said EPA spokesperson Cynthia Bergman. "We will continue to work with the Western states and with all other states that seek to use such trading programs to achieve these goals."

Ich Bin Ein Cowboy

U.S., Germany agree on vague climate measures

President Bush is on a tour of Europe, seeking ways to repair relationships with traditional allies that don't involve changing any U.S. position on any subject -- and that includes global warming. His stop in Germany yesterday to talk with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was a positive, if strained, affair, generating a declaration of cooperation on the subject of climate change. The document outlines broad areas of collaboration, including modernizing energy sources, assisting developing nations with clean technology, and that hoary old Bush administration chestnut, more research. The declaration included no specific details or targets or, you know, substance, but it did give Bush and Schroeder something nice to talk about. Europeans had hoped that Bush's visit to the continent would mark a new willingness to act on the climate issue; time will tell whether they'll be mollified by his bold proposal to keep doing what he's been doing.