Friday, 11 Mar 2005

Handle With CAIR

EPA issues air pollution rules for Eastern states

With the Clear Skies bill dead in committee, the Bush administration is going ahead with its plan to implement provisions of the bill as regulation. Yesterday saw the first step, as the U.S. EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which will substantially curtail emissions of soot-causing and smog-forming emissions, primarily generated by power plants, in 28 Eastern states and Washington, D.C. By the time the regulations are fully implemented in 2015, the EPA expects them to reduce sulfur-dioxide emissions by over 70 percent and nitrogen oxides by over 60 percent, which would mean preventing 17,000 premature deaths a year, millions of lost work and school days, and loads of hospital visits. The rule met with approval from both industry groups and enviros, though the former would prefer federal legislation and the latter would prefer larger cuts and tighter deadlines. EPA officials have calculated that the benefits of the rule, primarily in health-care savings, will outweigh the costs by some 25 to 1. Next week the agency is expected to take on mercury emissions -- expect that fight to be considerably bloodier.


If you've avoided putting your money in socially responsible investments (SRI) because you don't want to sacrifice strong returns, fear no more, says Steve Lippman of Trillium Asset Management. Reams of research show that SRI funds consistently perform at least as well as their not-so-responsible counterparts. Lippman also talks about what makes a company responsible, how to get a job in the SRI field, and how you too can get in on the green investment game -- in InterActivist, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Our Life With the Drill Kill Kult

House bill would end U.S. offshore drilling bans

Legislation being drafted in the House Resources Committee would end 23-year-old bans on new offshore oil and gas drilling in the U.S. Still not formally introduced, the legislation, dubbed the State Enhanced Authority for Coastal and Offshore Resources Act, would expand state control over offshore drilling and up states' shares of royalties from drilling. Industry groups have been pressuring lawmakers to attach SEACOR to the stalled energy bill, up for consideration next month. A spokesflack for committee chair Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) insists the bill is "not ready for prime time" -- just yet. But in the meantime, proponents have been drumming up support in some cash-strapped states, paving the way for the bill's eventual rollout. Said Richard Charter of Environmental Defense, "We see SEACOR as part of a stealth strategy to undo all protections of U.S. coastlines for offshore drilling."

Herbicidal Tendencies

War-crimes suit against Agent Orange manufacturers dismissed

A potentially historic class-action lawsuit accusing manufacturers of the herbicide Agent Orange of committing war crimes isn't looking so historic after all -- it was dismissed yesterday by a federal judge in New York City. Dioxin-containing Agent Orange was sprayed extensively in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 by U.S. forces to kill crops and reduce the opposition's cover. The plaintiffs in the case say the herbicide has been causing a panoply of health problems in Vietnam ever since, including cancer and birth defects. "We are disappointed," said Nguyen Trong Nhan of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange. "[The judge] has turned a blind eye before the obvious truth. It's a shame for him to put out that decision. We just want justice, nothing more." The group said it plans to appeal the decision.

De-Fence, De-Fence

U.S. border fencing project may harm sensitive ecological area

A half-mile-wide canyon and estuary situated on the U.S.-Mexico border just 12 miles from San Diego, Calif., is the locus of a conflict between environmentalists and the feds. The ecologically sensitive marshland is part of a 3.5-mile gap in secondary fencing at the border, making it a sweet spot for illegal immigrants and, speculate Homeland Security officials, al Qaeda operatives. Federal officials plan to speed up efforts to add fencing by leveling mesas in the area to backfill the canyon, a move that conservation activists -- who have fought the project for years -- say could cause flooding, erosion, and habitat destruction. Pending immigration legislation, which includes provisions for finishing the project, would allow the feds to largely ignore environmental and labor laws to do so. It could also pave the way for other projects that circumvent environmental regulations in the name of national security, according to J. Robert Shull of the nonprofit OMB Watch. "It's completely unnecessary," he said. "It's mind-boggling."