Thursday, 24 Mar 2005

A vacation with eco-ignorant friends leaves one reader wondering how to broach the oh-so-delicate topic of environmental awareness. Advice maven Umbra Fisk puts on her Miss Manners hat to address this sticky social situation -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

Maybe There's Something to This "Polite" Business

Auto industry agrees to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in Canada

After years of halting negotiations, the auto industry has reached a deal with the Canadian government to voluntarily reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by some 5.8 million tons by 2010. Canadian Environment Minister Stephane Dion had previously threatened to impose strict fuel-economy standards if the automakers didn't agree to voluntary cuts. According to government sources, the automakers insisted the deal be made in terms of total emission reductions rather than fuel economy (though the end result will be the same); they feared that explicitly agreeing to fuel-economy standards would imperil their pending lawsuit against California, which recently imposed strict standards. Enviros expressed the only sort of optimism of which they are capable -- that is, guarded -- saying that the need to make fuel-efficient vehicles for Europe, California, and now Canada might finally push automakers to just make their entire fleets more efficient. While government officials touted the happy, shiny, voluntary compromisiness of it all, the Sierra Club's Dan Becker was more blunt: "The Canadian government has managed to bludgeon the auto industry into submission."

I Coulda Had a V-12

Automakers make SUV engines bigger, less efficient

Under heated criticism for making SUVs that are unsafe and grossly fuel-inefficient, American automakers are responding the way any responsible industry would: making their SUVs even less safe and less fuel-efficient. General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, and Ford are all cranking up horsepower in their SUV engines, in some cases to the point that behemoths like the Jeep Grand Cherokee will go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds, rivaling most sports cars. Though concerns about high gas prices, dependence on foreign oil, and global warming -- did we miss any? -- have heightened awareness of fuel economy, 84 percent of large-SUV owners still rank horsepower as an important vehicle attribute, compared to 45 percent who say the same about pinko-commie fixations like fuel economy. Of course, with their high centers of gravity and propensity to roll over in crashes, SUVs "were never designed to be driven as sports cars," says David Champion of Consumer Reports. So watch out!

Hearth Warming

Biofuel catching on in the home-heating arena

Using biofuel -- a mix of vegetable oil and diesel -- to power vehicles is already popular in certain highly vocal circles, but using biofuel to heat homes is just starting to catch on. A recent surge has taken place largely in the U.S. Northeast, where there remains a large concentration of houses that use heating oil. Proponents tout the fact that biofuel produces far less soot and thus requires less furnace cleaning, which we're told is a nasty business. They are also motivated by a desire to support energy independence and the domestic economy. "About 20 out of every 100 gallons of bioheat goes to American farmers and producers instead of unstable foreign countries," says biofuel user Charles Kleekamp. Though it currently costs roughly 10 to 20 cents more per gallon than regular heating fuel, mainly because of the paucity of manufacturing facilities (Northeast biofuel is transported all the way from Florida), enthusiasts hope that rising demand will drive down prices. Already a biodiesel production facility is in the works for Providence, R.I., for next year.

Behind Enemy Livestock

Ranchers, greens unite to fight oil and gas wells in West

Ranchers and environmentalists have traditionally gone together like chocolate and, uh, people who really hate chocolate. But of late, they have been overlooking past tussles to fight a common enemy: increasingly ubiquitous oil and gas drilling in the Western U.S. The ranchers say the drilling process often sickens or kills livestock, which are hit by drilling trucks or drink pooled antifreeze or other chemicals from contaminated disposal pits. Greens have been led on guided tours of affected ranches to document contamination. A coalition opposing drilling in New Mexico's San Juan Basin plans to negotiate with drillers to clean up old messes in the area instead of taking the matter to court, an approach favored by area ranchers. "After all the smoke and mirrors go away, ranchers and environmentalists have a common agenda -- and it is protection of the land," said Mark Gordon, a Buffalo, Wyo., rancher.