Friday, 25 Mar 2005

Eco-label watchdog Urvashi Rangan is well aware of the problems caused by having multiple -- and sometimes meaningless -- labeling systems for different products, but, alas, she expects bureaucratic bumbling to stand in the way of a unified labeling program. Rangan explains why it's all up to consumer demand, details the biggest misconceptions about the "natural" label, and offers advice on how to talk to friends about green grocery purchases -- in InterActivist, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Conquered in Concord

New Hampshire Senate approves stricter mercury rules than feds

At risk of getting stuck with a number of toxic mercury hotspots under the Bush administration's new mercury cap-and-trade rule, New Hampshire's Senate approved a bill yesterday to adopt rules more stringent than the feds' and to ban the state's two coal-fired power plants from trading pollution allowances with cleaner facilities. If the bill, which now goes to the state House, becomes law, power plants in the state would be required to cut mercury emissions to 50 pounds annually by 2009 and 24 pounds by 2013, down from current annual emissions of about 130 pounds. "It's a win for all of New Hampshire because it puts New Hampshire as the leader in reducing pollution from our coal-fired power plants," said Sierra Clubber Catherine Corkery. As the much-derided federal mercury rule allows states to set stricter limits and opt out of the cap-and-trade program, New Hampshire may be just the first of many to clamp down harder on the neurotoxin.


Since its founding 60 years ago, the World Bank has shifted its focus from rebuilding war-torn Europe to aiding developing countries. Now the organization is brokering deals in the fledgling carbon-trading market, some of which could harm the very people it's supposed to help. At the same time, the bank continues to fund fossil-fuel extraction projects that create the emissions carbon trading is intended to fight. Of course, more carbon emissions mean more carbon-market profits ... Daphne Wysham takes a look at the troublesome cycle -- in Soapbox, today on the Grist Magazine website.

Funny, but Not Baja Funny

Gray whales in Baja sanctuary threatened by development

Five years ago, conservationists in Baja Mexico won a difficult battle to prevent a salt production plant from setting up shop near the San Ignacio Lagoon, a winter refuge for migrating California gray whales. But the Mexican government's shift toward industrialization has some local residents gearing up for an even more challenging fight. New regulations allowing rural ejidos, or communal lands, to be sold means poor rural communities may have to choose between enticing offers from private developers and protection of the lagoon -- and the several hundred gray whale mother-calf pairs that visit every year. To aid the process, local enviro groups are organizing coalitions to purchase conservation easements on some of the million acres draining into the lagoon. "We don't want a Disneyland here," says Raul Lopez, a coordinator for one ecotourism organization in the area. "We don't want big resorts or industrial plants. We want to use the land in a smart way so we can create a sustainable way to live."

He Shoots Horses, Doesn't He?

Trophy-hunting enthusiast appointed to head Fish and Wildlife Service

Nothing gives one an appreciation for the challenges facing endangered species like, uh, hunting and killing said species. With that verity in mind, the Bush administration has appointed Matthew Hogan as interim head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Director Steve Williams resigned earlier this month). Among his accomplishments, Hogan used to be the chief lobbyist for Safari Club International, a trophy-hunting group that holds competitions wherein its members roam five continents, shooting at a variety of exotic and sometimes endangered species. The generally wealthy members of SCI on occasion take shortcuts, shooting captive animals or animals that have drifted to the peripheries of national parks. No, we don't make this stuff up.


A Grist reader who works for the American Chemical Society was quite pained to see InterActivist Bill Walsh of the Healthy Building Network label her organization an "industry group" and talk of poking pins into his ACS flack voodoo doll. Walsh responds to the, er, sticky situation with an apology, while other readers write in about Umbra's advice on raising kids and our risque Daily Grist headlines -- today in Letters, on the Grist Magazine website.