Tuesday, 24 May 2005

Don't Get Fresh With Me

Regional FWS director warns employees against using new science

The southwestern regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't like his science fresh. He recently issued a memo instructing his staff to disregard any genetic science about an endangered species conducted after the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act (in some cases as far back as the 1970s). His move may save Southwestern states money on species-recovery efforts. The reasoning is based on a controversial federal court decision regarding Oregon coho salmon, but it has angered many biologists and FWS staff. Says population genetics professor Philip Hedrick, "They talk about using the best science, but that's clearly not what they're trying to do here." In unrelated news, President Bush visited U.S. EPA headquarters on Monday to proclaim that its new administrator, Stephen Johnson, would "help us continue to place sound scientific analysis at the heart of all major environmental decisions."

You're Turning Into a Real Ditch

Panama Canal threatened by denuded forest watershed

Here's how the Panama Canal works: Torrential downpours batter the country's forests during rainy season; the water is absorbed into the watershed and feeds steadily into massive, human-made Gatun Lake; the lake then feeds water into the canal. The shipping route thus provided is responsible for some 40 percent of the nation's economy. Here's the problem: Half the forest in the watershed surrounding the canal has been lost to slash-and-burn agriculture and logging, and the deforested land doesn't hold water well. A cutting-edge new effort would have companies that rely on the canal fund a bond that would pay for forest restoration. If you've ever wondered why there's such fuss over "ecosystem services," just look to Panama: "Without the water," says one canal guide, "we would be the biggest ditch in the whole world."

A Bank Slate

Big banks play growing role in curbing eco-destruction

Increasingly, green groups are both protesting against and partnering with major financial institutions that have the power to back -- or not -- environmentally destructive projects. "The private financial sector more than any other has the ability to begin the ecological U-turn modern society so desperately needs," says Ilyse Hogue of Rainforest Action Network, which has led several protests against financial institutions. The strategy is producing results. Last month, demonstrators dogged JPMorgan Chase over its alleged connections to illegal logging in Indonesia and human-rights abuses related to a mine in Peru. Two weeks later, the bank announced plans for new policies that would help curb unlawful logging and promote indigenous people's rights. And 30 major private banks have signed on to the Equator Principles, used to evaluate projects based on their possible effects on the environment and local peoples. "[M]any bank representatives have a sophisticated and advanced sense of the environmental, social, and reputational risks," says Steve Kretzmann of nonprofit Oil Change.

Highway Just Met a Girl Named Maria

Provision in highway bill would require gas-mileage reality check

The U.S. EPA would have to use more realistic conditions when testing new vehicle models for gas-mileage figures under an amendment offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), backed by green and consumer groups, and successfully attached to the Senate highway bill. Currently, the agency's methods include evaluating vehicles at an average of 48 miles per hour, and do not account for variables like air-conditioner use, extra cargo, or stop-and-go traffic. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, those unrealistic methods could be costing consumers $20 billion a year for unexpected gas expenses. If the provision makes it into law, mileage estimates could decrease by as much as 30 percent. Says auto club AAA's Chris Plaushin of the EPA's current tests, "If you drove that way, you would get great gas mileage, but there would be an angry line of people behind you."

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runoff

Cities start getting creative in cleaning up runoff

Catalyzed by legal action from enviro groups, the U.S. EPA has started cracking down on an oft-overlooked cause of befouled waterways: polluted runoff. On its journey through urban and suburban streets, rainwater picks up and carries motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides, and other nasties, eventually dumping them in major bodies of water. In the Washington, D.C., area, with the fate of Chesapeake Bay in the balance, local governments have been encouraging -- and often requiring -- creative approaches to the runoff problem. In Gainesville, Va., a new luxury neighborhood will feature narrower streets, shorter driveways, sunken gardens filled with thirsty plants, and rock-and-shrubbery-filled ditches in place of standard gutters, all to cut down on, soak up, and filter contaminated water before it can reach waterways. In D.C., hundreds of buildings have installed massive subterranean sand vaults to filter their rainwater, and other nearby cities have been experimenting with green roofs and porous parking lots built atop filtering sand. Mind your runoff, folks.