Thursday, 23 Jun 2005

The Golden State may soon enact the most ambitious solar-energy initiative ever proposed in the U.S. -- legislation intended to put photovoltaic panels on a million California rooftops. Unless, that is, the bill gets derailed by behind-the-scenes political fisticuffs between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has thrown his prodigious weight behind the initiative, and the Democrats who control the state legislature. Muckraker assesses the bill's chances.

A Glowing Reception

Bush travels to nuke plant to tout nuke subsidies, is well-received

Yesterday, President Bush became the first commander in chief in 26 years to visit a nuclear power plant in the U.S. (The last time, you may recall, was when President Carter visited Three Mile Island after the accident there. Good times, good times ...) Bush used the occasion to state unequivocally, "It is time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again." It's been more than a quarter-century since the last nuke plant was approved and built. What's the impediment? "The last effort at building reactors was such a catastrophe that no industry nor Wall Street financier is going to touch this technology without a guarantee that taxpayers will be on the hook," said Paul Gunter of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. To that end, Bush's much-touted energy bill offers the industry millions in taxpayer dollars, in the form of tax subsidies, loan guarantees, and "risk insurance," whereby taxpayers rather than private investors assume the risks of investment. Behold, the power of the free market!

They Don't Say Test Until I Say They Say Test

Pentagon has refused to test for toxic rocket-fuel chemical

Department of Defense operations are a primary perpetrator of perchlorate contamination nationwide, but the department has regularly turned down state and federal requests to test for the toxic chemical, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Perchlorate -- which is commonly found in rocket fuel and can cause thyroid dysfunction -- has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states, but only 51 sites are currently being cleaned or are slated for cleanup. The Pentagon says it will test only when there's a reasonable chance of human exposure, as determined by ... the Pentagon. It cites the lack of clear state or federal rules for perchlorate regulation or contamination. The states, and the GAO, recommend a formal nationwide system for monitoring detections and cleanup. Defense says such a system is unnecessary. So, to summarize: The Pentagon won't test because there are no shared standards, and the Pentagon opposes the development of shared standards. Circular logic aside, communities around the country are suing the DOD to clean up perchlorate-contaminated water supplies.

C'est Finny

New marine management rules may hamper restoration of fisheries

The National Marine Fisheries Service has released new guidelines for restoring depleted fish stocks, but some friends of the finned worry the rules may unduly favor the fishing industry. Current rules mandate that regional fisheries managers aim to restore stocks within 10 years. The newly proposed rules would let them devise variable timelines for fishery restoration based on how long it would take a stock to rebound if there were no fishing, plus the average time it takes the species to reach spawning age. This may lengthen the time managers have to restore some stocks, which fisheries expert Andrew Rosenberg terms "a biological risk." The new rules would also allow coordinated management of different species that live, swim, and get netted together, assuming that fish with similar life histories will respond to similar management plans. But this is shortsighted, says Rosenberg: "[A] species might be minor to a commercial fishery but still play a key role in an ecosystem; we are only worrying about the things we like to eat right now."

Terminal Billness

Senate quashes emissions caps and state authority over LNG terminals

The Senate voted yesterday to reject a measure that would have given governors more power over the siting of terminals for tankers carrying liquefied natural gas. The Bush administration has pushed for total federal control over LNG terminal sites, while many state officials -- including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) -- and coast-state senators contend that the terminals could be targets for terrorist attacks or pose safety risks. The Senate also rejected by 60-38 the McCain-Lieberman proposal for mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions, with opponents making the usual arguments that caps would burden the economy and that other major emitters like China aren't doing anything, so why should we? But Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) voted no because nuclear-power subsidies were recently added to the proposal. On the pale green upside, the Senate did approve a nonbinding resolution affirming that greenhouse-gas emissions pose a substantial risk that will eventually necessitate mandatory action. Someday. Just not today.