Tuesday, 12 Jul 2005

Green strategists have been angling to make climate change into a "kitchen table" issue. Well, how's this for kitchen table: The food on yours could soon become less nutritious due to the rapid buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. While a globally warmed world is likely to produce greater crop yields, those crops may be skimpy on critical nutrients. Glenn Scherer reviews the research and explores how this troubling trend might shake out for wildlife, livestock, and you.

A-Raisin' Money in the Sun

Investors pouring millions into new nanotech solar-energy firms

A merger of cutting-edge nanotechnology with the earth's oldest power source may revolutionize clean energy. At least three U.S. start-ups are aiming to develop thin, flexible sheets of tiny solar cells for the mass market. If perfected, the companies say, these nano-cells would catapult solar to the forefront of clean-energy generation: they'd not only cost much less to produce than current solar panels, but would provide electricity as cheaply as average utilities do now, about $1 per watt. It may take five years or more before the technologies are perfected for mass production, but investors are enthusiastic -- the three companies have collectively raised more than $120 million in funding since 2001. A report from the Energy Foundation suggests that cost-effective solar could provide much of the nation's electricity if available rooftop space is more fully utilized, and claims that the market for such technology might be $6.6 billion a year.

Bomb Voyage

Former French president linked to 1985 bombing of Greenpeace ship

Late French President François Mitterrand sanctioned plans to sabotage a Greenpeace ship in 1985, according to a just-uncovered report by the top French intelligence official who devised the plan. The ship, the Rainbow Warrior, was bombed in a New Zealand port, where the crew was preparing to protest French nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira was killed. Two French agents involved in the plot were arrested in New Zealand, leading to an international scandal and the resignation of top French officials. On Saturday, French newspaper Le Monde reprinted portions of a 1986 report allegedly written by Admiral Pierre Lacoste, former head of French foreign intelligence, who said he got Mitterrand's approval to act against Greenpeace. "He gave me his agreement while stressing the importance he attached to the nuclear tests," Lacoste wrote. Mitterrand claimed at the time to be ignorant of the plan. "We've always held him responsible," says Greenpeace's Steve Sawyer from New Zealand, where commemorations to mark the bombing's 20th anniversary were held on Sunday.

CNOOC-ered

Bush security adviser helped firm land lobbying gig for Chinese oil co.

The bid by state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation to purchase U.S. oil and gas producer Unocal has raised hackles among some national-security types. So it may seem odd that James C. Langdon Jr., the chair of President Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board -- a group with security clearance greater than even members of Congress -- would meet with CNOOC to drum up lobbying business for his law firm. Odd but true: Langdon, a major Bush fund-raiser, met last winter with reps from CNOOC seeking lobbying work for his law firm, Akin Gump. An Akin Gump spokesflack notes that Langdon has since removed himself from the firm's dealings with CNOOC. But Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) promises to raise questions about Langdon's involvement at tomorrow's hearings of the House Armed Services Committee on the national-security implications of the CNOOC bid.

Green Chiles

As quality of life improves, Chileans get eco-active

Last Saturday, thousands of Chileans marched in 14 cities to celebrate two environmental victories. Green activists helped to shut down the Valdivia wood-pulp facility (owned by the country's biggest industrial firm, Copec) after pollution from the plant killed hundreds of black-necked swans in a nearby wetland; the plant owners are now looking for a safe water-treatment system. Next, greens pressured the government to demand changes to the Pascua Lama mining project, proposed by Canada's Barrick Gold; the original plan involved moving parts of two glaciers. Several factors contribute to growing eco-consciousness in Chile, including the country's dropping poverty rates, zippy economic growth, and the need to meet strict European environmental standards in order to export goods there. Says activist Norma Tapia, who marched in Santiago on Saturday, "We're waking up. We were asleep. All of Chile was woken up by the swans and now the Pascua Lama project."