Monday, 08 Aug 2005

After years of roadblocks and drama, the energy bill will be signed into law by President Bush today. The pork-stuffed package -- with $14.5 billion in industry subsidies -- contains little of the energy agenda laid out by Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.). Nonetheless, the legislation got yes votes from over half of Senate Democrats, highlighting once again failure on the left of the aisle to muster unified opposition when pork is on the line. Muckraker conducts a postmortem.

Ursa Rager

Green groups divided over next moves to protect Yellowstone grizzlies

A schism is growing in the environmental movement over Bush administration plans to remove Yellowstone's grizzly bears from the endangered-species list. Bear numbers have roughly tripled since 1975, to about 600 bears today. Some ursine advocates want to call it a story of successful species recovery. They say delisting Yellowstone's bears will prove that the Endangered Species Act works, and help insulate the cornerstone environmental law from charges of inefficacy. But others say 600 grizzlies is still too few, especially since they are cut off by development from breeding with bears in other parts of the Rockies. And they say the feds cannot be trusted to follow through on promises for ongoing protection. "The Bush administration has tried to gut forest management plans," said Douglas Honnold of Earthjustice, "and yet the primary enforcement mechanism for protecting these bears is through forest plans." If the Yellowstone bears are delisted, Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and several other big green groups say they'll sue.


You know that old Mac Classic sitting in your closet -- the one that was soooooo high-tech in 1995 (it had color!), but is about as useful today as an empty box of Lucky Charms? You must get rid of it. Really. It's time. But what to do? Can't sell it. Can't even give it away. And you don't want to chuck it, trust us -- there's bad stuff in there. Yup, it's time for the R-word. Today, Umbra dresses up as that little animated paperclip guy and provides a tutorial on giving your old computer new life.

Nukonomics 101

Efficiency much cheaper than nuke power as way to curb carbon emissions

The market economics of nuclear power don't add up to a climate-change solution, particularly when compared to simple, proven energy-efficiency techniques, argues Mark Hertsgaard in the San Francisco Chronicle. But you wouldn't know it from listening to the current public debate. Collapse author Jared Diamond is the latest prominent eco-advocate to join the fission pushers in promoting nuclear power for its alleged ability to curb carbon emissions. But when you factor in the $2 billion-plus cost of building each plant, nuclear electricity turns out to be a lot more expensive than juice from fossil fuels, wind, or simple conservation. Studies from the Rocky Mountain Institute suggest that investing those billions in easy, cheap, available conservation methods would be seven times more economically effective at curbing carbon emissions. Sadly for taxpayers and the warming planet (but happily for the nuclear industry), the energy bill that President Bush is signing today devotes billions in subsidies, tax breaks, and loan guarantees to the nuclear-power industry.


Clare Cunningham contends that products are the source of all environmental problems. So, in her work as a London-based eco-designer, she develops goodies that can be part of the solution. As InterActivist this week, she chats about her project to "re-enchant" the city, her tendency to eco-worry, her efforts to hang chandeliers from streetlamps, and more.

Sweet Chile o' Mine

Two Americans take political heat for preserving Chilean wilderness

Douglas Tompkins and his wife Kristine McDivitt own more than 2,000 square miles of Patagonian wilderness, and they're determined to preserve it -- even if some Chileans don't appreciate the conservationist gesture. Their Pumalín Park holding encompasses huge swaths of virgin forest, free-flowing streams, and scenic coastlines -- territory that timber, agricultural, and energy industries covet. Tompkins, founder of The North Face and Esprit clothing companies, says he hopes to turn his land into national parks, but many Chileans see him as an imperialistic land-grabber. He figures he just has to sweat it out politically while Chile -- notable for a dynamic, American-style, free-market economy unusual in South America -- comes around to Western capitalism's philanthropic heritage as well. Chile's national forests director, Carlos Weber, is one who appreciates Tompkins' efforts; he predicts that in 30 years, "after people's thinking has matured and they see results, no one will be against him."