Thursday, 01 Sep 2005

Since Hurricane Katrina struck on Monday, the news has been flooded with stories of life and death, levees and domes. The nation is transfixed, and rightly so. But lurking behind the breaking news is a question on many minds: Did climate change make this storm more intense? Over the last few days, we've invited readers to talk about this and other issues in Gristmill, our blog. Today we ask leading environmental reporters for their take. Is climate change a part of the story they're telling? Read all about it.

Rays and Confused

Partisan divide stalls California's solar-roofs bill

As its initial bipartisan support devolves into a partisan food fight, California's Million Solar Roofs legislation may die on the vine. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) withdrew his formerly enthusiastic backing for the bill -- which could put $2 billion toward solar-energy generation by 2019 -- after Assembly Democrats inserted labor-friendly amendments. They would require union-scale wages for workers on commercial and industrial installations, and stipulate that future solar installers be licensed electricians, a level of expertise some in the industry consider excessive. State Republicans -- including Sen. John Campbell, an original coauthor of the bill -- say the amendments could increase solar-installation costs by 30 percent. State Democrats say they just want to ensure living wages, and anyway, the changes are negligible because most workers on large installations already receive a "prevailing wage." Each side says the other has to make a move before negotiations on the bill can proceed.

On the Roadless Again

State leaders sue feds to bring back "roadless rule"

Top officials from three Western states are suing the Bush administration in hopes of bringing back a rule banning road building on 58.5 million acres of national forests. The attorneys general of California and New Mexico, along with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D), filed suit this week in federal court, contending that the administration illegally overturned the "roadless rule" -- enacted by President Clinton in 2001 -- in favor of its own supposedly state-friendly policy, which the plaintiffs say puts water quality and wildlife at risk. Under the Bush revision, states must file petitions with the feds indicating which national forest lands they want protected within their borders -- a costly process involving mapping, assessing impacts on wildlife, and more -- with no assurance that their preferences will be followed. If states don't request protections, the lands are de facto left open to possible development.

Ape Fear

New plan aims to save endangered great apes of Africa

Conservationists are angling to raise $30 million to stop gorillas and chimpanzees from going extinct in the wild within a human generation. The U.N. Environment Program's just-released "World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation" reveals a poor prognosis for the survival of gorilla and chimp populations in Africa, where their tribulations include habitat destruction, being hunted as "bushmeat," and the Ebola virus. A coalition of scientists, governments, and conservation groups has unveiled a five-year plan to save Africa's great apes, calling for crackdowns on poaching, improved monitoring, development of alternate industries like tourism, and other steps. "As dire as the threats are to the survival of great apes, it's important for the world to know that this is not a lost cause," said conservationist and plan coauthor Emma Stokes.

Coming at It From a New Anglo

U.K. Christian groups ally with eco-advocates to lobby on climate change

Several Christian organizations in the U.K. have joined forces with environmental groups in a new alliance to "Stop Climate Chaos." The coalition is pressuring the British government to make cutting greenhouse-gas emissions a domestic and international priority and to support international aid and development plans that emphasize investing in clean technologies and helping developing countries cope with the effects of climate change. Stop Climate Chaos -- which includes Christian development groups like Christian Aid, Cafod, and Tearfund alongside Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and World Wildlife Fund -- hopes to expand to include other faiths as well. "[Climate change] will have massive impacts, including on the world's poor," says Ashok Sinha, the new group's director. "That's a moral question, so it's not surprising that religious organizations will want to be involved."