Monday, 10 Oct 2005

The brawl over Endangered Species Act reform is tumbling into the Senate. Will bills being drafted in that chamber mimic Rep. Richard Pombo's (R-Calif.) pugnacious House legislation, much loathed by enviros and loved by developers? Or will the Senate be more nimble on its feet? Muckraker calls the fight.

The Melting Plot

Thawing Arctic opens new competition for northern territory, resources

The melting of the Arctic ice cap is bad news for polar bears, seals, some Arctic natives, and, oh yeah, possibly much of humankind -- but great news for a few countries and companies looking to score bucks. The high stakes include lucrative new summer shipping lanes, easier access to an estimated one-quarter of the world's yet-undiscovered gas and oil supplies, major new commercial fisheries, and more. Arctic Circle nations are assessing their territorial claims; both Canada and Denmark claim Hans Island, a two-mile-long knoll along the Northwest Passage, while Russia has tried to lay claim to about half of the Arctic Ocean, despite objections from the U.S. and others. As the big players vie to divide the spoils of global warming, some look on with dismay. "As long as it's ice, nobody cares except us," says Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit leader. "However, the minute it starts to thaw and becomes water, then the whole world is interested."


For many of us, the only way to feel one iota better about helplessly observing the human suffering in the wake of Katrina was to make some kind of donation (click! ah, that's better). But when it comes to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, donations aren't enough. We need collaboration, inspiration, and vocalization to make sure things get done intelligently. Today, Umbra speaks up on speaking up.

Who Needs Solar Roofs?

Schwarzenegger signs many green bills into law, vetoes a few

California reaped a green bonanza last week, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed more than 30 wide-ranging environmental bills into law. One with potential for nationwide impact will mandate that all new cars for sale in California be stickered with information on how many tons of greenhouse gases they emit, starting in 2009. Others will prohibit sewage dumping from commercial ships within three miles of the shore, ban use of experimental pesticides around schools, phase out mercury in industrial switches, and require cosmetics companies to tell state officials if potentially toxic chemicals are used in their products. However, the Governator vetoed four of the 10 bills the state Sierra Club deemed top priorities, including one that would establish a program to track toxic chemical levels in the bodily fluids of state residents. "This continues his mixed record on environment," said Sierra Club's Bill Magavern. "Not terrible, not great. He could have done better."


Veterinarian Sheri Speede runs an orphanage in Cameroon that houses 48 wild and fuzzy charges -- chimpanzees orphaned by the commercial bushmeat trade in west-central Africa. Speede directs In Defense of Animals - Africa, a conservation project campaigning to end the bushmeat trade and make it socially unacceptable to kill or eat chimps and gorillas. She's also this week's InterActivist, so send her a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish her answers to selected questions on Friday.

System of a Drown

The long history of political bungling that sank New Orleans

In "The Slow Drowning of New Orleans," The Washington Post's Michael Grunwald and Susan B. Glasser trace the centuries-long history of shortsighted greed and political expediency that left the Crescent City vulnerable to disaster. In recent decades, Louisiana has received more Army Corps of Engineers funding than any other state, but the money has as often been spent on developing coastal wetlands and bolstering poorly designed levees as developing a long-term defense against serious hurricanes. Though it's become a popular sport to bash environmentalists for failing to mobilize the public on issues like global warming and biodiversity loss, Grunwald and Glasser's story is a reminder that it's hard to get people to think ahead on any issue, even one where their own safety is at stake.