Thursday, 20 Oct 2005

We know, you've heard it before: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is in serious danger of being invaded by oil drills. But this time drilling opponents are more justified than ever in their alarm. The Senate Energy Committee yesterday voted to include a refuge-drilling provision in a massive budget reconciliation package that cannot be filibustered. Republicans pulled the same thing in 1995, but this time there's no Clinton to veto it. Muckraker takes a close look at the legislative maneuvering.

You Picked a Bovine Time to Peeve Me

USDA loophole lets penned cows get certified organic

The U.S. Department of Agriculture may be caving to owners of factory dairy farms by failing to revise some rules on organic milk. At issue is how the agency defines an organic bovine. One requirement is that the cows have "access to pasture," but another provision allows them to be raised in confined pens during a "stage of production." Claiming that lactation is such a stage, some factory dairy farms have been keeping their mega-herds in pens, feeding them organic cow chow, and still getting certified. In March, the National Organic Standards Board recommended closing the loophole that allows this, but the USDA says new language for the pasture rule won't be out until next spring. Burgeoning demand for organic moo juice is outracing supply by around 10 percent, so the financial stakes are high. Some smaller dairies say consumers expect organic milk to come from grass-fed cows. Ads "never show cows eating on dry lots," says New York organic dairy farmer Kathie Arnold. "They promote ... the idyllic view of cows on green pastures."


As Floridians keep a wary watch on Wilma this week, we bring you a roundup of stormy facts and figures. Which U.S. hurricane was the deadliest? How much more Homeland Security money is spent to combat terrorism than to combat natural disasters? How many Krispy Kremes did George Bush eat as he flew over New Orleans? (OK, we made that last one up.) To put the season in perspective, Sarah van Schagen runs the numbers.

EI, EI, No

Bush admin waives environmental assessments in public-lands energy rush

This past summer's energy bill contained provisions making it easier to drill on public lands -- and for the Bush administration, that's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The Bureau of Land Management recently told field managers to omit environmental reviews and public-comment periods for some oil and gas permits; instead, they're to base decisions on past assessments, though some such studies are outdated. This guidance is expected to cover hundreds of new drilling applications, and it's legal thanks to new "categorical exclusions" under the National Environmental Policy Act written into the energy bill. It's yet another handout to wealthy energy companies, says The Wilderness Society's Dave Alberswerth, which already "have thousands of more drilling permits in their pockets than they can even drill on."

All Features Great, and Small

Teensy fuel cells offer greener power sources for small gadgets

Yes, yes, your new iPod nano is very cool. But wouldn't it be just that much cooler if you could recharge it with a small bottle of clear liquid? It might happen: Toshiba and other Japanese electronics firms are developing itty-bitty fuel cells to juice up portable gadgets. Unlike batteries, fuel cells contain few hazardous chemicals and metals and generate rather than just store electricity. Toshiba says its fuel cells for cell phones will run about twice as long as the average lithium-ion battery and recharge on the run with methanol. Developers say perfecting such small-scale applications is a step toward figuring out how to economically use fuel cells for bigger applications like cars and homes. "We're starting with as small an application as we can and keeping costs low," says Toshiba tech chief Fumio Ueno, whose lab has developed the world's smallest fuel cell to date. "We think it's better to start that way and grow into larger applications."