Thursday, 27 Oct 2005

Just Another Woeful Wednesday

Congressional committees approve a pile o' drilling and mining

Congress worked hard on Wednesday to ensure America a clean, secure energy future. Ah, we kid! Actually, the House Resources Committee approved a measure that would weaken the federal ban on new offshore gas and oil drilling. And both House and Senate resource committees approved provisions that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. And the House Resources Committee approved language proposed by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) (does this guy ever sleep?) intended to spur a sell-off of public lands to mining companies, even if those lands haven't been shown to contain valuable mineral deposits. The provision would enact a reform to the General Mining Law of 1872, long sought by conservationists, to charge $1,000 per acre or fair market value for federal lands intended to be used for mining -- instead of maintaining 19th century rates of $2.50 to $5 an acre. But that worthwhile reform is offset by an accompanying call to sell off millions of acres of Forest Service and Interior lands, according to activists. All three provisions are being packaged into a massive budget-cutting bill.

Taint Bernard

La. eco-group slams official silence on toxins in New Orleans suburbs

The soil in two New Orleans suburbs may be highly contaminated with heavy metals and petroleum products, charge residents. They say local and federal officials aren't warning returning residents about toxic hazards or cleaning up the mess. The Louisiana Bucket Brigade paid a certified testing company to assess soil samples taken during September from towns in St. Bernard Parish, east of the Big Easy. Parts of the parish were covered in muddy gunk by post-Hurricane Katrina flooding; some areas were also hit by a spill of 25,000 barrels of petroleum products from the nearby Murphy Oil refinery. The tests indicated that soil at one school playground contained a benzene compound -- a petroleum byproduct -- at levels 33 times greater than the U.S. EPA's standards; arsenic levels at two sites inundated by the Murphy oil spill were 29 times higher than Louisiana environmental standards. The EPA and parish officials are dismissing the Bucket Brigade's criticism, saying that EPA testing so far shows no reason to worry.

Optical Delusion

Republicans ask oil firms to "do their part" to ease pain at the pump

Oil companies and their GOP backers in Washington face a somewhat awkward situation: The oil industry is awash in record profits, but Republicans continue to shovel them millions in subsidies. Meanwhile, Americans stagger under the weight of soaring gas prices. This has created some unfavorable "optics," as the PR professionals put it. A few congressional Democrats are calling for a windfall-profits tax on oil companies to provide consumer relief, but c'mon, let's not get crazy. Instead, House Republicans opted for ... a stern press conference, calling on Big Oil to invest in new pipelines and refineries. "We expect oil companies to do their part to ease the pain," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said. He later added, "Oil companies are enjoying record profits. That's fine. This is America." And also, "We don't want to tax more." No doubt oil companies are quaking in their boots. Those same companies, meanwhile, are ramping up ad campaigns designed to burnish their images. "Yes, our numbers are large," said the president of the American Petroleum Institute, but "we are half the size of the returns of the financials and pharmaceuticals." Poor, poor behemoths ...

We Must, We Must, We Must Increase Our Bust!

Brazilian cops crack down on Amazon logging gang

In a burst of dawn raids, Brazilian police busted an Amazon logging gang yesterday. Some 400 agents fanned out across five Amazon states and arrested at least 34 people accused of forging and selling permits that facilitated the transport of millions of dollars worth of illegally logged hardwood timber. It marked the fifth large-scale police action to combat illegal logging in the Amazon since Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assumed office in 2003, part of a crackdown the government says has slashed deforestation in the Amazon by half this year. "We've cut the backbones of these gangs," said Environment Minister Marina Silva. Conservation activists, though, attribute much of the decline in illegal logging to a slump in the price of soybeans, which has made it less profitable to clear rainforest land for farming; activists fear that logging levels will rise again when soybean prices do.

Argan Eat That?

Rare oil made from goat-pooped pits may save North African tree

For centuries, since even before the Phoenicians arrived (there goes the neighborhood!), goats have climbed Morocco's evergreen argan trees to munch their leaves and fruits. Then they poop or spit out the undigested fruit pits. Then shepherds root through the poop, pick out the pits, extract the interior kernels, and use them to make a nutty oil popular for cooking and cosmetics. They don't call it Nutty Poop Oil, but we do. Now, however, overgrazing and firewood gathering are imperiling the argan's survival, and an offbeat coalition -- including Prince Albert II of Monaco and folks jonesing for the oil's anti-aging properties -- is working to create a global market for the precious oil and thereby establish the value of preserving the argan trees. "The people in the area are poor," said Khaddouj Erraiss, an argan oil promoter, "and if they understand the value of the tree they'll protect it." And we're sure they'll appreciate the extra poop-collecting work.