Tuesday, 06 Dec 2005

Show Us the Money

Throw a little cash toward Grist and absolve your eco-sins

Grist readers are a guilt-ridden bunch. Your environmental peccadilloes are many, and you feel awfully bad about them. "I use bleach, thus transferring stains from my clothes to my soul," confesses one angst-ridden person. "I suck at ironing so I take some of my clothes to the dry cleaners," another admits sheepishly. "In my heart, I covet the new Ford Mustang," divulges a third. But this trio can now sleep soundly at night -- they've each bought a Grist Indulgence by making a tax-deductible donation to their favorite environmental magazine. Have you done the same? Lift that cumbrous weight from your chest: give today!

The Long, Hot Summit

U.S. senators, E.U. ministers press Bush to join climate talks

At the U.N. climate summit in Montreal, there's increased pressure on the U.S. to join in -- and when we say "pressure" we mean "begging." On Monday, 24 senators, including four Republicans, sent President Bush an open letter asking the administration to participate in the negotiations -- or at least get out of the way and let other nations talk. European Union ministers tried to mend fences with the U.S., saying they wouldn't insist on precise caps on greenhouse-gas emissions if that would help get America into talks about what will follow Kyoto. Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth U.K. articulated activist disgust at this gesture, saying that by mollifying the Bush administration, the E.U. is making "a major strategic mistake." Some activists contend that Kyoto-participating nations should forget the U.S. (and maybe even Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair recently started backing away from mandatory carbon caps) and work instead with up-and-coming nations like South Africa, which might be persuaded to commit to legally binding climate agreements.


Talking about (giggle) sex toys (blush) makes many of us uneasy. But here's a little something to make you more uneasy: many of the most popular toys contain phthalates. Yes, that's right, even your intimate fun can be marred by human-made chemicals that have been linked to -- oh, irony -- reproductive disorders. Today, Emily Gertz takes a look at the issue, the lack of regulations, and the safer alternatives out there for eco-minded lovahs.

Into Thin Bear

New Jersey bear hunt gets under way

New Jersey's second bear hunt in 35 years kicked off yesterday despite last-minute attempts by activists to halt the six-day season. By Monday afternoon, 54 bears had been killed. Joisey's growing bear population is estimated at 2,000 to 3,000, and human-bear encounters are increasing. Hunt advocates claim bear season is a good way to thin the bruin population. Animal-rights groups unsuccessfully went to the New Jersey Supreme Court to stop the hunt, contending that the state's bear management plan is not scientifically sound, and that the government hadn't done enough to educate people on avoiding bears or distribute bear-proof garbage cans. "Until we get our garbage under control there will continue to be a rise in nuisance complaints with or without bear hunts," says bear advocate Lynda Smith. But hunter Kirk Lee counters, "I love living with the bears, but I support the hunt. There's too many out there for the amount of space available."


President Bush repeatedly chanted a new mantra this year: "safe, clean nuclear power." Many enviros were vexed by the coinage, but Mark Peters saw a quiet genius behind it. How, he wondered, might those magical adjectives have aided some of cinema's greatest villains? Darth Vader, the Joker, Saruman -- all could've learned a thing or two, Peters contends.

Ah-Ha California

California pushing ahead with ambitious plan to fight global warming

Earlier this year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) broke with the Bush administration's do-nothing stance on global warming when he pledged that by 2050, his state would shrink its greenhouse-gas emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels. On Thursday, the state's Climate Action Team will release an aggressive plan for hitting that target. Its proposals are expected to include a greenhouse-gas cap-and-trade system, mandatory reporting on carbon dioxide emissions by industry, an emissions tax, and promotion of alternative fuels. The plan's release coincides with the Montreal climate summit, where California and the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo jointly signed a pact on Monday to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. According to a new report from Stanford University, California's strict environmental laws have saved businesses and citizens $56 billion since the 1970s, mostly thanks to increases in efficiency.