Monday, 12 Dec 2005

Bill McKibben is no stranger to climate-change negotiations -- he's attended and reported on them all over the world. But when this year's came to his backyard, he couldn't muster the energy to hop in his hybrid and go. Why? Because he knew it would be too painful. The veteran writer explains his glum outlook and lashes out at a few key figures along the way. (Hey, we're not naming names, but one of them rhymes with tush.)

All This Aggravation Ain't Satisfactionin' Us

Montreal summit wraps up with agreement to ... have more summits

The U.N. climate talks in Montreal ended this weekend with plenty of drama but little progress. The big news, such as it is, is an agreement by a coalition of some 150 nations to convene new talks to generate a set of binding greenhouse-gas emissions caps for 2012 when Kyoto expires. The U.S. balked at joining those talks, but it did grudgingly agree to join a coalition of nearly 200 countries in an "open and nonbinding" dialogue. Even that modest commitment almost got scuttled: When it became clear on Thursday that ex-President Bill Clinton was coming to speak in Montreal, Bush officials threw a tantrum and threatened to pull out of the talks entirely. They eventually backed down, but then the U.S. delegation ended up stalking out of discussions Friday night, peeved about word choices. It finally sulked back in less than 24 hours later to agree to the aforementioned dialogue. Anybody out there raising a teenager? Got any tips?


If you've ever lived in an apartment building, you know the odd mix of intimacy and distance it entails: Yes, I know you go to the bathroom every day at 5:54 a.m. and wear that pink sweater way too often, but no, I don't know your name. While some people are just fine with this set-up, others think it's downright spooky. Today, a reader wonders how to go about setting up a community-living situation that's more friendly and more eco-friendly. Advice maven Umbra Fisk dwells on the question and constructs a fine answer.

The Big Grapple

New York, New York, it's a wonderful, energy-efficient town

With demand for electricity steadily increasing but no room for new power plants, New York City is making pioneering strides in energy efficiency; even famously eco-conscious burgs like Seattle and Portland are taking notice. New York has switched over more than 11,000 traffic lights and walk signals to light-emitting diodes that use 90 percent less energy than conventional fixtures. It's replaced more than 180,000 energy-hogging refrigerators in public housing with much more efficient models. The city is now legally required to purchase only the most energy-efficient cars, air conditioners, and copy machines; soon, computers will join the list. And Gotham's got one of the biggest fleets of hybrid busses in the country, as well as some of the first hybrid taxis. "Eventually what happens here starts to happen around the country," says the Natural Resources Defense Council's Ashok Gupta. "The market that New Yorkers provide is clearly an important factor in moving the rest of the country."


Environmentalism has only recently become part of the political banter in Israel, says Eilon Schwartz. He's founder of The Heschel Center, an organization aiming to train green leaders and spread awareness of eco-issues there. As InterActivist this week, Schwartz chats about his childhood in the Jewish 'burbs of Long Island, the importance of taking religious folk seriously, and why cities are the salvation of the world. Send him a question by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

King of the Ill

Orcas top polar bears as most toxic Arctic mammals

Orcas have officially surpassed polar bears as most toxic mammal in the Arctic. Wo0t! Researchers tested blubber samples and found them permeated with pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) -- highly persistent toxic chemicals also found in the breast milk of Inuit mothers -- and a flame retardant linked to nervous and reproductive disorders. "The Arctic is now a chemical sink," said the WWF's Colin Butfield, "Chemicals from products that we use in our homes every day are contaminating Arctic wildlife." He urged European Union ministers to approve REACH, a tough new chemical testing and registration law recently passed by the E.U. parliament. But REACH's strongest provisions may be foundering under heavy pressure from the chemical industry. We refer recalcitrant lawmakers to the 1977 film Orca. We're telling you, don't mess with these creatures.