Wednesday, 14 Dec 2005

Have population issues become the third rail of environmental activism? Curbing runaway growth in human numbers was once a key tenet in the green platform, but these days many eco-groups avoid this contentious topic like the plague. Today, Grist wades into touchy territory with a trio of pieces on the "P" word. Mike Wendling reports from Europe on growing worries over depopulation. David Nova, activist and head of a local Planned Parenthood network, chats about trekking 2,650 miles to raise awareness of population pressures and the need to empower women. And John Kurmann wonders whether he can be both a good global citizen and a dad.

Not Shafted Yet

Controversial mining-law revisions dropped from budget bill

You might think we could take it for granted that millions of acres of national parks, forests, and other federal lands won't be sold off to developers, but these days, it's worthy of celebration: Late yesterday, struggling to pass a big budget bill before the holiday break, Republicans in Congress withdrew a provision to revamp federal mining law that conservationists feared could push prime public land into private hands. GOP leaders bowed to bipartisan opposition from key Western senators, who threatened to torpedo the entire budget package. The House was under pressure as well -- a coalition of about 55 million hunters and anglers sent letters opposing the provisions to key representatives on Tuesday. Public-lands and outdoor-sports advocates are expressing relief that the measure is off the table -- at least for now. Says Death Valley National Park Superintendent J.T. Reynolds, "It's a welcome stay of execution."

Unjust Breathe

Blacks more likely than whites to be breathing polluted air

Sadly, few will be shocked to hear that black Americans are more likely than whites to be breathing the nation's most unhealthy air. An Associated Press analysis of year-2000 data from two federal sources -- the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory and the Census Bureau's population count -- reveals that blacks nationwide are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where air pollution from nearby industrial plants probably poses the greatest health risk. Hispanics and Asians face elevated risks as well. AP also found that residents of these neighborhoods were generally poorer and less educated, and endured unemployment rates nearly 20 percent higher than the national average. The EPA has been trying to loosen industry's reporting requirements for the TRI -- a move activists fear will make it much more difficult to track both industrial pollution and who is being affected by it.


Today, Umbra Fisk repents of her previous snarkiness about the concept of ecological footprints, those guilt-inducing measurements that show us just how badly we're trashing the planet. She found the footprint notion depressing and largely pointless in '04, but upon reflection -- and a little clarification from the concept's founder -- she thinks it just might be a handy tool for nudging the world toward ecological health and balance.

Solar Survivor

California utility commission recharges Governator's solar energy plan

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) Million Solar Roofs initiative -- a casualty of partisan squabbling in the California legislature's last session -- has been partially resurrected. On Tuesday, the California Public Utilities Commission responded to a groundswell of public support with a $3.2 billion plan to increase the state's total solar output from about 100 megawatts now to 3,000 megawatts by 2017, eliminating the need for six natural-gas-fired power plants. State officials say it would be the largest solar initiative in the country, possibly the world. Residential energy bills would go up a modest 55 cents or so a month on average, says the PUC, but improving solar technologies should ultimately drive costs down. Solar proponents say they're happy with the plan, which could be implemented in the next few months. "This program has the potential to make California the Saudi Arabia of solar power," said clean-power advocate Bernadette Del Chiaro. Only without the burqas.