Thursday, 15 Dec 2005

As Frank Sinatra zippily informed us, they've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil. They've also got an awful lot of sugarcane and soy, two crops that come in handy for making ethanol and biodiesel. And we'll be darned if they aren't churning that stuff out by the ton! As talk of peak oil increases, Brazil seems poised to give the U.S. a run for its alternative-fuel money -- and a few other South American countries aren't far behind. Kelly Hearn reports from Argentina.

The Talk of the Drown

Polar bears drowning as Alaska sea ice disappears

OK, we're trying to keep a positive outlook here, but ... drowning polar bears? Seriously? And just when therapy was starting to work. In September 2004 (the year the polar ice cap receded a record 160 miles from Alaska's north coast), federal researchers doing routine aerial surveys counted 10 bears swimming in the open ocean as far as 60 miles off Alaska's shore -- where they'd spotted perhaps one bear every two years in the past. They later found four dead bears floating in the vicinity, a few days after a big storm. Though the researchers themselves were unwilling to speculate about causes, plenty of others were quick to pin the fate of the Arctic bruins on the obvious culprit: global warming. Says marine biologist Richard Steiner, "For anyone who has wondered how global warming and reduced sea ice will affect polar bears, the answer is simple -- they die." Greenpeace this week began running TV ads featuring adorable animated polar bears that slip off melting ice and drown.


With environmental progress at the federal level happening at a glacial pace -- and by "glacial" we mean "backward-moving" -- it's fallen to states to drive green innovation in the U.S. Kathleen McGinty, head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, has assumed this responsibility with gusto. In an interview with Grist's Sarah van Schagen, McGinty chats about using clean energy to create jobs in her state, the lessons she learned working in the Clinton administration, and how a landfill became her all-time favorite project.

Stickin' It to the Pan

DuPont to pay $16.5 million for hiding chemical's risks

DuPont will pay $16.5 million in a settlement with the U.S. EPA for failing to report information on health and environmental risks of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used to make Teflon and other plastics. Greenies are ticked that the company won't be forced to admit liability or apologize, and say the fine is woefully inadequate for DuPont, which makes an estimated $200 million annually from products manufactured with PFOA. The chemical can build up in blood, persist for years in the body, and contaminate water, and it may cause developmental defects. The deal includes a $10.25 million fine and at least $5 million devoted to studies officials hope will explain why PFOA is being found in people and animals worldwide. Ironically, one reason DuPont got dinged in the first place was for hiding a study on PFOA's impacts for about 20 years. But hey, more studies never hurt. Not like PFOA itself, anyway.

Turn the Meat Around

Conservationists pay to end hunting in western Canada wilderness

The Raincoast Conservation Foundation opposes sport hunting, and it's putting its money where its mouth is: It purchased key hunting rights to a prime wilderness area along the coast of British Columbia, and plans to end sport hunting there for good. In late November, the group bought out the guide-outfitting rights for more than 7,722 square miles along B.C.'s central coast -- habitat for grizzlies, cougar, wolves, moose, and more -- for about $1.18 million. It's the largest deal of its kind ever in North America, says Ian McAllister, Raincoast's conservation director. The group plans to work with six first nations in the region to develop an eco-tourism economy to replace trophy hunting. Under the license Raincoast purchased, up to 14 grizzlies could have been killed by hunters from outside B.C. by the end of 2006, as well as an unlimited number of other animals.