Tuesday, 03 Jan 2006

As years go, 2005 ... well, it could have been better. Amidst the war, torture, terrorism, and spying, environmental concerns did occasionally pop into public view. Alas, your bold switch to LED "holiday" lights didn't get the widespread attention it deserved. Instead, the big green stories of the year involved hurricanes, climate change, Bush follies, and oh yeah, one or two good things. David Roberts makes a list and checks it twice, and invites you to make your own nominations.


It's a brand-new year, full of rosy promise and fresh starts. And maybe new appliances. One reader is planning to ditch her old washing machine for a more efficient model, but she's wondering if the eco-goodness of her upgrade would be cancelled out if she sells her old machine to someone else. Advice maven Umbra Fisk sorts through the dilemma.


When last we checked in with you, dear readers, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was threatening to attach a provision to a defense appropriations bill that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Well, not only did he do that, he also attached aid for hurricane victims and assistance to poor families facing high heating costs. In effect, he held the troops and devastated families hostage. He thought it was an offer his colleagues couldn't refuse. Turns out they could, and did, mustering enough opposition for a filibuster. Stevens responded with an astonishing tantrum, calling it the "saddest day of his life" and hinting that he might leave the Senate entirely. Violins swelled. So the refuge is safe. Until next time.

Come Back, J. Edgar Hoover, All Is Forgiven

FBI's been monitoring green groups, using secret informants

Ever get the creepy feeling somebody's watching you? Well, it's not the weed: The FBI has been spying on U.S. environmental, animal-liberation, and other activist groups -- though the feds insist it's the innocuous, totally legal kind of spying. Greenpeace and PETA, among others, have shown up repeatedly in thousands of pages of heavily censored documents the American Civil Liberties Union received as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. The Feebs not only monitored the protests and websites of such groups, but in some cases used confidential informants, from employees to interns, to gather the intel (you knew there was something fishy about that guy in the pleated khakis). Attempting to downplay the surveillance of domestic groups based on their administration-unfriendly politics, a bureau spokesspook said soothingly, "Just being referenced in an FBI file is not tantamount to being the subject of an investigation." We feel tons better. You?


Gerald Prolman used to wonder why organic fruits and veggies were readily available, but not organic flowers. His musings blossomed into a career; now he's the CEO of Organic Bouquet, an online organic florist. As InterActivist this week, Prolman chats about his journey from chef to green flower guy, the nasty chemicals used by most floral growers, and the inappropriate topics he's been known to bring up at parties. Send him a question by 3 p.m. PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

My Left Soot

EPA proposal on soot emissions ignores scientists, ticks off enviros

Finally getting around to updating air-quality standards that were supposed to be revised in 2002, the U.S. EPA late last month unveiled a proposal that pleases ... nobody. It would lower the daily limit for fine-soot pollution, which comes from coal-fired power plants, cars, and a number of other sources, but make no change to the average annual limit. "I made my decision based on the best available science," said EPA administrator Stephen Johnson, even though the EPA's scientific advisory board had recommended tougher standards. Enviros and public-health advocates called the proposal a giveaway to industry and a health threat. Some 60,000 Americans die prematurely each year due to air pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Electric-utility officials, meanwhile, complained that the standards are too stringent. The proposal is open to public comment for 90 days.


Green-biz guru Joel Makower wants to know about the environmental vexations in your workplace. In his Toiling Point column for Grist, he tackles a new work-related eco-quandary each month. Are you wondering how to renovate your office greenly? How to get your cohorts to recycle more than paper and pop cans? Where to find the most eco-friendly office supplies? Send any questions to -- and check out today's column on green printing.

Forth by Northeast

Seven Northeastern states sign greenhouse-gas pact

Thumbing their noses -- or whatever states have where noses should be -- at the Bush administration, seven Northeastern states have committed to cut their planet-toasting carbon dioxide emissions 10 percent by the end of 2018. New York Gov. George Pataki (R) dreamed up the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and has been working since 2003 to get neighboring states on board. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont answered the call, while Massachusetts and Rhode Island dropped out of negotiations. A key tool for achieving reductions will be a cap-and-trade system for large fossil-fueled power plants. Supporters of the initiative laud its environmental benefits and hope it will push the feds to implement similar policies nationwide. Detractors claim it will raise electricity costs and make only a negligible difference in the fight against global warming -- and hey, if you can only take baby steps, why step at all?