Tuesday, 04 Apr 2006

The Great Peru Giveaway

Grist offers wicked awesome prize to lure new subscribers

Maybe it's been a while since you thought about Peru. Say, since you took junior-high social studies. Or read Paddington Bear. Or ate a plate of lima beans. But it's time to start thinking again! From now until May 5, when you get your friends to sign up for Grist emails -- or sign up for an email list you're not on yet -- you'll get a chance to win a nine-day trip for two to Peru! You'll see the Andes, the Amazon, Machu Picchu, and more with ecotourism leader Wildland Adventures. And don't bother with the eco-guilt: we're donating green tags to offset the trip's emissions. Free green news and humor, free trip, free conscience -- what's not to love? Make it happen by May 5.

With Rules Like These, Who Needs Rules?

Draft EPA regulation could up air pollution

The U.S. EPA is considering a regulatory change that could massively increase air pollution -- which is really its job, when you think about it. Currently, oil refineries, chemical factories, and other operations that emit more than 25 tons of toxics into the air a year must apply best available pollution-control technologies; emissions then typically fall dramatically, to the tune of over 95 percent. The revised rule would allow plants that dip back under 25 tons to ditch the technology, meaning many plants would be allowed to increase emissions, some enormously. But don't worry: the rule says they probably wouldn't, in order "to avoid negative publicity and to maintain their appearance as responsible businesses." Yeah, we feel good about relying on that. A memo sent to EPA chieftains from nine of the agency's 10 regional directors -- and recently leaked to the Natural Resources Defense Council -- decried this "drastic change in interpretation" of current regulations under the Clean Air Act as "detrimental to the environment."


Sure, you've heard plenty from eco-activists about the evils of whaling. But what have you heard from the harpoon-wielders and blubber-eaters themselves? For the last 20 years, commercial whaling has been banned under an international agreement -- but Norway flouts that moratorium, and Japan and Iceland conduct scientific hunts and eat the takings. How do they defend their choices? And what does whale meat taste like? Colin Woodard visited these whaling hotspots and offers a firsthand report.

Jilting at Windmills

Measure in Congress could kill Cape Wind project

The Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound may soon receive another blow -- oh, we're so funny! -- if Congress passes an amendment giving Massachusetts power to veto the controversial wind farm if it would interfere with navigation. Of course, it depends on what the definition of "navigation" is, but Gov. Mitt Romney (R) would likely jump at the chance to kill the project. The measure is a softened version of a more sweeping anti-wind amendment introduced earlier by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Meanwhile, anti-Cape Wind organization Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is courting donors to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A fund-raising guide not meant for publication -- whoops! -- instructs, "If it is a token gift of $5,000 you should delay acceptance." But in a speck of good news for Cape Wind, the Massachusetts Audubon Society has decided to give the project preliminary support. So ... that's not really that reassuring.

We've Got Poll, and We're Super Bad

Polls find Americans worried about energy and climate problems

To paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and poll results. So take the following factoids from three recent polls with a big block o' salt. An Environmental Defense survey found that 71 percent of Americans think global warming is real and 53 percent think it's largely caused by human activity. A Civil Society Institute poll found that two-thirds of conservatives think fuel-efficient vehicles are "patriotic" (!) and the Bush administration isn't doing enough to address global warming. Finally, a Gallup poll found that 77 percent of Americans think global oil demand will eventually outpace supply, and 12 percent think the current energy situation in the U.S. is a crisis. Oh, and 70 percent of those polled by Environmental Defense said they're willing to drive less to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Feel free to start any time, people.

Obama Hiccups; Grist Rushes to Transcribe

Obama slams Bush admin for inaction on America's oil addiction

Sen. Barack Obama, progressive golden boy, rebuked the Bush administration yesterday for being all talk, no walk on curbing oil use. When President Bush said America is addicted to oil, "I was among the hopeful," said the Illinois Democrat. "But then I saw the plan." Obama said the administration's failure to boost funding for cleaner fuels, resistance to increased automobile fuel-efficiency standards, and inertia on fighting global warming amount to "admitting alcoholism and then skipping the 12-step program." (Uh, he knows Bush actually did that, right?) Obama called for the U.S. to cut oil imports by more than 7.5 million barrels a day by 2025 and touted a $100-per-vehicle tax credit to cover the costs of installing flexible-fuel tanks, allowing cars to burn corn-based ethanol-blended fuel. Obama also wants the feds to pick up some of Big Auto's huge health-care costs, as long as the industry promises to spend the savings developing greener cars.