Friday, 21 Apr 2006

The McCain-Lieberman climate-change bill is no longer the only game in town. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) are pushing new climate-related proposals in Congress, and New Mexico's two senators, Jeff Bingaman (D) and Pete Domenici (R), continue to iron out the details of their own legislation. The time is ripe, as public concern over global warming has never been stronger. Muckraker digs around for the dish on the new bills.

Careful, The Last Hunter Who Crossed Cheney ...

Hunters, anglers fight Bushies' efforts to sell or drill on public lands

Bush administration plans to sell off big chunks of public land and open other parcels to drilling are meeting stiff opposition from a traditionally Republican constituency: the hook-and-bullet crowd. Hunters and anglers anxious to protect fish and game are being wooed by environmental groups, which don't have much sway with the current administration. Sportsfolk have been effective in some efforts to stave off development in the West, from winning a deferment of oil and gas leasing in Wyoming to convincing House sponsors of a controversial mining law to withdraw it. While enviros and sportsfolk have a history of cultural antagonism, they have much in common when it comes to preserving natural habitats. "When you lose habitat, [the animals are] gone forever," says Gordon Johnston, an avid hunter and self-described "hard-core, hard-ass Republican." Despite lingering wariness, the head of the Sierra Club's outreach to sportshumans says, "I am seeing trust slowly being built."


To all those who think kids these days are lazy and apathetic, we say, "Have you met Terrain Johnson?" The enterprising and eco-minded sixth grader and his mentor Colleen Contrisciane of Earth Force -- this week's InterActivists -- answer reader questions about getting kids involved in environmental activism, promoting eco-consciousness in the classroom, starting up an Earth Force project in your own neck of the woods, and more.

That's Some Good Ship

Calif. plan would curb air pollution from shipping and cargo industries

Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board approved a far-reaching plan to reduce air pollution by the cargo-moving industry to 2001 levels -- no small feat, as the amount of goods entering California ports is expected to triple in the next 15 years. A combination of regulations and business incentives, the plan would reduce diesel-related pollution from ports, railways, and trucking companies by 85 percent. Currently, the area near Long Beach and L.A. ports is a "diesel death zone," according to a local ER doc. Unregulated, ships would produce 80 percent of the state's diesel pollution by 2020. The ARB estimates its plan could eliminate thousands of cases of asthma and 1,500 premature deaths a year in that same time frame. "[N]ow is the time to take action," said ARB Chair Robert F. Sawyer. Word. The plan awaits funding and approval of similar action by the feds.

Pussy Galore

The lynx returns to Colorado

After a deluge of depressing news about dying polar bears and baby walruses (who we love and would never, ever joke about), finally some good animal tidings! The fuzzy-wuzzy lynx is endangered in Colorado and threatened in 47 other states, but a Colorado Division of Wildlife program is making progress returning the wild cats to the state. Lynx disappeared from Colorado in 1973, thanks to poison laid out by ranchers and shrunken habitat from development. By the end of April, the Division of Wildlife will have reintroduced over 200 of the tuft-eared cats, fitted with satellite collars so they can be tracked. The agency has verified that at least 105 kittens have been born in the last three years, but the population is not yet self-sustaining; cats will continue to be reintroduced until at least 2008. We'd make a joke about the missing lynx, but that would just be too obvious.