Thursday, 01 Jun 2006

"The environment and the economy have been totally misconstrued as incompatible," Hank Paulson told Muckraker earlier this year. "They are opposite sides of the same coin -- you can't consider one without the other." Believe it or not, the very same Paulson, head of the investment firm Goldman Sachs and chair of The Nature Conservancy's board of directors, was nominated by President Bush on Tuesday to become treasury secretary. Muckraker looks into his efforts to green Goldman Sachs, his high-dollar environmental philanthropy, and his reputation as a birder and nature lover.

A Penny Saved Is a Penny Spurned

Bush admin looks to cut funding for energy efficiency

To fund long-term research into speculative future energy sources, the Bush administration wants to cut guaranteed present-day energy savings: The proposed 2007 Energy Department budget would eliminate $152 million (roughly 16 percent) from its energy-efficiency programs. A program to improve the efficiency of heavy-duty trucks would be axed completely, as would one focused on new buildings. A technology-improvement project that saved the U.S. $9 billion on oil in 2004 would have its budget chopped by a third from 2005 levels, even though it's already saved more oil than the administration's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative would by 2025. "At this point in time, with high energy prices and pressures, you'd think maybe we'd want to invest in a suite of energy-efficiency programs that make a dent right away," says William Prindle of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. We don't know whether to laugh or cry. We're thinking cry.

Yeah, But How's Shiloh Doing?

Climate change gets splashy coverage in USA Today and U.S. News

The paradigmatically middle-of-the-road USA Today is running a series on global warming this week -- guess that means mainstream America is getting hep to the crisis. Articles cover the life of an eco-groovy family in Colorado, the greening of corporate America, and the likelihood of abrupt Day After Tomorrow-esque climate changes. Alaska gets a special designation as the "poster state" for climate problems -- apparently it's melting -- and is the subject of a three-part video series. Other features point out global warming's effects on precipitation, wildlife, and the Everglades. The coverage is even interactive: readers are entreated to help scientists track the beginning of spring through the blooming of lilacs and honeysuckle, and can take a global-warming quiz. (Question No. 1: Is global warming real? Hint: yes.) Meanwhile, U.S. News & World Report has a cover story this week on preparing for and adapting to a warmer world. Who ever thought climate change would drive Brangelina's new spawn off the front pages? Wacky.

Appy Days Are Here Again

Ancient Arctic was balmy, a discovery that worries climate scientists

Fifty-five million years ago, the average temperature of the Arctic was a balmy 74 degrees, according to research published today in Nature. The data was gleaned from the first significant sample of sea-floor sediment ever taken from underneath the thick ice at the North Pole. During the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum, "the Earth released a gigantic fart of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere," according to Dutch researcher Appy Sluijs. The greenhouse-gas release was much larger than what humans are, uh, emitting today, but even given the strength of the ancient release, current climate models show that the Arctic would have been much cooler at that point. What's up? Climate scientists worry the discrepancy may suggest that they've underestimated the warming power of greenhouse gases, or that there are other, unknown factors that amplify warming. And the same research indicates that there may be vast oil deposits below the Arctic Ocean -- all the better to warm the globe even more.

Blend Game

Wal-Mart looks into selling ethanol

As part of its newfound determination to jump on the eco-bandwagon, Wal-Mart is considering selling E85, an ethanol/gasoline blend, at the gas stations it owns and operates. The mega-chain held an alternative-fuels summit for auto-industry reps, oil companies, government officials, and biofuel producers in Washington, D.C., this week. Still, Wal-Mart spokesflack Kevin Gardner stressed that Wal-Mart is not yet ready to commit to anything. Despite ethanol fanfare from federal lawmakers and steady manufacturing of flex-fuel cars that can run on E85, only about 600 of the nation's 170,000 retail gas stations sell the ethanol blend. Wal-Mart owns and operates 383 gas stations across the country; the ethanol industry hopes that the world's biggest retailer would have the clout to encourage other chains to carry E85 as well. Meanwhile, oil giant Chevron is eyeing the biofuels biz too; this week it announced a new business unit that will focus on ethanol and biodiesel.