Wednesday, 21 Jun 2006

All the Right Moves

Grist needs more help getting a move on

If you've been following our saga over the last week or so, you know that Grist is about to make two big moves: the physical kind, which will land us in a new office space, and the, uh, metaphysical kind, which will lead to all kinds of zingy new content for you to read and watch and listen to. But in order to take these Gristacular leaps, we need your support. (Yeah, sorry, always gotta be a catch.) Send us a tax-deductible donation of any size, and you'll get our eternal thanks. Send us a donation of $50 or more, and you'll get a shot at winning eco-friendly shoes; a $100 donation gets a chance at a bamboo bike. Ooh!


Are you one of the skillion or so people who recently got a feverish email about an eco-disastrous gold mine in Chile? You know, the one that will dislodge glaciers, befoul rivers, and devastate impoverished locals? Well, there's at least partial truth to those rumors. Last week, Chile gave the proposed Pascua-Lama mining project a big thumbs up. Kelly Hearn digs into the controversy, and explains the project's prospects.

An Irritating Truth

EIA predicts world will continue to guzzle energy

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, growing public consciousness of the impending worldwide energy crisis is going to ... well, have basically no effect at all. World energy demand will surge 71 percent between 2003 to 2030, predicted the EIA yesterday, and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will rise a terrifying 75 percent. Oil demand will soar 37 percent, with more than half of that increase due to demand in the U.S., China, and India. But the EIA thinks oil supply will keep up as exports rise from non-OPEC countries, and oil prices will fall from current levels (to around $57 a barrel in 2030). Oil's share of the global energy market is expected to drop slightly as coal, natural gas, and renewables rise. Still, renewables will supply a paltry 9.1 percent of the world's energy in 2030, the EIA predicts. The forecast, which compactly captures the Bush administration worldview, assumes no major change in energy policies.


How many environmentalists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: 100. Ninety-nine to stew about the ecological and philosophical impacts of the move, and one -- who also happens to moonlight as a convivial advice columnist -- to climb the ladder and just freaking do it. Yes, you've probably heard that compact fluorescent bulbs are much more efficient than ye olde incandescents. But if you're in the dark about whether or how to actually make the switch, you're not alone. Advice maven Umbra Fisk sheds light on the topic today.

Refining Fault

Green groups sue EPA over refinery emissions rules

Yet again, environmental groups are suing the U.S. EPA for issuing rules the enviros say will increase pollution. In the old days, refineries and other industrial plants were required to submit a malfunction contingency plan to the EPA; under a rule that went into effect in April, the agency has discretion in asking for such plans, and refineries are no longer legally liable for not abiding by them. (The new rule also cuts out public scrutiny of refinery contingency plans.) The lawsuit was filed partially in response to an incident last year in Wilmington, Calif., wherein noxious smoke from three refineries sickened nearby residents after an area power outage; the refineries had no adequate backup plans in case of power failure. The groups also say the new rule allows plants to emit more when starting up or shutting down, to which an EPA spokesflack responded that higher emissions during startup and shutdown were inevitable. Well then.

Don't Hook Now

Senate passes bill to strengthen fisheries oversight

The Senate passed a bill this week that would ramp up fisheries oversight, require annual catch limits, develop a uniform environmental review for fisheries management plans, and boost the role of scientific advisory committees. The legislation, passed unanimously, renews and improves the 30-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Bill sponsor and act namesake Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) called the legislation "the most successful federal-state management program ever devised." Not that he's bragging. The not-yet-passed House version, sponsored by Reps. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and Don Young (R-Alaska), would allow fisheries plans that are otherwise abiding by the Magnuson-Stevens Act to be exempt from review under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Pombo approach "almost ensures that fish populations will continue to decline," says Lee Crockett of the Marine Fish Conservation Network. Ah, Pombo. At least he's predictable.