Monday, 26 Jun 2006

Bench Warmers

Supreme Court to decide whether EPA should regulate greenhouse gases

The Supreme Court today announced that it will rule on whether the U.S. EPA should regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from automobiles. Against the advice of the Bush administration, SCOTUS will hear a suit brought by 12 states, a number of cities, and various environmental groups against the EPA. The plaintiffs argue that the agency should classify carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons -- all planet-warming greenhouse gases -- as pollutants and thus regulate them under the Clean Air Act. A lower court sided with the administration, which argued that voluntary steps to curb the emissions are good enough and that the EPA should not have to "embark on the extraordinarily complex and scientifically uncertain task of addressing the global issue of greenhouse-gas emissions." (So, their argument is ... it's too hard?) The court will begin hearing arguments in October.


If you're a fan of advice maven Umbra Fisk, you know she has certain rules. And one of the most unbreakable, unbendable, and all-around un-ignorable is this: "No vinyl, and that's final." Pithy, yes, but not always so simple to live by. One reader asks what to use as a shower curtain if the dreaded V word is off-limits. Umbra decides to say it, not spray it.

Heh Heh, He Said Buttress

Greenland is melting fast and worrying scientists

Greenland's name may soon be more accurate, as its two-mile-thick ice sheet is melting twice as fast as it was five years ago -- faster than climate models predicted. Since 1991, the average winter temperature has risen almost 10 degrees; by 2005, the landmass was losing up to 52 cubic miles of ice a year. Meltwater has lubricated the bedrock beneath, causing glaciers to slide toward the sea more quickly. That is, to say the least, bad news: "[The glaciers] are like the buttresses of the high cathedral. If you remove the buttress, the cathedral will collapse," says geophysicist Jose Rial. If the massive Greenland glaciers thawed entirely, sea level could rise by over 20 feet. Scientists are monitoring the island's inland, and Denmark now plans to set up measuring stations on the edge of the ice cap to keep tabs on the quickly thinning ice. Perhaps we'll all have a few years' notice before we have to flee toward the Midwest.


The Earthwatch Institute sends thousands of volunteers fanning out across the globe to help with scientific research projects. During his own volunteer stints, Earthwatch CEO Ed Wilson has dug up mammoth bones, caught snakes in central Asia's Tian Shan Mountains, and ridden camels in the Gobi desert. As InterActivist this week, Wilson chats with Grist editors about starting out in the Earthwatch mailroom and working his way up to his current job, which is "a hell of a lot of fun." Send Wilson a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Profit and Laos

Big dam project in Laos aims to minimize environmental and social damage

A controversial hydropower dam under construction in Laos will serve as a test case for whether a large dam can be built without trampling too heavily on the natural world and human rights. Supporters, including the World Bank, say the Nam Theun 2 dam will set a new standard for social and environmental responsibility. Activists aren't convinced; they're concerned about the 6,000 people to be displaced, the dam's location next to a forest with endangered species, and the effect on water quality for up to 100,000 people downstream. Nam Theun 2 will supply most of its generated electricity to Thailand, earning an estimated $2 billion for the Laotian government over the next quarter century. The government -- which critics warn has a reputation for corruption -- says it will use the funds to help halve the nation's poverty levels and provide electricity to all homes. Laotian officials say an additional three or four dams are in the works for the next decade.


Some recent news reports may have led you to believe that there is no "price elasticity" around gasoline -- that no matter how much gas prices rise, people just keep on drivin'. But it's not so: High prices are dampening demand. Why does it matter? Because price elasticity is the secret behind the effectiveness of a carbon tax, the one market-neutral, fast-acting strategy that could get us to clean energy as fast as we need to go. Economist Charles Komanoff preaches the carbon-tax gospel.