Wednesday, 02 Aug 2006

Buy a box of nice, juicy, organic strawberries from the local co-op, and you probably feel all virtuous. But have you ever stopped to think about the person who picked that fruit out in the fields? Despite organic's righteous rep, laborers on many organic farms are treated just as cruddily as those on conventional farms, reports Jason Mark. But if a new coalition has anything to say about the situation, that may soon start to change.

We're Running Out of Drilling Puns

Senate votes to expand drilling in Gulf of Mexico

Acting boldly to address America's nascent energy crisis, U.S. senators ... passed one more sop to the oil and gas industry and got ready to flee town for the summer recess. Yesterday, by a vote of 71 to 25, the Senate passed a bill that would open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, while protecting a zone around Florida and funneling beaucoup drilling royalties to gulf states (thus bribing key lawmakers for support). The bill must still be reconciled with a House-passed version, which calls for ... even more drilling. The House bill would rescind a 25-year-old drilling moratorium on most U.S. coastal waters more than 100 miles from shore, opening up to development about 350 million additional acres in the Atlantic and Pacific. If the legislation comes out of conference committee with the House bill's expansive scope, some senators have threatened a filibuster.

DDT Time

DDT poised for a comeback to fight malaria in Africa

Hoping to gain ground in the fight against malaria, the World Health Organization will soon endorse the spraying of DDT in small amounts inside homes in afflicted areas. In May, the U.S. Agency for International Development made a similar endorsement. Malaria, spread by mosquitoes, kills as many as a million people a year, 90 percent of them in Africa. DDT wiped out malaria in the U.S. in the 1940s, and was used to fight the disease around the globe in the '50s and '60s. But it was also heavily applied to farm fields during that era, and was found to wreak havoc on ecosystems and cause reproductive problems in wildlife and humans. Beginning in the 1970s, the U.S. and many European countries banned DDT, and pressured African nations to follow suit. But other malaria-fighting methods haven't managed to wipe out the disease, so health officials are again leaning toward limited use of DDT. Enviros are split on the issue; Greenpeace, for example, opposes use of DDT, while the Sierra Club acknowledges that closely monitored use of the pesticide can be important in fighting malaria.


A reader wonders how to write a compelling letter to local politicians telling them it's well past time to act against climate change. Oh, and in a state -- Alabama -- that's not exactly known for its eco-awareness. Advice maven Umbra Fisk pens a few thoughts on the matter.

The Bill Factor

Bill Clinton teams with cities to fight climate change

Yesterday, ex-Prez Bill Clinton announced a new international effort to fight climate change. The Clinton Climate Initiative is a partnership between the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group -- a group of 22 of the world's largest municipalities -- and the Clinton Foundation. The latter will help the former pool purchasing power to get lower prices on energy-saving and alternative-fuel products. The consortium will also share knowledge about best practices on everything from energy-efficient streetlights and traffic controls to building codes and clean fuels. "The entrenched thought patterns and economic interests of yesterday are our common enemy," said Clinton. Speaking of which, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said recently that if Republicans retain control of Congress in November's election, continued inaction on climate can be expected. Said Blunt, "I think the information is not adequate yet for us to do anything meaningful." Meaningless gestures, though -- we can expect a lot more of those.