Thursday, 17 Aug 2006

If you think skaters and BMX riders are just a buncha punks, it's time to think again. The world of action sports is gaining a green conscience, thanks to the efforts of Action Sports Environmental Coalition founder Frank Scura, and it's got a grip on those all-important consumers: 18- to 25-year-old males. Is the future of eco-consciousness hidden somewhere in the X Games? Gregory Dicum talks with Scura to find out.

Hey Man, Nice DOT

More Alaska drilling proposed as DOT considers new pipeline regulations

Spurred by oil giant BP's many Alaska leaks, the Department of Transportation will soon propose tighter rules for minor petroleum pipelines. BP's North Slope lines were exempt from certain federal regulations because they operated at low pressure in a rural area, and weren't near commercially navigable waters. Thus, despite as much as 14 years of neglect, BP may not have violated any federal regs. The new rules could make life easier for DOT's fewer than 100 inspectors, who are responsible for 200,000 miles of pipeline. Low-pressure lines account for half the oil spilled nationwide, by volume, so the rule expansion will come none too soon: the Interior Department is set to open tens of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive North Slope wetlands to new oil drilling. Now, when the inevitable spills send oil all over that land, we'll all have the comfort of knowing that federal regulations were violated and oil companies will get a stern talking-to. Whew.


Because of their long history as circus animals, California sea lions are one of the most widely recognized marine mammals in the world. But they've also gained a rep as a pest, hanging around harbors, stealing fish out of salmon ladders and fishing nets. With a new documentary, filmmaker Alan De Herrera hopes to de-villainize the playful, intelligent critters. Grist's Sarah van Schagen caught up with De Herrera at the Seattle Aquarium earlier this summer to chat about his film, protecting sea lions' West Coast habitat, and spreading his message.

The Few, the Proud, the Marine Reserves

California will create nation's most ambitious marine-protection program

California wildlife officials voted this week to create 15 distinct marine reserves from Half Moon Bay to Santa Barbara, making about 110 square miles of ocean off-limits to most human activity and giving another 94 square miles or so protection of varying degrees. Backers hope the plan will provide important habitat protection for marine life and give a kick in the, um, fins to a lagging rockfish population. The proposal, an attempt to placate both environmentalists and fisherfolk, took seven years to hash out. And, of course, few are completely pleased -- anglers feel shut out of some prime fishing grounds, while some greens argue that the protected area should be extended and include a ban on squid and salmon fishing. Wildlife commissioner Bob Hattoy called the proposal "a compromise of a compromise," saying, "We had a chance to be historic tonight, and all we were was adequate." Depressingly, the "adequate" proposal is the most ambitious marine-conservation program in the nation.

Do the Hempty Hemp

Hemp farming could be legalized in California

Farmers could legally grow industrial hemp under a bill approved by the state Senate of, obviously, California. But isn't hemp, like, totally marijuana? Didn't Nancy Reagan warn us about this? No, no, says (Republican!) state Sen. Tom McClintock, in the best analogy we've ever heard: Hemp "bears no more resemblance to marijuana than a poodle bears to a wolf." The legislation would require that hemp be tested before harvesting to make sure it has only a trace amount of THC, the intoxicant in marijuana. Hemp-growing is illegal in the U.S., for all kinds of logical reasons we can't think of right now, and the bill would attempt to skirt a federal crackdown by requiring farmers to sell only to California processors. Hemp can be used in clothing, cosmetics, food, paper, rope, jewelry, luggage, sports equipment, toys, and food -- it's high in essential fatty acids, protein, B vitamins, and fiber. But we sacrifice all that, because of the dope thing. It makes sense. If you're high.