Wednesday, 06 Sep 2006

The Texas Planet Massacre

Texas may approve 16 new coal-fired power plants

The state of Texas, which spews more greenhouse gases than Canada or the U.K., is set to reduce its emissions. And by "reduce" we mean "massively increase." Texas may soon approve construction of 16 new coal-fired power plants. And not the fancy new "clean coal" kind, either -- the old-school dirty kind, which would add an estimated 117 million tons of carbon dioxide a year to the atmosphere, more than the individual emissions of 33 states and 177 countries. Yikes. Texas has no formal global-warming strategy or plans to reduce CO2, having decided to leave global-warming mitigation in the capable hands of the feds. Cuts in greenhouse gases, says Gov. Rick Perry's (R) press secretary, could "dramatically harm our economy." The mayors of Dallas, Houston, and 15 other cities, representing nearly one-third of the state's population, disagree. They plan to mess with Texas, vowing to take legal action to fight the plants.


The vast majority of American schools offer highly processed, heat-n-serve school lunches -- and we wonder why schoolkids feast on Play-Doh and glue. Now, the corporate world that brought mystery meatloaf, neon vegetables, and half-frozen milk to generations of young palates is hoping to conquer the potentially lucrative school-breakfast market. Tom Philpott considers how we got into this unappetizing situation, and chews over what could be done to remedy it.

Take Backs

Russia sues to overturn approval for giant Shell energy project

Russia is suing to overturn its initial approval of a $20 billion Royal Dutch Shell oil and gas project, citing alleged environmental violations. (As Shell is locked in an ownership dispute with state-run oil company Gazprom, some analysts suspect the litigation has more to do with control than with concern over ecosystems, but we'll take what we can get.) Russia's Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources claims Shell and its partners failed to build anti-erosion facilities and disposed of excessive industrial wastewater at Sakhalin 2, the world's largest integrated oil and natural gas project. The project is 75 percent complete and was scheduled to be done in mid-2008; if not halted by the lawsuit, it will have the capacity to meet 8 percent of the world's demand for liquefied natural gas. Shell, which has spent millions assessing the environmental and social impacts of the development, says on its website, "The project complies fully with Russian and international environmental standards." For whatever that's worth.


We don't do much golfing ourselves -- even if we could get beyond the whole pesticide-laden creeping-bentgrass monoculture aspect, we'd just get hung up on the funny pants. But some folks get a thrill from putting irons and polyester, and we respect that. Today, a reader wonders if she should get eco-friendly golfing gewgaws as gifts for her fairway-favoring father, and Umbra searches for where the green is greener.

A Fish Called Wanda

Male fish with female characteristics found in Potomac tributaries

Male smallmouth and largemouth bass in the Potomac River have been found to be developing eggs, leading federal scientists to suspect that, well, it may be something in the water. Female characteristics have been found in more than 80 percent of the male smallmouth bass studied in Potomac tributaries in Maryland and Virginia. Feminized fish were also found in Washington, D.C., and as far as the Potomac's South Branch -- a range of over 200 miles. The cause of the intersex fish is unknown, but utilities are assuring the public that tap water drawn from the river is safe. Ed Merrifield of green group Potomac Riverkeeper is understandably skeptical: "If they can't tell us what the problem is, then how can they tell us that they've taken it out of the water?" Says Thomas Jacobus, general manager of the Washington Aqueduct: "I don't know, and I don't think anybody knows, the answer to that question right now: Is the effect in the fish transferable to humans?" Let's hope not -- there are enough freaky people in D.C. already.

Well-Fed

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