Monday, 11 Sep 2006

Nothing to Fear But Air Itself

Government fails to tend to the many left sick by the 9/11 attacks

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, left behind a grim legacy. No, we're not talking about the violent imperial fantasies and paranoia that have gripped much of the nation, but the lingering ill health of those who worked in lower Manhattan to find survivors and clean up the rubble. New research shows that 69 percent of workers at Ground Zero developed respiratory problems; 59 percent still show symptoms. At a House hearing on Friday, lawmakers blasted ex-EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman for issuing assurances about air quality in the days following the attacks. Those assurances are on public record, but nonetheless Whitman struggled to shift the blame to local officials. "I did not have the jurisdiction to force workers to wear [respirators]," she said. "That was up to their superiors." Thousands of workers will likely need lifelong care, and a number of babies are being born early and underweight in lower Manhattan, meaning the need may span generations. For all this, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt offered New York the princely sum of ... $75 million. For those of you keeping track, that is less than half what the U.S. spends in a single day in Iraq.

I Found My Thrill on News-Bury Hill

EPA proposes easing air-pollution rules for oil refineries and other plants

The Bush administration EPA has had some trouble with the whole protecting-the-environment thing, but it has mastered one important skill: burying news. Latest exhibit: On Friday, just before a weekend that everyone knew would be saturated with 9/11 remembrances, the EPA proposed easing air-pollution requirements for oil refineries and other industrial facilities. The plan would change the rules about when plant operators have to install up-to-date pollution controls, making it easier for them to avoid the upgrades. The EPA claims to be streamlining the pollution-control process, and the oil industry approves, saying the change would lead to boosted refining capacity. But enviros say it's just another loophole and industry giveaway. "Common sense just tells you that if you allow the oil industry and others to find new ways to bypass needs for pollution controls, that will mean more pollution," says Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.


Inspiring teenagers to do anything but play video games, talk on the phone, and listen to that noise they call music is ... challenging. But advice maven Umbra Fisk is undaunted. Generation Whatever-it-is-now has a planet to save, and they need to get crackin'. Today, an exceptional California teen wonders how to give his eco-apathetic peers a jolt, and Umbra chimes in with some ideas.

Goshute in the Foot

Interior Department blocks interim nuke-waste site in Utah

The Interior Department has blocked an interim nuclear-waste storage plant on a Native reservation in appropriately named Skull Valley, Utah. The department denied a lease and transportation plan for the site, which was to hold 44,000 tons of nuclear waste in above-ground casks about an hour's drive from Salt Lake City. The department's main concern was just how interim the interim site would be, as the planned permanent waste dump in Yucca Mountain, Nev., has been plagued with delays and may not be completed for decades, if ever. The rejection was cheered by Utah's governor, congressional delegation, and thousands of letter-writing citizens, as well as some members of the Goshute tribe, which owns the land. Others in the 125-member tribe lamented the loss of a profit-making venture. The decision may be appealed by Private Fuel Storage, the eight-utility consortium backing the waste site.


After years of practicing architecture, Huston Eubank had his aha! moment while working with an environmental consultant on a movie lot in L.A. Now he's executive director of the World Green Building Council, urging the building industry to get with the environmental program. As InterActivist this week, Eubank chats with Grist about getting in touch with nature, working with Amory Lovins, keeping a Pollyanna-ish outlook, and more. Send Eubank a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Keepin' It Real Estate

Portland's real-estate database makes it easy to search for green homes

Realtors in and around Portland, Ore., will soon be able to search more easily for homes that have met national green-building standards. Starting in 2007, houses certified by LEED, Energy Star, and other such programs will be searchable in Portland's authoritative Regional Multiple Listing Service. Added amenities like on-site solar power and high-efficiency furnaces will be searchable individually. "People increasingly want energy efficiency in their homes, indoor air quality, and lower energy bills. This gives them the ability to find those features and a mainstream tool, which is important," says Terry Miller of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. Advocates hope that the new policy will benefit low- and middle-income buyers; lenders may be willing to give bigger loans for energy-efficient homes, as money saved on electric bills could potentially go toward paying a higher mortgage.