Thursday, 05 Oct 2006

A surge of ecological concern among evangelical Christians could invigorate the fight against climate change, and even the environmental movement as a whole. Renowned journalist Bill Moyers investigates this trend in the PBS special Is God Green?, which airs on Oct. 11; watch an exclusive preview on the Grist website. And Grist will delve into the topic more deeply in a special series that begins today, which includes an interview with Moyers, a report from Bill McKibben, and a chat with evangelical author J. Matthew Sleeth. Stay tuned for more over the coming days, including an interview with famed biologist E. O. Wilson about his new book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth.

Baseball All Year Round!

Northeast U.S. may feel like South if climate continues changing, says study

The days of mild summers in the Northeastern U.S. may be numbered, says a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists. If global greenhouse-gas emissions were reduced by 3 percent each year, the average temperature in the nine Northeast states would still likely rise between 3.5 and 6.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century; but if emissions and resultant climate change are left unchecked, the average temp could rise by up to 12.5 degrees, causing the region's weather to begin to resemble the South's, with longer, hotter summers and milder winters. The change could strain agriculture, tourism, the power grid, and the whole economy. "This has enormous implications for human health. It puts a lot of stress on the energy system. It could lead to blackouts," says Katharine Hayhoe, an author of the two-year study. "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at stake," says coauthor Cameron Wake.

To Catch a Leaf

FBI raids companies linked to E. coli-tainted spinach

Federal agents raided two produce plants in Salinas Valley, Calif., yesterday, as part of a criminal investigation into whether they violated food-safety and environmental laws in distributing E. coli-tainted spinach. The FBI and the Food and Drug Administration executed search warrants for the plants operated by Natural Selection Foods and Growers Express. "We are investigating allegations that certain spinach growers and distributors may not have taken all necessary or appropriate steps to ensure that their spinach was safe before they were placed into interstate commerce," said U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan. The investigators do not believe the contamination was deliberate, but the companies could be criminally penalized if found to have been negligent. Said Natural Selection CEO Charles Sweat, "We continue to believe that the source of the contamination was in the fields from which we buy our spinach." Eight samples of cow poop near two Salinas Valley spinach fields tested positive for E. coli on Tuesday, but it is yet to be determined whether it matches the strain that killed one person and sickened nearly 200 across the U.S. and Canada.

Talk About the Wither

Extreme drought will spread widely over coming century, report predicts

Millions of lives will be endangered by droughts affecting half of the planet's land surface by 2100, top British climate scientists predict in a study to be published in the Journal of Hydrometeorology. And on nearly a third of the land surface, that drought could be extreme, rendering agriculture virtually impossible. That's compared to only 1 to 3 percent of the earth's landmass that is currently under extreme drought. "This is genuinely terrifying," says Andrew Pendleton of Christian Aid. Even more terrifying: the researchers say their predictions may be an underestimate, as they don't take into account the effects of global warming on the earth's carbon cycle. "There's almost no aspect of life in the developing countries that these predictions don't undermine -- the ability to grow food, the ability to have a safe sanitation system, the availability of water," says Andrew Simms, an expert on the effects of climate change on developing countries. Is it time to wake up yet?

How Local Can You Go?

Triple-bottom-line strategy working for small biz

Small, local businesses are increasingly embracing social responsibility and promoting environmental health -- and making a profit in the process. "When people come to me, I'm their first choice, a locally owned business that can produce at value," says Guy Bazzani, whose small Michigan firm restores old buildings using green techniques. Bazzani started Local First, a network of more than 250 independent businesses in Grand Rapids, Mich.; it joins 34 similar business networks, consisting of more than 11,000 local businesses in the U.S. and Canada. The networks have sprung out of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which promotes profit-making through social and environmental consciousness. "We wanted to be a force to make businesses become positive role models," says BALLE cofounder Laury Hammel. "The question is whether you can serve an economic master and have these other values at the same time," says management professor James Post. "The answer is yes."