Friday, 17 Nov 2006

"Nowhere is there a greater threat to future generations than the disastrous effects of global warming," says Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), incoming chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who pledges to make climate legislation a top priority. And Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says she'll continue to support the boldest global-warming bill in the House. Yes, it'll be a whole new climate in the 110th Congress -- but what are the chances for real green progress? Muckraker investigates.

Franklin, My Dear, I Do Give a Damn

Pennsylvania plan would cut mercury emissions 90 percent in nine years

If a plan approved by a state board yesterday makes it through 14 days of withering stares from the legislature, Pennsylvania will join the cadre of states enacting tougher environmental rules than the feds. The controversial plan, which aims to cut mercury emissions 90 percent over the next nine years, "is a landmark victory for environmental protection and public health in Pennsylvania," said Gov. Ed Rendell (D). "We cannot accept that our state is laden with more toxic mercury pollution than nearly anywhere else in the nation and do nothing about it." Second only to Texas in emissions of the neurotoxin, Pennsylvania spews five tons of mercury a year, 80 percent of that from its 36 power plants. A coalition of nurses, teachers, hunters, and others pushed for the cuts, which John Hanger of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future hailed as the "birth of a new Pennsylvania that understands a clean environment is essential for not only public health but also a vibrant economy." Hear that, D.C.?


There was a time when Eric Schlosser took his kids out for fast food. But once he started researching an article on the industry, all that changed. The article turned into a widely acclaimed book, Fast Food Nation, which has now been turned into a Richard Linklater-directed film, opening today. And his kids don't get to eat Happy Meals anymore. Sarah van Schagen talks with Schlosser about his hopes for the new film and his dreams for a revitalized food culture, and offers her take on the film in Gristmill. In Soapbox, a former McDonald's cook explains why he returned to his farming roots. Bon appetit!

Demand in the Roughy

Deep-sea trawling puts ecosystems in deep trouble, says U.N. report

Deep-sea trawling is bad. How bad? Uh, pretty bad. Turns out raking gigantic fishing nets across the ocean floor shatters millennia-old coral, raises smothering clouds of sediment, and destroys underwater mountains. "It's the equivalent of clearing old-growth forest to collect squirrels," says researcher Alex Rogers, who helped prepare a draft U.N. report on the issue. More than half of the high seas suited to trawling lie outside national boundaries, so there are no regulations stopping boats from decimating populations of alfonsino, roundnose grenadier, and orange roughy (which -- fish fact! -- can live more than 150 years). U.N. delegates will discuss a trawling ban at an upcoming meeting; marine scientists call the case for a ban overwhelming, but fishing interests are likely to strongly oppose it. The director of Spain's Fisheries Resources Department says ships trawl over "a platform of sand," not "ecosystems that are in danger." Yeah, and an alfonsino just flew by our window.


Turns out readers from all over -- students and professors alike -- are curious about how to get their universities climate neutral and sustainability minded. And this week's InterActivist, Julian Dautremont-Smith of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, is here to help them get schooled, answering their questions about offsetting emissions, using fuel-cell technology, making the process DIY, and more. Good thing he's got an arsenal of resources at the ready.

The Royal Whee

U.K. greens grin as climate bill unveiled in annual "queen's speech"

We thought wigs and rowdiness were the most delightful customs in the British Parliament, but it turns out there's another: the annual "queen's speech." This opening-day tradition offers a chance to boast about the things Parliament will accomplish in the coming session. And this week, greens got all atwitter when Queen Elizabeth's promises included a climate-change bill. (The speech also noted such modest ambitions as reforming welfare, modernizing health care, and pursuing peace in the Middle East, but who are we to quibble with the queen?) The climate bill will, says Environment Minister David Miliband, formalize the long-term goal of cutting emissions 60 percent by 2050 and establish a carbon committee for oversight. Huzzah! But gleeful observers did note the lack of commitment to binding annual targets -- an approach Miliband, who favors five-year goals, has called "silly." With nearly two-thirds of Parliament members in favor of annual targets, we smell rowdiness around the corner.


Is the rise of green consumption cause for celebration or concern? And what happens when high-end companies like Lexus get in on the action, encouraging shoppers to live a life of (green) luxury? Emily Gertz attended a Lexus-sponsored event in New York City to get a glimpse of the new generation of swank, and sends a dispatch.