Friday, 12 Jan 2007

One of the most environmentally encouraging bills to debut in the new 110th Congress has come not from the newly empowered Democrats, but from Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, a zealous proponent of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And one of the bills that most rankles greens has come from Democratic golden boy Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois. What gives? Muckraker investigates.

Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is Fined

Insurer slapped with $2.5 million penalty in post-Katrina jury decision

If a house falls in the Gulf Coast region and no insurer is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Heck yes -- in this case, a $2.7 million boom that's ricocheting around the country. Yesterday, a federal jury ordered insurance company State Farm to compensate a Biloxi, Miss., couple whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The award includes not only the roughly $233,000 policy value, but a $2.5 million penalty for refusing to pay the policy in the first place. At issue is whether the house was destroyed by flooding -- which homeowner policies don't generally cover -- or by the storm's wicked winds. The judge said State Farm, now considering an appeal, hadn't proved the damage was from flooding. With thousands of other similar cases pending, insurance companies are watching carefully. Insurance economist Robert Hartwig said the case "sets a horrendous precedent," warning that it could mean higher rates in all coastal (read: flood-prone) areas. If you need us, we'll be in Iowa.


Mining and drilling operations are noisy, smelly, and horrifically destructive -- and while nonprofit SkyTruth hasn't replicated the sound or scent of resource extraction, it does provide clear before-and-after satellite imagery of pulverized land. With those images available, says director John Amos, never again will a company or government be able to destroy the earth without being noticed. As InterActivist this week, Amos responds to reader questions about SkyTruth's post-Katrina told-you-so, the circumstances under which he would support drilling on public lands, and the fundamental lessons to be found in the 1990 cult classic Joe Versus the Volcano.

Manipulation Nation

U.S. risk-assessment draft completely eviscerated by real live scientists

The Bush administration's quest to make federal-agency evaluations of public-health risks from chemicals and other products even more meaningless has been stymied. A draft risk-assessment policy issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget has been called "fundamentally flawed" by the National Research Council, which OMB had asked for a review. Heaping criticism on the draft, reviewers said it was broad, unclear, and unfair, covering "territory beyond what previous reports have recommended and beyond the current state of science." Wait, you mean the Bush administration is messing with science? We're shocked, shocked to find science-messing in this establishment. The NRC critics -- who surprised even themselves by trashing a policy they'd merely expected to offer feedback on -- also worried that it would make risk assessments "more susceptible to being manipulated to achieve a predetermined result." Shocked, we tell you. It's back to the drawing board for the gentle folk at OMB.

Ted Again

Cable magnate Ted Turner forms solar-energy business partnership

Remember Ted Turner? Tall fellow, gray hair, owned a lotta cable TV and a lotta land and was married to Jane Fonda? Yeah, that one. Well, he's back, and he's sinking some of his legendary wealth into solar technology. Partnering with four-year-old, New Jersey-based Dome-Tech Solar, the skillionaire will focus on the ray-ravenous California market. "Our future depends on changing the way we use energy," Turner said. "We've got to move away from fossil fuels and develop long-term energy solutions that work. Using clean energy technologies, such as solar power, is the right thing to do, and it represents a tremendous business opportunity." See that? Friends do let friends invest in renewables. Staffers at Dome-Tech -- one of several energy-related arms of a parent company -- hope Turner, who's rechristening the company DT Solar, will provide both a financial and PR boost. "He won't be a passive partner," said Chief Operating Officer Bruce Curtis. Funny, that's what Jane always said.


This week on Gristmill, the big debate is over ex-Schwarzenegger adviser Terry Tamminen's support for hydrogen cars. He's taking a lot of heat -- so if any hydrogen supporters are lurking out there, now's the time to speak up. In other bloggy news, staff writer David Roberts' cathartic rant about mythical dirty hippies provoked some amens, nature writer Jenny Price prompted some oddly intense literature review, and Andrew Dessler went to Nashville to learn climate-slideshowin' from Al Gore. Drop by and share your two cents. Maybe together we can generate a dollar.

King for a Day

Daily Grist takes a break for equality's sake, resumes on Tuesday

So many Monday holidays, so little time: just when you got used to having us back, Daily Grist will be taking a break on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will march and discuss and reflect, yes -- and we might also start counting the hours until we get to take Presidents' Day off. Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays.