Wednesday, 17 Jan 2007

After years of playing grumbly defense, environmentalists are giddy about having a high-profile bill in Congress they can wholeheartedly support. The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (CLEAN stands for "Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation" -- which, as strained legislative acronyms go, isn't half bad) would roll back tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and steer the resulting funds toward energy efficiency and renewables. The House is poised to pass the measure on Thursday. The Senate -- well, that's another matter altogether, as Muckraker reports.

No One Anticipated the Breach of the Royalties

U.S. Interior Department knew about drilling loophole for years

We're beginning to detect a pattern among Bush administration responses to huge fusterclucks. It seems U.S. Interior Department officials who said they'd learned only last year that oil companies were avoiding billions of dollars in royalty payments have (surprise!) known about the problem for a while. Due to a Clinton-era screwup, more than 1,000 offshore drilling contracts don't include a clause intended to collect royalties when oil prices rise above $34 a barrel. Interior staffers apparently fixed the problem for future contracts in 2000, but Johnnie M. Burton, the official who oversees the program, wasn't alerted until 2006. Or was she? Thanks to the magic of email and the doggedness of an independent investigator, a new report shows that Burton found out in 2004. Hmm, said Burton, maybe she was told, but she "did not remember putting a great deal of thought into the matter." Investigators estimate that the feds lost out on $865 million in royalties over the last three years. Oopsy!


Have you started planning a climate-change rally in your community for April 14? Well, what's the holdup? In his second dispatch about the "Step It Up 2007" campaign, Bill McKibben reports that responses have started surging in from people all over the U.S. who want to organize local events and call for Congress to curb the emissions that are hotting up the planet. April 14 will be the biggest day of climate demonstrations in U.S. history. You wouldn't want to miss out on that, would you?

That Doesn't Even Make Fence

Border fence construction may bypass environmental laws

It's hard to think of a worse idea than building a 700-mile border fence between the U.S. and Mexico, but here's a shot: building a border fence without abiding by the Endangered Species Act, Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or National Environmental Policy Act. Yet on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff declared that it would be so. Greens, outraged on behalf of some 47 endangered species along the border -- not to mention those who like clean water -- hope the new Democratic Congress might stop, or at least mitigate, the madness. When the fence was approved before Election Day last year, many Dems voted yea -- but did not fund it. "We need to see whether that was a case of political pandering or whether they do believe in this cause," says environmental attorney Cory Briggs. One factor that might play in: While proponents have trumpeted a $2.2 billion price tag for the fence, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service suggests the cost may hit $49 billion or more.


Now that winter's finally acting like winter, with the cold and the ice and all, a woodstove user in Maine wonders which logs are best for keeping her warm while spewing minimal pollution. And why does the smoke look different coming from different houses? Advice maven Umbra Fisk says it may not be worth splitting hairs over smoke, but confirms that there are a few basic firewood rules to take to hearth.

Embrace Me, You Irreplaceable You

Unions, conservationists join forces to protect sporting rights

Need more proof that green is gaining steam? Voila: a brand-new partnership between a Republican-leaning conservation group and 20 labor unions that represent nearly 5 million people. Worried that hunters and anglers are being barred from prime playgrounds, the Union Sportsmen's Alliance will push for increased federal conservation funding and for access to public lands. "We can make the union movement and environmentalism compatible," says International Association of Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger. Beyond that, says Jim Range, board chair of the alliance-building Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, "It opens up a tremendous amount of territory for us to work on both sides of the aisle." In a divided country, says Phil Brick, environmental politics professor at Washington state's Whitman College, "these kind of alliances are the only way anything is going to get done over the next 10 to 20 years in American politics." Annual dues: $25. Actual progress: Priceless.