Thursday, 08 Feb 2007

Try, Try Again

European Commission proposes revised vehicle emissions limits

Last week, bullying from automakers and their allies led the European Commission to yank proposed rules regulating new-vehicle emissions. Now the commission has revised its proposal, and car czars are still in a swivet. Under the new rules, carbon dioxide emissions from new cars would be cut to 130 grams a kilometer by 2012. Which probably means something to those who use the metric system, but let's just say it's 18 percent lower than the current average. The first plan had called for a 120 gram per kilometer standard, and a voluntary program already in place aims for 140 gpk by 2008. "The E.U. car industries are at the core of our economies," said commission prez Jose Manuel Barroso. "By positively taking up the climate-change challenge, they will preserve and enhance their competitiveness in the long term." Carmakers said the move would cut jobs and raise prices, whining that their industry was being singled out, and greens said the rules didn't go far enough. Know what they need? A Decider.


Microsoft is talking up the energy-saving aspects of its new, oh-so-long-in-the-making Vista operating system -- namely, that it's good at putting computers to sleep. On the other hand, Vista's fancy-schmancy 3-D interface sucks up a fair bit of juice. Also, most existing computers aren't powerful enough to run the system, which has some enviros worried that Vista could prompt a big new wave of electronic waste as people dump their old machines and buy spiffy new ones. Has Microsoft really earned its green bragging rights? Kate Galbraith investigates.

Marlin Banned-O

Fisherfolk angle to keep marlin off of menus

Hoping to smack down commercial fishing operations that are decimating Pacific marlin populations, sports anglers have launched a "No Marlin on the Menu!" campaign to discourage diners from ordering the popular game fish. To preserve marlin populations, many sportsfolk keep just one fish per day, per boat, but commercial fisherfolk have not been so scrupulous. "We have decided to take it to the next level, an aggressive, proactive stance where we will have a lot of media brought to the attention of the status of the species, and then start with mailings and advertisements," says the president of angling group Billfish Foundation, who expects the campaign to be in full force by summer. It's already getting off the, um, ocean bottom in marlin-rich Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where commercial boats often scoop up game fish as bycatch in their shark hunt. Activists are pushing for a ban on the sale of Pacific marlin in Mexico; it's a long shot, but hey, at least there's the thrill of the chase.


You know how marathon runners load up on carbs before they race? Well, skateboarders load up on ... junk food. At least, they did until Bob Burnquist came along. The pro skateboarder, who made headlines by grinding into the Grand Canyon, is a Brazilian native with a love of fresh, local food. He's greened the diets of his fellow extreme athletes, and now he's expanding his mission to school cafeterias. Sarah van Schagen checks in to find out what Burnquist wanted to be when he grew up, which sponsors he won't work with, and why skateboarders make great environmentalists.

Hey, We'll Take Stewardship

Texan Baptists turn themselves into quiet anti-coal activists

Duty says we should report on the $5.9 billion Kyoto loophole that let China add simple upgrades to plants making a gas called HFC-23 and reap gigantic benefits through carbon trading. But yawn! Wouldn't you rather read about Texan Baptists busting the shackles of their anti-eco-activism past to combat coal-fired power plants? "This is cutting edge stuff for Baptists -- even moderate Baptists," says Bruce Gourley of Georgia's Center for Baptist Studies. The 2.3-million-member Baptist General Convention of Texas passed a resolution last fall to "advocate for sound environmental policies in the public square," and many churchgoers are quietly fighting Gov. Rick Perry's (R) push to fast-track approval of TXU Corp.'s 18 planned coal plants. But the head of the state's Christian Life Commission knows where to draw the line: "I know environmentalists, they want to see a bunch of Christians marching on the Capitol," she said. "We have a longer-term goal, which is about the stewardship of creation."