Wednesday, 04 Apr 2007

Drown and Out

Baby seals drown from melting ice as Canada hunt begins

Pop an antidepressant before reading this: Canada has reduced this year's quota for its annual harp seal hunt by 20 percent, to a mere 270,000 -- not because of pressure from conservationists and animal activists, but because thousands of baby seals have already fallen through melting ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and drowned. Global warming strikes again! In some areas, the pup mortality rate may be reaching 100 percent -- before the hunters even arrive. "The pups can't swim for very long. They need stable ice," says a Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesperson. Only two (out of about 40) hunting boats set sail into the southern gulf at the start of hunting season on Monday. "There weren't many seals there to hunt," says the spokesperson. The baby seals are clubbed or shot, then sold for their prized white fur and seal oil. One Newfoundlander says the locals "need the seal hunt to make ends meet." Activists say the hunters often flout the government quota, and are demanding that Canada terminate a hunt they call cruel.


Duke Energy got spanked by the Supreme Court this week over its refusal to install certain high-tech pollution controls on aging coal-fired power plants, and Duke CEO Jim Rogers says the utility will continue to defend its position on the issue. But on another issue -- climate change -- Rogers is a leading advocate for swift and aggressive action. He helped to organize the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a high-profile business-enviro alliance that's calling on Congress to impose regulations on greenhouse-gas emissions, and he's working to convince his fellow energy execs to support a mandatory cap-and-trade system. Amanda Griscom Little interviews Rogers about his contradictions and his strong convictions.

Deca Dent

Washington state first in the nation to ban PBDEs

Washington state will be the first in the nation to phase out nasty fireproofing chemicals called PBDEs, which show up in the bodies of people and wildlife and may cause neurological damage. Yesterday, the state Senate passed a measure that will eventually ban home items containing deca, the most commonly used PBDE; the House had already approved the bill, and now the governor is expected to sign it into law. Mattresses containing deca will be the first to go, starting in 2008; provided a safer fireproofing alternative is found, TVs, computers, and upholstery will have to be deca-free starting in 2011. "It's a great victory for children's health over the scare tactics of the [flame retardant] industry," says Laurie Valeriano of the Washington Toxics Coalition. The measure passed 41 to 8, with dissenting Republicans arguing that risks from PBDEs are unknown (extensive lab tests notwithstanding) and that fireproofing alternatives might be ineffective. The phaseout is endorsed by the state fire marshal and state associations of fire chiefs and firefighters, but what do they know?


As we grow up, everything gets bigger: our hands, our feet, our clothes -- even our plastic drinking vessels. Following her Monday column on baby bottles and sippy cups, advice maven Umbra Fisk bangs around some thoughts on water bottles for adults. A reader wants to know whether aluminum is a better option than Lexan plastic for his family's slurpy needs, and Umbra gets to the bottom of the issue.

X Marks the Pot

X Prize Foundation offers $10 million prize for creator of eco-friendly car

Wanna win a cool $10 million? Read on. The X Prize Foundation is launching a contest to see who can design the best mass-producible, low-emissions vehicle, cheap enough to sell 10,000 units a year, with a fuel economy of at least 100 miles per gallon -- about five times the U.S. average. "The [automotive] industry is stuck, and we think a prize is perfect to disrupt that dynamic," says Mark Goodstein, executive director of the Automotive X Prize. In 2004, the foundation awarded $10 million to a team that produced the world's first privately built spacecraft. Says Goodstein, "The technologies to build superefficient vehicles exist. It's just a matter of convincing manufacturers to build them." Some innovators think the X Prize could push even further. "Why stop at 100 mpg?" asks MIT student Robyn Allen, who has been working with colleagues to build a car that will get 200 mpg. Still, her MIT-led team plans to enter the contest. The prize will be awarded in 2009, after a series of races in a variety of driving conditions.