Daily Grist / Weekly Digest 3-11-06

From Clubbin' to Clubbing
Eco-friendly cathouses hit the scene in Japan and a do-gooding Beatle stands up for seals in Canada, in this week's Grist List. Sign up to get The Grist List each week by email.


Don't Let the Door Hit You ...
Interior Secretary Gale Norton resigns

Gale Norton, secretary of the Department of Interior, announced today that she will resign her position, effective at the end of the month. "Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb," she wrote in her resignation letter to President Bush, "catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector." The private sector should welcome her with open arms: In her tendentious career at Interior, Norton stripped protection from wilderness areas, pushed for more logging, advocated increased oil and gas drilling, and proclaimed a love of snowmobiles that bordered on the erotic. Beltway speculation is swirling that Norton's departure is related to her possible connection to the ongoing scandals surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

straight to the source: The Denver Post, Mike Soraghan, 10 Mar 2006





discuss in Gristmill: Gale Norton resigns



Old Big Brother Had a Farm
USDA ID-tag plan for farm animals has some small-scale farmers unhappy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants farm-animal owners to attach microchips or other ID tags to their furry and feathered charges so they can be monitored by a centralized computer network. Sounds like Animal Farm meets Big Brother. Yet, while some small-scale farmers are critical of the scheme, many in the agriculture community say it's high time the U.S. more carefully tracked livestock in order to curtail diseases like avian flu and mad cow. The question is how best to do it -- and the devil, as Muckraker discovers, is in the details.

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Eden Come, Eden Go
Climate change threatens newly discovered tropical paradise

One short month ago, the world thrilled to the news that researchers had discovered an untouched jungle in the Foja Mountains of New Guinea in Indonesia, full of unknown or rare plants and critters. Now -- you saw this coming, right? -- a U.S. climate scientist has warned that global warming may wipe out many of the forest's species before they're identified. Climatologist Michael Prentice reports in New Scientist that temperatures in the newly discovered paradise have risen precipitously since the 1970s: about 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit every decade. "This is five times the previous estimated warming for the region," Prentice said, "and among the fastest in the world." Prentice derived his findings from climate records compiled by mission stations, coffee plantations, and mining companies in the region -- but it's not clear why the area is warming up at such a fast rate.

straight to the source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Press Association, 10 Mar 2006

straight to the source: Reuters, 08 Mar 2006

see also, in Grist: Researchers discover treasure trove of new tropical species in Indonesia


The Leak Shall Inhibit the Earth
Northern Alaska pipeline leak may rank as one of region's largest

Cleanup crews have been working in subzero temperatures to sop up crude oil and soiled snow near northern Alaska's Prudhoe Bay after what looks to be one of the largest spills ever in the region. The source of the crud(e) was discovered last Thursday by a BP oil worker: a quarter-inch rupture in the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, apparently caused by corrosion, 650-odd miles north of Anchorage. While the oil industry maintains it has an aggressive program for monitoring such leaks, this spill is one in a long series of breaches of the aging pipeline since at least 2001. These come in the wake of a 1999 attempt by six pipeline employees to blow the whistle on neglected maintenance. Enviros say this latest leak refutes industry claims that "gentle drilling" practices can keep Alaska's wilderness -- including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- safe from being soaked in petroleum.

straight to the source: The NewStandard, 09 Mar 2006

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Sam Howe Verhovek, 09 Mar 2006

straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 09 Mar 2006



SWOP and Go
Tomasita González, environmental-justice organizer, answers readers' questions

Tomasita González. Tomasita González is pushing to bring clean, running water and electricity to low-income communities of color in the Albuquerque area -- including her own. In answering reader questions, González -- an organizer with the SouthWest Organizing Project and this week's InterActivist -- chats about her favorite bilingual kids' book, New Mexico's status as a "nuclear colony," the rights of a toothpaste tube, and more.

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This Protest Brought to You by the Letter ... Yeah, by the Letter
Thousands of biologists ask Senate not to gut Endangered Species Act

As a Senate committee prepares to craft a bill revising the Endangered Species Act, 5,738 biologists from around the country have signed a letter begging senators not to neuter the act. The missive, organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, states, "For species conservation to continue, it is imperative both that the scientific principles embodied in the act are maintained, and that the act is strengthened, fully implemented, and adequately funded." Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chair of the Senate Environment Committee and no friend of the green community, is trying to draft a bipartisan bill with the cooperation of committee members James Jeffords (I-Vt.), Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). The House has already passed an ESA bill -- penned by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and loathed by enviros -- that would, among other things, require private property owners to be compensated if development plans were stymied by species protections.

straight to the source: The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Erica Werner, 08 Mar 2006

straight to the letter: A Letter from Biologists to the United States Senate Concerning Science in the Endangered Species Act

get the backstory, in Grist: Enviros anxious as Senate gears up to reform Endangered Species Act


We Love a Plan in Uniform
U.S. military aims to trim energy use

After years of pooh-poohing fuel efficiency, the U.S. military has been ordered by the Department of Defense to cut energy use at all military bases and facilities by 2 percent per year -- to which they replied, "Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" The Pentagon's demand comes on the heels of a $2.7 billion increase in fuel expenditures from fiscal year 2004 to 2005. The Air Force, which guzzles more fuel than the rest of the military combined -- in part due to the fact that its famed B-52 bombers still feature engines designed five decades ago -- reports that 11 percent of electricity at its bases now comes from alternative sources. The Army and Marines hope to develop a hybrid Humvee (oh, the irony), and Navy skippers get cash bonuses for fuel conservation. It almost makes renewable energy and energy efficiency sound, well, patriotic. Nah, that can't be right.

straight to the source: USA Today, Steven Komarow, 08 Mar 2006

straight to the source: USA Today, Steven Komarow, 08 Mar 2006

Fish and RIPs
Confused by the cacophony around seafood? What's got mercury and what doesn't? What's sustainably harvested and what isn't? Tune in to this week's Something Fishy for answers.


Better Read Than Dead
Presenting a passel of new books on climate change

Photo: iStockphoto. In case you just can't get enough of a good thing, today we review four -- count 'em! -- new books on climate change. From New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert's earth-circling explorations to an in-depth look at the North Pole by The New York Times' Andrew Revkin, from a scientific overview by Tim Flannery to a historical sweep by Eugene Linden, this stuff is more fun than a barrel of endangered monkeys. Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day and longtime environmental leader, and writers Michelle Nijhuis and Jim Rossi weigh in with their assessments of this new crop.

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new in Arts and Minds: Elizabeth Kolbert's book gives climate change a human face

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new in Arts and Minds: Three new books put the spotlight on our warming world


Can We Sue Them For Label?
House passes industry-beloved food-labeling bill

Yesterday, the House of Representatives stood up to a powerful business lobby to protect public health and safety. Ha ha! Just yanking your chain. Actually, the House approved by 283 to 139 an industry-backed bill that would wipe out over 200 state laws requiring safety and warning labels on foods -- noting the presence of cancer-causing ingredients, for example -- and establish a (weaker) national standard. States would have to petition federal regulators to retain tougher laws. Several of the legislation's major supporters have, believe it or not, close ties to the food industry. Take, for example, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), whose wife lobbies for Altria, the parent company of Kraft Foods. "It's a perfect storm of insider access, big money, and bad policy," said Andy Igrejas of the National Environmental Trust. The measure now moves on to the Senate, where it's expected to face stiffer opposition.

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Zachary Coile, 09 Mar 2006

straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 08 Mar 2006


Stick It Where the Sun Does Shine
Senate panel clears drilling expansion off Florida coast

The specter of new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico loomed a little larger yesterday, as the Senate Energy Committee approved a bill to open millions of acres about 100 miles off the Florida coast to oil and gas exploration. Now, please get out your scorecards and sharpen your No. 2 pencils: Florida Sens. Mel Martinez (R) and Bill Nelson (D) oppose the bill because they fear drilling could put Florida's tourist-friendly beaches at risk. Their allies include California and New Jersey lawmakers. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) opposes the bill because she says it doesn't give Gulf Coast states enough of the estimated $12 billion in royalty payments that the oil and gas leases could generate. Supporters include lawmakers eager to let coastal states opt out of the federal moratorium on offshore drilling and a coalition of industries and farm states that want cheaper, more abundant gas supplies to make fertilizer and chemicals. Still with us? It all adds up to one heckuva fight brewing as the bill moves to the Senate floor.

straight to the source: Palm Beach Post, Larry Lipman, 09 Mar 2006

straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, John J. Fialka, 09 Mar 2006 (access ain't free)

see also, in Grist: Congress and Bush admin push hard to open offshore areas to drilling


We Knew They Were Price Gouging, But This Is Ridiculous
Lawsuit against Exxon over torture in Indonesia can proceed, judge says

A U.S. federal judge declared last week that a lawsuit brought against ExxonMobil on behalf of Indonesian villagers can proceed. In 2001, the D.C.-based International Labor Rights Fund sued the company in a U.S. court on behalf of 11 Indonesians from Aceh province, claiming that Indonesian security forces paid by Exxon had used company facilities to commit torture, rape, and murder. According to previous statements from Exxon executives, Indonesian military forces were deployed during a conflict at a natural-gas field and pipeline operated by the oil giant in Aceh. Exxon argues, with characteristic sensitivity, that allowing the villagers to sue under U.S. state law could set a bad precedent. "The lawsuit created the potential for any U.S. company operating overseas to be held vicariously liable for host government actions," said an Exxon spokesflack. The company may appeal. And, oh yeah -- it denies any wrongdoing.

straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, Slobodan Lekic, 08 Mar 2006

straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, 03 Mar 2006


Always Low Vices ... Well, Sometimes
Wal-Mart to double organic food selection

In the next few weeks, Wal-Mart plans to double its offering of organic foods, expanding its produce and dairy selections and offering dry goods as well. Organic food is one of the fastest-growing segments in the grocery biz, and Wal-Mart is one of many large retailers hoping to capitalize on the trend. As the top grocery seller in the U.S., Wal-Mart already sells more organic milk than any other chain. DeDe Priest, Wal-Mart's senior vice president of dry grocery -- that's a mouthful! Ha, mouthful! -- says the globe-straddling retail behemoth wants to "knock out the myth that [organics are] just for the rich." She also hastens to assure us that Wal-Mart has no plans to become a health-food store. We were worried.

straight to the source: Austin American-Statesman, Kate Miller Morton, 08 Mar 2006

straight to the source: Reuters, 07 Mar 2006

see also, in Grist: Wal-Mart's eco-announcements generate a clash among activists


A Shot in the Farm
A new report finds factory-farmed, grain-fed cattle are less healthy for both diners and the environment -- and that, says new Gristmill contributor Mark Winne, is only the tip of the nasty-berg when it comes to industrial farms. Get the whole story.


Caste From the Past
Environmentalism's elitist tinge has roots in the movement's history

The green movement is frequently accused, too often with good reason, of being more concerned about wilderness than human suffering. The roots of the lingering elitism go back farther than the fair-trade-sipping, fleece-wearing enviros of today -- all the way back to the conservation movement's 19th-century founders, including John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt. Many of their prejudices have carried through into modern-day environmentalism, write Matthew Klingle and Joseph E. Taylor III.

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new in Soapbox: Caste From the Past

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see also, in Grist: Poverty & the Environment

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Rebuke Nukem
U.K. government advisory commission puts the smackdown on nuclear power

Nuclear power incites stiff support in U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. But he may be feeling a bit flaccid this week: The Sustainable Development Commission, an advisory body established by the U.K. government, has formally advised against revitalizing a national nuclear-energy program. Says the commission chair, "There's little point in denying that nuclear power has its benefits but, in our view, these are outweighed by serious disadvantages." In a report, the SDC cites five major concerns about nuclear -- waste, cost, inflexibility, security, and efficiency -- and notes that doubling nuclear capacity would only decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2035. Instead, the SDC recommends the U.K. pursue renewables, which could potentially supply more than two-thirds of the country's electricity, and increase energy efficiency, which could cut carbon emissions by 20 million tons a year. No word on whether Blair plans to abandon Bush's Axis of Atom.

straight to the source: The Independent, Michael Harrison and Michael McCarthy, 07 Mar 2006

straight to the source: The Guardian, David Adam, 07 Mar 2006



I Never Promised You a Community Garden
Largest community garden in U.S. to get evicted for a Wal-Mart warehouse

L.A.'s South Central Community Garden, the largest and oldest such garden in the U.S. and a food source for more than 300 low-income families, sits on private property. Big mistake! Now the property's owner plans to evict the growers and build a Wal-Mart warehouse on the land. The fate of the garden seems straightforward, but the backstory is complex. Tom Philpott muses over how local food production fares in the "free market."

new in Gristmill: Why the nation's largest community garden must become a Wal-Mart warehouse


Foresight Is 20/20
Researchers identify 20 future conservation battlegrounds

The soldiers of conservation have been given their marching orders. (Ah, martial metaphors ... never can get the hang of them.) A new study has identified 20 future conservation battlegrounds around the world, from Alaska's far north to the southern tip of the Australian island of Tasmania -- hotspots where land-mammal species aren't yet endangered but could be especially vulnerable in coming years due to pollution, deforestation, hunting, and other pressures. "Conservation is a crisis discipline," said lead researcher Marcel Cardillo. "Because there are so many species on the verge of extinction, that's where most of the effort goes." But the researchers hope their map, published this week in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will spur conservationists to target these regions now for preemptive protection.

straight to the source: The Guardian, Ian Sample, 07 Mar 2006

straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 06 Mar 2006

straight to the source: National Geographic News, Scott Norris, 06 Mar 2006



Better Freight Than Never
Umbra on alternatives to flying

Recently, we reported on a growing number of Brits who are pledging not to fly. Easy enough to do when you've got the Chunnel and all. But where's a poor American sap to turn when she wants to be kind to the earth and still explore faraway places? Today, a traveler asks advice maven Umbra Fisk for her opinion, and the answer makes waves.

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Tray's Anatomy
Hospital menus getting green overhaul

Soon "hospital food" may no longer mean the worst American factory-farmed cuisine has to offer. A handful of hospitals around the country are starting to put hormone-free meats, rBGH-free milk, and organic veggies on their menus. For years, the best advice of health-care professionals hasn't been reflected in the typical hospital menu. But now, hospitals "are increasingly seeing food as a treatment issue and not necessarily as a cost center," according to Scott Exo, director of a group working with hospitals to green up their menus. Patients at the Good Shepherd Medical Center in rural Hermiston, Ore., for example, now get made-to-order meals featuring organic, sustainably grown meats and produce. Food waste is down, and people are even asking for the recipes. The trend is partially driven by baby boomers, who are spending more time in hospitals and want the meals to appeal to their restaurant-honed palates.

straight to the source: The Oregonian, Leslie Cole, 07 Mar 2006

straight to the source: The New York Times, Kim Severson, 07 Mar 2006


Walking the Line
What Mexican activists can teach the U.S. about poverty and the planet

As an organizer working for the Sierra Club along the U.S.-Mexico border, Oliver Bernstein sees firsthand the messy interplay between poverty and the environment. In Mexico, activists and residents struggling with booming industrialization are fighting for cleaner air and water, but also for a decent standard of living in their low-income communities. Meanwhile, their American neighbors seem to be focused mainly on protecting natural areas. Bernstein weighs in on the U.S. movement's oversights.

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new in Soapbox: Walking the Line

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see also, in Grist: Poverty & the Environment

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Fools Russia In
Russia to build oil pipeline within half-mile of world's deepest lake

A 2,550-mile-long oil pipeline is set to be built within 900 yards of the world's deepest lake. And really, what could go wrong? Lake Baikal -- home to a variety of unique species of flora and fauna and over 20 percent of the planet's unfrozen freshwater -- has the misfortune to lie along the cheapest route for Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft to expand the country's oil exports to Asia. Scientists have warned of erosion, water pollution, and the possibility that earthquakes, which happen regularly in the area, could rupture the pipeline and cause oil to flow into the lake. A government commission of experts that originally rejected the plan on environmental grounds was increased by 34 members and asked to review the project again, after which they approved it. Coincidentally, the pipeline is backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

straight to the source: Moscow Times, Reuters, 07 Mar 2006

straight to the source: The New York Times, C.J. Chivers, 06 Mar 2006

straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, Maria Danilova, 06 Mar 2006


A Spat on the Back
California governator at odds with biz lobby over plan to cut CO2

Arnold Schwarzenegger's til-now cozy relationship with the California Chamber of Commerce has hit turbulence over the Republican governator's ambitious proposal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The chamber has denounced a preliminary report from the California EPA's climate action team, which predicts that fulfilling Arnie's pledge to cut the state's CO2 pollution 80 percent by 2050 could create 83,000 new jobs over 15 years. The chamber -- fronting a coalition including agricultural and heavy-industry interests -- claims that mandatory emissions caps could hurt profits and drive businesses to states with more permissive regulations. (No word yet on whether massive climate disruption might hurt profits.) Schwarzenegger himself has publicly opposed the climate team's recommendation to tax wholesale gas and diesel sales to raise funds for alternative-energy research. Whether he'll stick his neck out to support mandatory emissions caps remains to be seen.

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Marc Lifsher, 07 Mar 2006


We Ain't Sayin' They're Gold Diggers ... Oh Wait, Yes We Are
Mining industry tries to clean up its reputation

This may surprise you, but the mining industry has an image problem. It's awash in record profits, but as it exhausts easy-to-reach mineral deposits and moves into more remote areas, it is under increased pressure to work in an environmentally and socially conscious way. (Also at stake is funding from the World Bank, which claims only to finance convincingly "sustainable" projects -- and what could be more sustainable than removing irreplaceable metals and fossil fuels?) The industry, well aware of its rep, is attempting to clean up its image: In 2001, several companies formed the International Council on Mining and Metals to serve as "the responsible face of mining." The council deals with issues of waste disposal and toxic chemicals; for example, they have developed a list of guidelines for safe application of cyanide in gold mining. The guidelines are voluntary. If you know what we mean.

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Rebecca Bream, 06 Mar 2006


You're Looking Swell, Dalai
Dalai Lama's admonition may be cooling illegal tiger-skin trade in Tibet

What's it like to have a leader with genuine moral authority? To find out, we take you to Tibet, where the Dalai Lama's exhortations are leading many Tibetans to forswear the multimillion-dollar trade in wild animal skins. Heavy Tibetan demand has fueled a spike in poaching of ever-scarcer tigers and leopards in India. But in January, the Dalai Lama told Buddhist pilgrims that he was "ashamed" to see pictures of Tibetans sporting wild animal skins and furs. He asked his followers to "never use, sell, or buy wild animals, their products or derivatives," and since then, reports have emerged across Tibet of people torching animal furs. The Tibetan reaction "gives a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel for the Indian tiger," says Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, who saw dozens of tiger skins and thousands of leopard skins openly on sale in Tibet last year. Perhaps His Holiness could drop by North America and say a little something about SUVs ...

straight to the source: Independent Online, Reuters, Simon Denyer, 06 Mar 2006


You're a Good Man, Lester Brown
An interview with the founder of Worldwatch and Earth Policy Institute

Lester Brown. Lester Brown has tried to love nuclear power. Tried, and failed. Instead, the Earth Policy Institute president -- one of environmentalism's few remaining legends, and the author of the recently updated Plan B 2.0 -- is hot for wind power, and plug-in hybrids that would run on it. But what hope is there for change under an administration he calls "a public-relations operation with a hidden agenda"? He shared his thoughts on rapid, unpredictable social change -- and much more -- with David Roberts over omelets in a small Seattle cafe.

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new in Main Dish: You're a Good Man, Lester Brown


It's Hard Out Here for a Chinook
Fishing ban considered for Klamath chinook along West Coast

With chinook salmon runs in the Klamath River plummeting, federal regulators are considering an unprecedented ocean-fishing ban on chinook along 700 miles of coast, from northern Oregon to just south of Carmel, Calif. A combination of factors on the Klamath River, including warm, low-flowing water and runoff from farming and timber operations, created conditions that allowed a fish-parasite population to explode a few years ago, killing over 80 percent of returning juvenile chinook in spring 2002 and 2003, say scientists. The Pacific Fishery Management Council will consider options to help the salmon make a comeback during meetings this week in Seattle, with final policy recommendations expected in April. A fishing ban could influence the renewal of federal hydropower licenses for dams on the Klamath River, which are believed to be contributing to parasite-friendly conditions in the river.

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Eric Bailey, 04 Mar 2006

straight to the source: The Seattle Times, 06 Mar 2006



González in 60 Seconds
Tomasita González, enviro-justice organizer, answers Grist's questions

As a community organizer, Tomasita González of the SouthWest Organizing Project empowers and -- what else? -- organizes her community in Albuquerque, N.M., to battle environmental and economic injustice. As this week's InterActivist, González shares her thoughts about challenging mainstream green groups, being called crazy, and fighting back against polluters. Send her a question of your own by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish her answers to selected questions on Friday.

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Resmothering the Satellites
Bush admin shows no love for environmental satellites

In these troubled fiscal times, America has to make difficult budgetary choices. Of course the Bush tax cuts are off-limits. But what else could we do without? Here's a thought: how about the network of environmental satellites that gather data on weather and climate? Those seem like dead weight; "climate" is so 2004. Indeed, NASA's proposed 2007 budget requests only $2.2 billion for the beleaguered program that supports the orbiting sky-eyes -- against, say, $6.2 billion for running the space shuttle and International Space Station, or $4 billion for developing missions to the moon and Mars. NASA has delayed a new generation of weather satellites until 2010 or later. "The system of environmental satellites is at risk of collapse," says one expert federal adviser. In mid-February, NASA administrator Michael Griffin told the House Science Committee that the agency had to "set priorities" in the face of low funding. Mars, bitches!

straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, Matt Crenson, 05 Mar 2006



Quad Squad
Umbra on college Earth Day fests

Earth Day is fast approaching (April 22, for those hopelessly out of the loop). That has a college student at a conservative school wondering how he can best get the green message out to his not-so-crunchy peers. Advice maven Umbra Fisk has a few ideas. If you have your own, be sure to let us know in Gristmill.

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new in Ask Umbra: Quad Squad

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Chew Magna Cum Laude
Village aims to be the greenest in England

An English town with the wholly delightful name of Chew Magna is in the running for greenest village of them all. With a population of 1,100, it's located in a wider community that's committed itself to achieving zero waste, recycling everything from mobiles (cell phones) to spectacles (glasses). But Chew Magna has gone many steps further: Their Go Zero campaign has produced a local-food guide and a carbon-offset fund. Local energy companies have donated free low-energy light bulbs to residents. Plans are in the works for villagers to be able to ride a biofueled bus to the airport for free. "The consensus was that people wanted to make decisions that would leave a legacy," says Denise Perrin, the Go Zero campaign's events coordinator. Bloody smashing! Tops! Right-o! Jolly good! We could go on.

straight to the source: The Independent, Rich Cookson, 06 Mar 2006