Conservative Revolutionary American Party III: DAILY GRIST

Sunday, January 20, 2008

DAILY GRIST

TOP STORY

Search and Deploy
Google announces expansion of philanthropic goals beyond alternative energy

Google has announced it's expanding the goals of its philanthropic arm, Google.org, beyond alternative energy to include fighting disease, averting pandemics and other mass crises, and alleviating poverty in the developing world. Along with the expansion of its mission, Google.org announced some of the recipients of the first round of grants and investments yesterday, totaling about $25 million. Over $7.5 million was announced for organizations as part of Google's "protect and prevent" initiative to combat pandemics, over $3 million is slated for organizations to "inform and empower to improve public services" in South Asia, and over $3 million will go toward investments in smallish businesses in the developing world to help ease poverty. $10 million is also destined for eSolar, a solar-thermal-power company working on utility-scale projects, as part of Google's ongoing alternative-energy programs. Over the next three years, the organization plans to spend up to $150 million more over its five mission areas including the two eco-goals announced last year.

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sources: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters

It's the New Year all right, but will it be a greener year? Let Grist's eco-solutions be a part of your New Year's resolutions -- grab a copy of Wake Up and Smell the Planet, Grist's eco-guide to everyday life.

TODAY'S NEWS

We've Got to Do Something About That, Stat!
NASA declares 2007 second-warmest year on record

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has declared 2007 the second-warmest year on record, tying with 1998 for the title. 2005 remains the hottest, according to the agency. Researchers said, to no one's surprise, that the greatest warming occurred in the Arctic. "As we predicted last year, 2007 was warmer than 2006, continuing the strong warming trend of the past 30 years that has been confidently attributed to the effect of increasing human-made greenhouse gases," said James Hansen, director of GISS. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration came out with different numbers, concluding that 2007 was the fifth-warmest year on record. Still, they acknowledged, it was pretty darn warm.

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sources: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Sonar Also Rises
Judge temporarily drops two restrictions on Navy's use of sonar, retains others

Earlier this week, President Bush exempted the U.S. Navy from parts of an environmental law so it could continue to use mid-frequency sonar off the California coast. Mid-frequency sonar has been linked to deafness, beachings, and other injuries of marine mammals. Responding to Bush's move, the federal judge who earlier this month ordered the Navy to adopt restrictions on its use of the powerful sonar has temporarily suspended two of the precautions the Navy most despises. The Navy is no longer required to shut off the sonar when marine mammals come within 2,200 yards (now it's 200 yards), and the Navy no longer has to reduce the sonar's power when certain ocean conditions make the sonar travel farther than it normally would. However, the other precautions the judge imposed this month remain in place for now, including the 12-mile no-sonar buffer zone off the California coast and the requirement for the Navy to post trained whale spotters on its ships and planes. Next week, the judge will hear arguments from conservation groups involved in the case.

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source: Los Angeles Times

Massey Business
Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations

Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The company must pay $20 million in civil penalties and invest $10 million in pollution control at its 44 coal mines and processing facilities. "This is a landmark settlement for the environment, and raises the bar for the mining industry," says Granta Nakayama of the EPA. But to an extent, Massey got off easy -- the maximum penalty for its offenses could have been as high as $2.4 billion.

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source: Associated Press
see also, in Grist: Court justice frolicked with Massey exec while fraud case was pending

Hear You Loud and Nuclear
Clinton slams Obama over Yucca Mountain nuke waste dump

In the lead-up to the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, Hillary Clinton is taking pains to make sure all Nevadans know her views on -- gasp! -- an environmental issue: She would stop plans to store nuclear waste at the state's Yucca Mountain repository. "This is not just, 'We're in Nevada, so we'll talk about an issue Nevadans care about,'" Clinton assured voters. "This is an American issue." Yucca Mountain was discussed in Nevada's recent Democratic debate; Clinton is running a radio ad in the state implying that Barack Obama, who has also pledged to close Yucca Mountain, is less committed to closing the site than she is. In response, longtime anti-Yucca activist and Obama supporter Bob Fulkerson tells reporters that it is "completely ludicrous and disingenuous to suggest that Barack Obama has somehow been soft on Yucca Mountain."

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sources: Talking Points Memo, Las Vegas Review-Journal, The Washington Times