Conservative Revolutionary American Party III: Daily Grist: Exxon Valdez case goes to Supreme Court, a gun battle over national parks, and more

TOP STORY

The Damages Done
Exxon will try to convince Supreme Court it's paid enough for oil spill

Today ExxonMobil Corp. will try to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that it should not have to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages to Alaskan folk affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon, which earlier this month posted an annual profit of $40.6 billion, will argue that the $3.4 billion or so that it's paid in cleanup costs and other fines should totally suffice. The company also says that Prince William Sound, where the tanker ran aground, is back to its pre-spill pristine state, an opinion disputed by research and people who actually live there.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: The Washington Post, Associated Press
Los Angeles Times

Looking for a job where you don't have to check your values at the door? Find the perfect green-leaning job opportunity on Grist's new job board. Or if you're a company with a conscience, post your jobs here.

TODAY'S NEWS

An Eye for a Buckeye
Dems touch on green issues at debate in crucial primary state of Ohio

Environmental issues popped up during a discussion of trade policy in last night's debate between Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton said she would "renegotiate the core labor and environmental standards" of NAFTA. Obama agreed, saying, "I intend to make certain that every [trade] agreement that we sign has the labor standards, the environmental standards, and the safety standards that are going to protect not just workers, but also consumers. We can't have toys with lead paint in them that our children are playing with." Obama and Clinton also agreed on the need to build a green economy. Said Obama, "We have to look at energy and the potential for creating green jobs that can not just save on our energy costs but, more importantly, can create jobs in building windmills that will produce manufacturing jobs here in Ohio, can put rural communities back on their feet by working on alternative fuels, making buildings more energy efficient. We can hire young people who are out of work and put them to work in the trade." Clinton echoed those ideas and cited the example of Germany, which "made a big bet on solar power" and "created several hundred thousand new jobs ... that can't be outsourced."

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

source: Debate transcript

That's Life
Massive database of species goes online

An online Encyclopedia of Life that aims to eventually describe every living organism on the planet has unveiled its first detailed pages. Read up on the 24 species that have entries complete with text, pictures, and video, or sift through 30,000 others with preliminary information. Those involved with the encyclopedia, which got its start from a 2003 paper written by famed biologist E.O. Wilson, hope it will help researchers assess climate-change impacts, endangered species, and the spread of invasive species, as well as simply raise awareness of biodiversity. If the project doesn't collapse under its own ambition, like similar endeavors that have gone before, compilers hope the remaining 1.77 million pages will be up by 2017. Of course, the work won't stop then: Scientists estimate that known organisms comprise only one-tenth of actual species on earth.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: Reuters, BBC News, The New York Times
straight to the database: Encyclopedia of Life

Well, Shoot
Ban on loaded firearms in national parks may be lifted

The U.S. Interior Department plans to revise regulations banning loaded guns in national parks, and park rangers and green groups are up in arms (figuratively, of course). Current rules, which require guns to be disarmed and stowed away within park boundaries, "are not unduly burdensome, but are limited, reasonable, and necessary," says the president of the National Parks Conservation Association. Concerns about the safety of wildlife -- not to mention people -- don't sway gun-rights advocates. "Law-abiding citizens should not be prohibited from protecting themselves and their families while enjoying America's national parks and wildlife refuges," says a National Rifle Association lobbyist. At the request of 50 senators (and, according to one NPCA staffer, "pressure, top down, from the White House"), the revised rules will be presented by April 30 for public comment.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: Associated Press, Missoulian

Condé Nasty
Portfolio magazine lists eco-saint and eco-sinner companies

The magazine Condé Nast Portfolio has produced a "Toxic Ten" list of companies that claim to be green, but really ain't. Among those called out: Cargill, in part for egregious water pollution; Ford Motor Co., in part for the unimpressive overall gas mileage of its fleet; Boeing, in part for a lack of transparency about its greenhouse-gas emissions; Apple, in part for toxic chemicals found in its hip products; Massey Energy, in part for its horrific reliance on mountaintop-removal mining; and Chevron, in part for the waste it has contributed to more than 90 Superfund sites. The magazine also made a "Green 11" list of "eco-savvy corporations" -- Bank of America, Ceres, Dupont, General Electric, Innovest, Organic Valley, Starbucks, Tesla Motors, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and the city of Austin, Texas.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: Portfolio, Portfolio

We'll Buy What You're Cellin'
Solar photovoltaic cells are quite eco-friendly, says research

Are photovoltaic cells truly easy on the earth when manufacturing is factored in? If the question's been keeping you up at night, rest easy: According to a solar-cell life-cycle analysis to be published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, they are.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]