Conservative Revolutionary American Party III: Daily Grist: Many freshwater fish species unwell, Congress debates offshore drilling, and more‏

TOP STORY

Sinking With the Fishes
Nearly 40 percent of North American freshwater fish species in jeopardy

Over 700 freshwater fish species in North America, nearly 40 percent of the total, are considered vulnerable to extinction or worse, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey. The study, published in the journal Fisheries, is the most comprehensive assessment of North American freshwater fish species since 1989, but the results show little reason for celebration. Of the assessed species, only 11 percent were better off than in 1989, while the list of imperiled species nearly doubled since then and suspected extinctions grew by over 50 percent to a total of 61. Researchers said that pollution, drought, invasive species, the effects of development, and demand for water all contributed to the decline and that climate change may have also played a role. "Fish are indicators of how good the water quality is," said Howard Jelks of the USGS. "As long as you're losing fish, you're also likely losing crayfish, mussels, and other things of that nature. They're kind of the canary in the coal mine."

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

sources: ScienceDaily, Miami Herald

Work for Uncle Sam? Love Grist?

Federal employees, this is for you: 'Tis the season of the Combined Federal Campaign! Grist is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so if you rely on Grist for your environmental news, advice, and daily dose of funny, please consider supporting us this year. Our CFC code number is 11260. Thanks for helping us serve up more independent green journalism!
XOXO, The Grist Staff.

TODAY'S NEWS

Oh, the Drill of It All
Drilling a hot topic as Congress gets back in action

Drilling will be a hot topic as Congress swings back into action for the next three weeks. Having heard the GOP convention delegates' none-too-subtle chants of "drill, baby, drill," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that next week will be "Energy Week" in the chamber: "We are offering Republicans multiple opportunities to vote for increased drilling." The Senate will consider at least three proposals. One bipartisan proposal would allow drilling 50 miles off the Gulf coast of Florida plus the coastal areas of Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia; another proposal, put forward by two Democrats, would lift a drilling ban in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and some other offshore areas. Both of those proposals would also rescind tax breaks for oil companies, and use the money to fund energy efficiency and alternative energy sources, as well as extend renewable-energy tax credits that are about to expire. A GOP-backed bill would lift drilling bans on both U.S. coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and has no provisions for inconveniencing Big Oil.

On the House side, more than 40 Republicans gathered Monday on the steps of the Capitol to demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi allow a vote on a Republican energy package that would lift restrictions on offshore drilling and open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pelosi is drafting a Democratic energy proposal that's expected to allow limited offshore drilling with environmental restrictions, as well as rescind oil-company tax breaks, extend tax credits for renewables, create a renewable-electricity standard for utilities, subsidize mass transit, and require that oil companies use or lose drilling leases they already have.

To add to the mix, the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling will expire on Sept. 30. Also, by that date, a spending bill must be passed to continue government funding into the new fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1. Republicans have threatened to oppose the spending bill if Democrats don't agree to lift the congressional ban on offshore drilling -- if they follow through, the move would effectively shut down the federal government.

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

sources: Associated Press, CNN, Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor
see also, in Gristmill: Coastal governors stand in the way of offshore drilling, even if Congress approves it

Jobs Well Done
Newest iPod nano is 'toxic free'

The newly unveiled update of the iPod nano is slender and sexy, equipped with "shake-to-shuffle" capability, and eco-friendly to boot. (Well, you don't actually have to boot it ... oh, whatever.) Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is alive and kicking despite reports to the contrary, says the music player is Apple's "cleanest" and most "toxic free" offering. The device contains no arsenic, brominated flame retardants, mercury, or PVC, says Jobs, and is "highly recyclable." Apple has agreed to keep flame retardants and PVC out of all of its products after Jan. 1, 2009. That's music to our ears.

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

source: ABC News
see also, in Grist: Apple CEO Steve Jobs says company is green and getting greener, Activists threaten to sue Apple over chemicals in iPhone

Predicting a See-Change
U.S. intelligence report says climate change likely to lead to security threats

A new draft report from the United States' top intelligence analyst forecasts future security threats to the U.S. and other nations from climate change, as well as declining influence of the U.S. on world affairs. The report is intended to brief the new U.S. president early next year on the security outlook for the next 15 years, and parts of the assessment may sound familiar to environmentalists and other climate watchers since the U.S. intelligence community is apparently up on its climate science. The report predicts that climate change will cause drought and food shortages and exacerbate freshwater supplies around the globe; it will also likely cause dustbowl conditions in the U.S. Southwest making the area hostile to agriculture. For developing countries, climate change "could be the straw that breaks the camel's back," leading to political and humanitarian crises and spurring mass migrations, said report author Thomas Fingar. The new report's climate conclusions are in line with three other climate-change security assessments also released this year from the U.S., Britain, and the European Union.

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

source: The Washington Post

The Invasion Equation
Some researchers wonder if invasive species could be a good thing

Could invasive species' bad reputation be undeserved? Bucking conventional wisdom, new research suggests that if exotic species aren't predators of natives, competition by nonnative species can actually improve biodiversity. A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences notes that just three of New Zealand's 2,065 native plants have gone extinct, despite introduction of 22,000 nonnative plant species. "The overall pattern almost always is that there's some net increase in diversity," says researcher James Brown. "That seems to be because these communities of species don't completely fill all the niches. The exotics can fit in there." Critics point out that historical movement by invasive species pales in comparison to the estimated 7,000 species now schlepped to a new place by humans every day. "If you pour on more species, you don't just increase the probability that one is going to arrive that's going to have a high impact," says researcher Anthony Riccardi. "You also get the possibility of some species that triggers a change in the rules of existence."

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

source: The New York Times

In Brief
Snippets from the news

• $100 billion federal investment could create 2 million green jobs.

• Delaware leads race for offshore wind.

• New York may limit natural-gas drilling.

• Kentucky environmental-justice activist wins Heinz Award for the Environment.