Conservative Revolutionary American Party III: Daily Grist: Eating local can help you get lucky, financial troubles hit transit, and more‏

TOP STORY

That's Not Fare
Some mass-transit agencies hit hard by financial crisis

Even with increased ridership, some major metropolitan transit agencies are struggling more than usual these days as the credit crisis messes with their funding and ailing banks suddenly call in huge loans, asking for millions of dollars on short notice. Transit agencies in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., have been affected by the turmoil, caused in large part by the collapse of insurance giant AIG. One bank recently told D.C.'s Metro that it owes some $43 million by the end of next week; the agency could soon owe as much as $400 million to creditors. "The worst-case scenario is that we could end up having to come up with $100 million to $300 million overnight," said Marc Littman of Los Angeles' Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Many of the struggling transit agencies that had major assets tied up in complicated deals with AIG have asked the U.S. Treasury Department for help. With federal help, said D.C. Metro's Carol Kissal, agencies would be able to fix their financing woes and satisfy creditors "so [then] the banks would not be looking to take their greed out unnecessarily on public transit."

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sources: The Washington Post

GristTV episode 2: green cleaning tips

Going green doesn't mean giving up on being clean. In our latest GristTV episode, advice maven Umbra Fisk offers up alternatives to chemical-laden cleaning products. Watch it now.

TODAY'S NEWS

From Bad to Worst
Green group catalogs world's 10 worst pollution problems

The world's worst pollution problems kill millions of people each year and sicken hundreds of millions of others, mostly in developing countries, according to a new report from green group Blacksmith Institute. For the past few years, the group has ranked the world's top 10 most-polluted sites in order to focus global attention and fuel efforts to clean them up. This year, however, the group broke slightly with its own tradition and instead focused on the worst pollution problems. In no particular order, the world's top pollution problems include small-scale gold mining, contaminated surface water, contaminated groundwater, indoor air pollution, industrial mining, low-tech lead-battery recycling, metal smelting and processing, poor urban air quality, radioactive waste and uranium mines, and untreated sewage. "The global health burden from pollution is astonishing, and mainly affects women and children," said Richard Fuller, director of Blacksmith Institute. "The world community needs to wake up to this fact. Clean air, water, and soil are human rights."

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sources: IPS, Reuters
straight to the report: The World's Worst Pollution Problems 2008

Dynegy Another Day
Coal-power producer will disclose climate-change risks to shareholders

Coal power could be a risky investment -- according to none other than giant coal-power producer Dynegy Inc. After being subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last year, Dynegy agreed Thursday to be forthcoming to shareholders about the risks that climate change could pose to their investment. Said Cuomo in announcing the deal, "You have to disclose the facts to the public. It's not just good public policy, it's the law." (Did anyone else note that barely suppressed "booyah"?) Dynegy owns power plants in 13 states and is one of the largest consumers of coal in the U.S. Under the agreement, it will analyze how business could be impacted by climate-related regulation and litigation -- not to mention climate change itself -- and explain what it plans to do about it all. Cuomo reached a similar agreement with Xcel Energy in August, and is pressuring three other energy companies to fess up as well.

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sources: Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, Environmental Defense Fund
see also, in Gristmill: Dynegy targeted by Sierra Club in new anti-coal campaign

Melbourne to Be Wild
Electric-car infrastructure coming to Australia

In just a few years, Aussies will be driving to and fro in electric vehicles, plugging in to a grid powered entirely by renewable energy. At least, that's the goal of California-based startup Better Place, which is heading Down Under to put its ambitious vision for an electric-car future into action. Some $671 million, raised with the help of Macquarie Capital Group, will put in place hundreds of thousands of charging and battery-swap stations by 2012; utility AGL Energy has pledged to expand capacity to power the electric-car grid with 100 percent renewable energy. Better Place founder Shai Agassi, who is already testing his infrastructure model in Israel and Denmark, says he can easily see the scheme to hook up Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney replicated for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Declares Agassi, "[W]e believe that Australia could be a demonstration project and proof-point for the U.S., as well as the U.K. and the rest of the developed world."

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sources: The Age, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Cleantech Group, The New York Times

In Brief
Snippets from the news

• Potent greenhouse gas more prevalent than thought.

• Toys containing banned substances are still on the market.

• Asian beetle threatens three New England industries.

• India shops for coal in Appalachia.

• Must-see green American landmarks.

• Many mass transit systems plagued by too many riders.