[Mb-civic] Get your environews headlines heah......!

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

FOR THIS RELIEF MUCH TANKS
Big SUVs likely to keep guzzling gas under forthcoming fuel-economy plan

The Bush administration is said to be abandoning efforts to set
fuel-economy standards for huge SUVs like the Hummer H2 and Ford
Excursion, which fall outside the weight classes covered by current
standards. Those concerned about the warming globe, skyrocketing gas
prices, and foreign-oil dependence have long chafed at the loophole, but,
well, Big Auto has more lobbyists than they do. American automakers say
such standards would damage their shaky bottom lines. The administration
is poised to release its new plan for auto fuel-economy standards later
this month; it will be the first major rewrite of the rules since the
1970s. The plan had been expected to regulate well-hung gas guzzlers
weighing in excess of 8,500 pounds for the first time, but insiders now
say that's unlikely. Once it's officially released, the plan will be open
to public comment.

straight to the source: The New York Times, Danny Hakim, 16 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5590>


A NO LIFE ON LEASE
Court ruling blocks new oil drilling off California coast

New oil and gas drilling off the California coast has been effectively
thwarted, thanks to a federal court ruling last Friday. U.S. District
Judge Claudia Wilken ordered federal officials not to extend leases to
energy companies on 36 central-coast tracts until environmental risks have
been more fully assessed, a process that's likely to take years. The U.S.
Minerals Management Service has been extending the leases for more than 15
years over the objections of state officials. Ten green groups filed suit
after the MMS announced in February that extending them again would not
cause significant ecological harm -- after rather selectively analyzing
only pre-drilling activities, like surveys, while excluding predictable
next steps like exploratory drilling, building platforms, and pumping oil.
A similar situation in Florida led the feds to buy back offshore oil
leases for $235 million, at the special request of Gov. Jeb Bush (R). But
negotiations for a California buyback have stalled. Perhaps the Governator
is distracted by other matters?

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Kenneth R. Weiss, 13 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5591

SMOKEY AND MIRRORS
Feds cut estimated economic worth of recreation in national forests 

During the Clinton administration, the U.S. Forest Service estimated that
by the year 2000, recreation in national forests would contribute about
$111 billion a year to the American economy. Now the Bush administration
has slashed that estimate by a whopping $100 billion for 2002, down to $11
billion. According to agency officials, Clinton-era estimates of 800
million visits a year to national forests were inflated -- instead, they
say 2002 saw about 200 million visits. Conservationists were nonplussed,
noting that in 2001 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated birders
and wildlife watchers alone spend $38 billion yearly on equipment and
travel. Some fear the feds are gearing their analysis to justify more
mining and logging in national forests. "Would I expect anything different
from the Bush administration?" asked the Wilderness Society's Michael
Francis. "No. They will cook the books for whatever they want."

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 15 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5589>

GO TRUCK YOURSELF
Bush admin unveils weak new fuel-economy rules for light trucks

The Bush administration surveyed the landscape -- gas prices rising, fears
of oil dependence spreading -- and concluded that bold leadership was
required. So it invaded an oil-rich country. Heh, well ... on to Plan B!
Yesterday, the administration proposed a new set of auto fuel-economy
rules. Tightening the standard for passenger cars? Uh, no, that would stay
at an average of 27.5 miles per gallon. Finally imposing some requirements
on mega-SUVs like the Hummer H2? Wrong again. Instead, most SUVs, 
pickups,
and minivans would be divided into six categories based on size, each with
its own fuel-economy requirements. The administration says the plan would
increase the average mileage of these vehicles a whopping 2.8 mpg by 2011,
to 24 mpg. Amazing but true! Despite the obvious logic of the plan, it has
critics, some of whom point out that it would actually provide an
incentive for auto manufacturers to make their light trucks larger, so
they'd be bumped into categories with lower mileage standards. "The
proposal is almost embarrassing in terms of its effect on fuel
consumption," said Eric Haxthausen of Environmental Defense.

straight to the source: The New York Times, Danny Hakim and John M.
Broder, 24 Aug 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5643>

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Margaret Webb Pressler, 24
Aug 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5644>


BREED BETWEEN THE LINES
World population heading rapidly toward 7 billion

The global population will reach 7 billion by about 2012 and continue to
rise for many decades, according to a new report from the Population
Reference Bureau, a private research organization. "Almost 99 percent of
population growth today and for the foreseeable future will be in ...
developing countries," said Carl Haub, a demographer with the bureau. In
contrast, birthrates are declining in many developed countries, a trend
that could ultimately lead to wealthy nations having less money to spend
on foreign aid for poorer nations, according to Haub. In the U.S., though,
fertility rates are holding steady and population is expected to rise from
296 million today to 420 million by 2050, meaning the nation would hold
onto its status as the world's third most-populous country.  India is
expected to overtake China and assume the No. 1 slot by the middle of the
century. 

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Harry
Dunphy, 23 Aug 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5641>

straight to the source: Hindustan Times, 23 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5642>

straight to the report: 2005 World Population Data Sheet
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5646>


RAIDER OF THE LAST PARKS
Proposal to change national-park rules stirring up controversy

National parks are cool and all, but you know what they really need? More
people on cell phones! That -- along with more snowmobiling and
off-roading -- could happen under revisions to National Park Service
policy proposed by Bush appointee Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary
of the interior. His plan, leaked to the press this week, would cut back
on environmental protections on numerous fronts, from allowing cell-phone
towers to reducing air quality standards to permitting more mining and
grazing. While the Department of Interior is trying to cast the proposal
as a mere effort at dialogue, past and present National Park Service
employees aren't buying it. A group of 400 NPS retirees has announced a
campaign to block the changes, and current directors are openly voicing
dismay over them. Says J. T. Reynolds, superintendent of Death Valley
National Park, "They are changing the whole nature of who we are and what
we have been. I hope the public understands that this is a threat to their
heritage."

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Julie Cart, 26 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5654>

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I NEPA
U.S. government sued over climate impacts of overseas energy projects

U.S. efforts to find fossil-fuel supplies overseas will create significant
climate disruption, harming not only people in those countries but folks
at home, according to a lawsuit filed against the federal government by a
coalition of green groups and U.S. cities. Ranging from Greenpeace to the
city of Oakland, Calif., coalition members want fossil-fuel development
projects in developing nations on five continents to be halted while their
impacts are assessed under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Bush
administration tried to have the suit dismissed, but U.S. District Judge
Jeffrey White recently ruled it could proceed. White found that coalition
members had shown sufficient evidence that their "concrete interests" are
threatened by the projects, and that the risks might be meliorated if the
environmental studies are performed. Oakland, for instance, is concerned
about future flooding, storm surges, and drought. The Bush administration
has not yet decided whether to appeal.

straight to the source: The Sacramento Bee, Claire Cooper, 25 Aug 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5648>

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know!  If someone forwarded you 
this email and you want to be on our list, send an email to 
ean at sbcglobal.net and tell us which option you'd like.


"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050828/72ace57a/attachment-0001.htm