[Mb-civic] Enviro-headlines to stir and stimulate your brain!

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

HAIL THE CABS!
Hybrid taxis to hit the streets of New York City this fall

Six different hybrid models will debut in New York City's taxi fleet this
fall, thanks to a recent vote by the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Some commissioners had previously expressed reservations about the leg
room (or lack thereof) in hybrids, but after test drives, one termed
Toyota's Prius and Highlander "surprisingly roomy." The commission didn't
have much of a choice -- Mayor Mike Bloomberg forced its hand by signing a
bill last week that gave it 90 days to approve hybrids -- but commission
chair Matthew Daus seems converted to curbing gasoline use, saying,
"Pardon the pun, but I think bigger cars need to take a back seat."
Allowing six different models into the fleet will enable the commission to
learn which hybrids stand up best to the beating they're likely to take on
the streets of the Big Apple. 

straight to the source: The New York Times, Sewell Chan, 27 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5448>

straight to the source: New York Daily News, Jonathan Lemire, 27 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5449>



THE SECRET OF NIMRODS
Monsanto's confidential research finds that GM foods mess up rats

Rats fed with genetically modified (GM) corn exhibited health problems
including shrunken kidneys and blood changes that could indicate
immune-system damage or tumors. However, no one knows all the details,
since the folks who did the research are the same folks selling the corn
-- GM behemoth Monsanto -- and they won't release their 1,139-page study.
Monsanto claims it "contains confidential business information which could
be of commercial use to our competitors," but the brief research summary
was alarming enough that U.K. government ministers and scientists are
pressing for more information. The study is likely to make the ongoing
debate over GM foods in the European Union even more rancorous. It's also
likely to be seen by some as vindication of the research done by Arpad
Pusztai, who seven years ago found similar results in rats eating GM
potatoes, and was subsequently vilified and driven out of the scientific
world. 

straight to the source: The Independent, Geoffrey Lean, 22 May 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5067>

straight to the source: The Independent, Geoffrey Lean, 22 May 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5068>


THE LEFT KNOWS WHAT THE RIGHT'S BRANDS ARE DOING
Green campaigners target corporations as way to effect change

Environmental activists in the U.S., weary of battling with the largely
unsympathetic Bush administration, have increasingly been targeting their
efforts at other world power brokers -- transnational corporations. Their
success to date has been fueled by a sort of guerilla advertising --
innocuously dubbed "market campaigns" -- in which activists creatively
associate a company's brand with the harm they're doing to the
environment. PR-conscious corporations, ever striving to be well-liked by
both consumers and shareholders, often cave to the pressure, finding, like
computer-maker Dell did after agreeing to offer a recycling service, that
environmental benevolence isn't economic suicide after all. "What got us
really going was that we found we can meet our business needs, we can meet
our customers' needs, and we can do what the stakeholders are asking of
us, all at the same time," said Dell spokesperson Bryant Hilton. Other
successful campaigns have targeted Citibank, Bank of America, and 
JPMorgan
Chase.

straight to the source: Scripps Howard News Service, Joan Lowy, 25 May
2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5076>


FOREIGN PREDATIONS
Foreign companies spend big to lobby in D.C. for weaker enviro laws

Corporations based outside of the U.S. are increasingly spending big bucks
to lobby the U.S. federal government, many with an eye toward weakening
environmental protections. Take, for example, the London-based oil giant
BP, which doled out $33 million from 1998 through mid-2004 to push its
agenda in Washington, D.C. One of its key aims during that period: opening
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. Muckraker
investigates the changing face of lobbying on Capitol Hill.

new in Muckraker: Foreign Predations
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5125>

THE BAD NEWS FOREBEARS
Study suggests toxins' effects may be passed down through generations

A pregnant woman's exposure to toxic chemicals may cause harmful effects
not only in her children, but in her grandchildren and theirs, a
surprising new study suggests. For some time scientists have known about
"epigenetic" changes: chemical modifications of DNA that affect the way it
is expressed (phenotype), without changing the genetic code itself
(genotype). What Washington State University researchers discovered -- and
report this week in the journal Science -- is that such changes can be
passed from generation to generation. This, suffice it to say, flies in
the face of some fairly central assumptions in biology. It also raises
disturbing questions about the long-term effects of chemical pollution.
"In human terms, this would mean if your great-grandmother was exposed to
an environmental toxin at a critical point in her pregnancy, you may have
inherited the disease," says lead researcher Michael Skinner. "It is a new
way to think about disease." And by "new" he means "freaky."

straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Tom Paulson, 03 Jun
2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5120> 

straight to the source: BBC News, 03 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5121>

Body Count
Americans' bodies harbor numerous toxins, big study finds

The largest-ever study of human chemical exposure shows that Americans are
carrying dozens of potentially harmful toxic compounds in their bodies.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control tested some 2,400
people in 2000 and 2001 and found more than 100 worrying compounds, 
many
with known links to health threats, many present in larger doses in
children than in adults. Some news is good: Dramatically reduced child
lead levels are an "astonishing public health achievement," according to
CDC Director Julie Gerberding. Some results are mixed: Lower overall
amounts of cotinine, a chemical found in second-hand smoke, are credited
to antismoking laws; however, levels in African-Americans are roughly
twice those in whites and Hispanics. Some findings are just grim: The
study found that 5 percent of those tested have doses of three kinds of
phthalates exceeding those associated with genital abnormalities in boys,
and 76 percent of the population tested carried potentially neurotoxic
pyrethroid pesticides. Says a specialist in children's environmental
health, "We have fouled our own nest." 

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Marla Cone, 22 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5403>

straight to the source: Mercury News, Lisa M. Krieger, 22 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5412>

straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, Peter Waldman, 22 Jul
2005 (access ain't free)
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5408>

A LITTLE DAB'LL DO YA IN
Micro-exposure to common chemicals may cause big health problems

Will wonders never cease? The Wall Street Journal, not typically known for
its sympathy to green issues, had a blockbuster piece of environmental
reporting plastered on page A1 yesterday. In the first part of an ongoing
series, it describes new research on low-level exposure to common
industrial chemicals. Turns out assumptions that have guided decades of
public policy may be wrong: Micro-doses of some chemicals -- minute
exposures most people receive just by being alive in modern times, long
considered physically insignificant -- may cause serious health problems.
Researchers think low-dose exposures may help explain increasing rates of
autism, breast cancer, and other diseases. The implications for health and
safety regulations are profound, but not all governments are reacting with
equal force. Japan and the European Union have already put some notable
restrictions in place, while the Bush administration is downplaying
low-dose data, saying there's no solid proof of a problem.

straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, Peter Waldman, 25 Jul
2005 (access ain't free)
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5435>

BEACH BLANKET POLITICO
Green activist Donna Frye leading in race for mayor of San Diego

San Diego may soon get a jolt of green in City Hall. Veteran surfer chick
and longtime environmental activist Donna Frye (D) took 43 percent of the
vote in the city's mayoral election on Tuesday, far ahead of the 27
percent earned by her closest contender, but short of the majority needed
to win without a runoff. Frye, who's served on the San Diego City Council
since 2001, will now face former Police Chief Jerry Sanders (R) in a
November runoff election. Last November, Frye ran as a write-in candidate
against then-Mayor Dick Murphy (R). Although she got more votes, she
didn't get the job; a judge threw out thousands of ballots as technically
invalid because voters didn't fill in the bubble next to the line where
they wrote in Frye's name. Since then, both Murphy and his replacement
have resigned in a cloud of scandal, giving Frye another shot at the spot.
Co-owner of a surf shop, she has long been active in local good-government
and environmental campaigns in San Diego. 

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Tony Perry, 28 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5459>

straight to the source: San Diego Union-Tribune, Gerry Braun, 28 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5460>

GAS-MUZZLER
EPA holds back negative report on U.S. auto fuel efficiency

According to a report not released Wednesday by the U.S. EPA, loopholes in
U.S. fuel-economy standards let automakers produce cars and trucks much
less fuel-efficient than models 20 years ago. On Tuesday, the same day the
long-debated energy bill emerged from congressional negotiations, EPA
opted to keep the report to itself for another week. An agency spokesflack
says it's being reviewed for clarity and thoroughness, but some think the
delay has a peculiar smell. Says the Sierra Club's Daniel Becker,
"Something's fishy when the Bush administration delays a report showing no
improvement in fuel economy until after passage of their energy bill,
which fails to improve fuel economy." According to the report, the average
2004 auto sold in the U.S. got 6 percent fewer miles per gallon than one
from the late 1980s, both because of the rising popularity of SUVs and
because advances in engine technology have largely been used to make
vehicles more powerful rather than more fuel efficient. 

straight to the source: The New York Times, Danny Hakim, 28 Jul 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5451>


DIRTY FINANCING
Dirty-energy tax breaks total over $8.5 billion in energy bill

Highly profitable dirty-power industries may be treated to even fatter
bottom lines thanks to the energy bill that emerged this week from
congressional conference committee. It would dedicate more than $8.5
billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years to oil, natural gas, coal,
nuclear power, and electric utilities. Nukes alone would get $1.5 billion
in direct subsidies, $2 billion in "risk insurance," and loan guarantees
for future new reactor construction. Says a nuke industry spokesflack,
"This is a great bill." After the bill was out of committee, Rep. Tom
DeLay (R-Texas) snuck in another lump o' pork: a $1.5 billion fund
designed to funnel taxpayer money to oil and gas companies, with some $1
billion of the fund to be administered by a private consortium composed
largely of -- you guessed it -- oil and gas companies. Coincidentally
(ahem), the likely consortium is based in DeLay's home district in Sugar
Land, Texas. As for solar and wind power, plus conservation and efficiency
initiatives, over the next 10 years they'd collectively see about $4.3
billion in tax breaks. 

straight to the source: The Wall Street Journal, John J. Fialka, 28 Jul
2005 (access ain't free)
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5456>

STORM AFFRONT
Global warming to cause X-treme hurricanes; Sprite sponsorship in works

Coming soon to our warming globe: extreme hurricanes. Research just
published in the journal Science suggests that as higher temperatures draw
more ocean water into the atmosphere, hurricanes and typhoons will
intensify. Over the course of the 20th century, water vapor over the
oceans increased by 5 percent overall and 10 percent in areas where
hurricanes form, and will jump an additional 7 percent for every 1.8
degrees Fahrenheit the planet warms. Climatologists can't determine if
there will be more storms -- numbers tend to hold steady worldwide from
year to year -- but worry about the punch they'll pack. "It's not just
about the hurricane itself or even the strength of the winds," says the
study's lead author, Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for
Atmospheric Research. "It's every bit as much about the rainfall and the
flooding." According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the five
hurricanes that hit the U.S. in 2004 caused more than $850 million in
flood damage. Batten down the hatches!

straight to the source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Cathy Zollo, 17 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5235>

straight to the source: The Guardian, Alok Jha, 17 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5236>

straight to the source: Terra Daily, Agence France-Presse, 17 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5237>




COOL AID
Groups say foreign aid to Africa should be joined with climate action

U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's top two agenda items for the upcoming G8
meeting of industrialized countries -- aid to Africa and climate change --
are intimately linked, say a pair of new reports. Britain's leading
scientific body, the Royal Society, argues that Africans are uniquely
vulnerable to climate change, as more extreme temperatures and changes in
rainfall are likely to be particularly ruinous on a continent where 70
percent of people rely on small-scale, rain-fed agriculture. Meanwhile,
the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, a coalition of green
and charity groups, argues that efforts to reduce poverty in Africa are
hopeless without concomitant efforts from G8 countries to reduce their own
greenhouse-gas emissions, increase support for local renewable-energy and
small-scale farming projects in Africa, and end their exploitation of the
continent's fossil fuels. The group's exhortation to "join the dots" comes
at a bad time for Blair, who's got the aid dot more or less under control,
but is running into resistance (cough U.S. cough) on the climate-change
dot.

straight to the source: BBC News, Helen Briggs, 20 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5234>

straight to the source: Financial Times, Fiona Harvey, 20 Jun 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=5238>


                     Senate Approves Energy Bill
            Bill Now Goes to President Bush for Approval
July 29, 2005
The U.S. Senate today approved the energy bill conference report 
(H.R. 6, "The Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005") by a vote of 
74 to 26, clearing the legislation for approval by President Bush.
The bill is a smorgasbord of special-interest giveaways for the fossil 
fuel and nuclear industries, which received more than two-thirds of the 
tax breaks. The bill is not a forward-looking energy plan for the 21st 
century, but rather a behemoth booster for Big Energy.Attempts to 
block the bill ultimately failed. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) raised a 
point of order charging that the energy bill's steep price tag violates the 
Senate's budget rules, but the Senate voted 71-29 to waive the rules.

This bill, which will become law when the president signs it, does the 
following: 
*   Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), a 
    vital protection for electricity consumers. PUHCA prevents the 
    massive consolidation of unregulated utility ownership and 
    prohibits non-utilities -- such as oil companies, investment 
    banks, and foreign companies -- from owning public utilities.
*   Promotes a nuclear power relapse, lavishing the mature 
    industry with billions of dollars in subsidies and other incentives 
    that could cost taxpayers more than $13 billion.
*   Federalizes the siting of liquefied natural gas importation 
    terminals, stripping states of the right to oppose such projects.
*   Provides $4.5 billion in tax breaks and more than $7 billion in 
    authorized subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and eases 
    environmental regulations for oil and gas drilling and refining.

The bill will not reduce our dependence on foreign oil or reduce 
gasoline prices.
Absent from the final bill were measures to open the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration and a product liability waiver 
for producers of the fuel additive MTBE that has contaminated 
groundwater across the nation. Republican leaders have declared that 
they want to get these measures as part of other legislation.
-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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