Interesting news items

Thu Mar 1 18:01:11 CST 2001

DAILY GRIST
01 Mar 2001
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

Daily Grist fell through the cracks yesterday.  Sorry about that.  We
were busy with an earthquake here in Seattle.

1.
THE NOBLE CITIZEN
Donella Meadows, one of America's most accomplished and fiercely
principled environmentalists, died last week at age 59.  Author since
1985 of the weekly column "The Global Citizen," syndicated in Grist
and newspapers across the country, Meadows first rose to prominence
in 1972 as principal author of "The Limits to Growth," a seminal
study on the ecological strain of soaring human population growth.
Meadows taught environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1972
until her death and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1994.
Achievements and honors notwithstanding, friend and former colleague
Robert Braile writes in Grist, "More than anything, I will remember
Meadows for living what she believed."  Read more in Grist Magazine.

read it only in Grist Magazine:  A personal appreciation of Grist
contributor Donella Meadows -- by Robert Braile
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho030101.stm>

2.
PHENOMENAL
In one of the Bush administration's first official statements on
global warming, U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman said
this week that the administration may push to place limits on carbon
dioxide emissions from power plants.  "There is no question," she
said, "that global warming is a real phenomenon, that it is
occurring."  She said the administration might support legislation
that would regulate CO2 for the first time as part of a broader plan
to regulate other pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
President Bush is on the record as opposing the Kyoto treaty on
climate change.

straight to the source:  Washington Post, Eric Pianin, 28 Feb 2001
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64344-2001Feb27.html>

straight to the source:  Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Associated Press,
John Heilprin, 28 Feb 2001
<http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:POLITICS31A/1:POLITICS31
A0228101.html>

3.
SHOCK DIESEL
The Bush administration announced yesterday that it would let stand
regulations put forward by former President Clinton to cut diesel
exhaust from big trucks and buses by 95 percent.  The new rules will
require oil refiners to reduce the sulfur content of highway diesel
fuel by 97 percent and force manufacturers to install pollution
control devices in diesel engines.  Health advocates and
environmentalists were breathing easier after the announcement.  But
the trucking industry has continued to complain about the costs of
complying with the rules, and the refining industry has threatened to
sue the U.S. EPA over them.

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Gary Polakovic, 01 Mar 2001
<http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environ/20010301/t000018257.html>

straight to the source:  New York Times, Christopher Marquis, 01 Mar 2001
<http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/01/politics/01DIES.html>

4.
PEW, THOSE OCEANS SMELL
Pollution from inland sources of fertilizer and manure is threatening
bays and estuaries in the U.S., according to a report released this
week by the Pew Oceans Commission.  The study stated that nitrogen
and ammonia from these sources are producing toxic algae blooms,
depleting oxygen levels, and destroying sea grasses and coral reefs.
Leon Panetta, the commission's chair and a chief of staff under
former President Clinton, warned that "dead zones" like the one in
the Gulf of Mexico are likely to proliferate as heavy coastal
development continues.  In other manure news, environmental groups
filed a racketeering lawsuit yesterday accusing the nation's biggest
hog processor, Smithfield Foods, of deliberately fouling water, air,
and soil.

straight to the source:  MSNBC.com, 27 Feb 2001
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/536602.asp>

straight to the source:  Los Angeles Times, Stephanie Simon, 01 Mar 2001
<http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environ/20010228/tCB00a4984.html>

5.
ON THE BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
Contestants audition for "Global Warming Survivor," and Zed develops
a keen eye for talent.  Join Zed, last of his species, for a
front-row seat in "Cattle Cull."

catch it only in Grist Magazine:  The latest in the comic adventures
of Zed, last of his species
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/zed/zed022301.stm>

6.
30 MINUTES, OR IT'S FREE TRADE
In an attempt to grease the wheels in the trade battle over softwood
lumber, the Canadian embassy last week sent Domino's pizzas to 170
members of the U.S. Congress, focusing in particular on members who
have environmental concerns.  The Canadians were careful to deliver
"politically correct" pizzas:  meatless and packaged in boxes made
from recycled paper.  The members also received a videotape arguing
that Canada's timber harvesting practices aren't destroying pristine
wilderness.  It's not clear if the pizzas will have the domino effect
that was hoped for -- Congress is still expected to voice vigorous
opposition to what some see as an unfair invasion of Canadian
softwood lumber products into the U.S. market.

straight to the source:  Toronto National Post, Peter Morton, 28 Feb 2001
<http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010228/487343.html>

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Also in GRIST MAGAZINE today:

Anti-environmentalism as a way of life -- Dubya's pro-industry
policies aren't only about the money -- by Jon Margolis in our
opinions section
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho022101.stm>

Don't drink the water -- a day in the life of Sunita Dubey, Toxics Link
India
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/dubey022701.stm>

Sin County Almanac -- sex sells, but can it save the environment? by Erik
Ness
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/limb/limb093099.stm>

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