News
- 01-06-03 California for First Time Forced to Limit Water Supply (Yahoo - New York Times - Murphy)
"This is a pivotal moment in the contentious history of water in the arid West, which more often than not has pitted California's unquenchable thirst against that of its smaller but equally parched neighbors."
"For the first time since it was given the authority four decades ago, the United States Department of the Interior has said no to California's dipping into the Colorado River for more than its allotted share." 1-03
- 05-25-03 Congress Increases Tax Breaks for Polluting (MSNBC News)
"Supporters including President Bush said the business equipment tax break, which was quadrupled to $100,000 in the $350 billion tax cut bill that narrowly cleared Congress, is good for the economy."
"But critics called it a loophole that unfairly benefits the auto industry and provides an unnecessary perk to business people who do not need, but want to buy the largest, most-polluting and fuel hungry SUVs." 5-03
- 11-23-02 Bush Administration Eases Clean Air Rules (CBS News)
"The Bush administration on Friday eased clean air rules to allow utilities, refineries and manufacturers to avoid having to install expensive new anti-pollution equipment when they modernize their plants."
Papers
- Cars - Fuel Efficient Car Goal Abandoned (Auto.com)
Describes the government announcement that the 80 mpg goal for cars by 2004 has been abandoned. Another approach to fuel efficiency, not disclosed, was given for the reason to stop trying to create a concept car that achieves 80 mpg by 2004. 5-01
- Computer Companies Are Polluters (CBS News)
"U.S. technology companies lag foreign rivals in reducing hazardous materials in electronics and encouraging recycling, while American workers involved in recycling are exposed to too many toxins, an advocacy group says."
"Japan, home of the highest-ranking electronics manufacturers, Fujitsu and Canon, passed a law in 2001 requiring manufacturers to recycle certain parts. Japan also requires disclosure of chemical use in production plants."
"In its third annual report card, the Computer TakeBack Campaign assigned poor or failing grades to Hewlett-Packard Co., Micron Technology Inc. and Gateway Inc."
"Dell's failing grade mirrors lax environmental standards throughout the country, according to the computer take-back group." 1-03
- Department of Energy Releases Documents Showing Access to Energy Companies (CBS News)
Summarizes documents released under court order to show which groups influenced the development of national policy on energy. According to the summary, energy executives and lobbyists had a great deal of access to the head of the Energy Department, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "In all, three dozen energy executives and lobbyists participated in eight meetings with Abraham from mid-February to late April 2001. The Cheney energy report was released in May."
"But the papers released late Monday by DOE document no top-level meetings with advocates of energy efficiency or renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power. 3-02
- EPA Enforcer Quits - Claims Administration Is Siding With Polluters (Philadelphia Inquirer - Borenstein)
Describes the reason why the head of the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement quit. "Eric Schaeffer, director of the EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement, said energy-industry lobbyists were helping to write proposals to weaken air-pollution regulations for older coal power plants. Enforcing those regulations was Schaeffer's job." 2-02
- Electric Motocycles Required in Taiwan (Taiwan.com.au - Chang)
Reports on Taiwan's new law requiring motorcycle manufacturers to meet a quota of at least two percent electric powered motorcycles. 5-01
- Federal Court Agrees With Tough Clean Air Standards (Washington Post - Tucker and Grunwald)
Describes a court finding that upheld "the most stringent air pollution control standards in the nation's history." " 'This is a huge victory for breathers,' said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Air Trust." "EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said her agency will support the new regulations."
"The next step for the EPA is to designate the places that do not meet the new standards. Then it can start requiring states to submit plans detailing how they will get into compliance." 3-02
- Global Warming Twice As Bad As Formerly Believed (BBC News)
Summarizes a report by scientists that the earth is warming by twice as much as the amount expected in 1996. 7-01
- Kyoto Protocol Meeting Fails (CNN)
Describes the failure of nations to agree on limits on greenhouse gases to reduce global warming, a condition that is likely to result in catastrophic weather changes for the planet. The United States was regarded as a barrier to an agreement because it demanded the right to plant trees to offset its rate of pollution. 11-00
- Low Pollution Two-Stroke Engine Announced (EarthVision.net)
Describes a two-stroke engine developed by college students. Claims that the engine produces one percent of the pollution generated by a standard two-stroke engine. 3-02
- Map of Oceans Unveiled (CNN)
Describes a new map of the oceans of the world, designed to monitor the health of the oceans, global warming effects, and effects of overfishing. Mentions a new U.S. government report that "forecast that U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions would increase 43 percent between 2000 and 2020." 6-02
- Riverways Create as Much Pollution as Highways (Earth Observatory - Kaufman)
Describes results of a study of causes of pollution. 3-02
- Senate Rejects Rules Requiring Better Mileage (Philadelphia Inquirer - Kuhnhenn)
"A powerful alliance of carmakers and autoworkers yesterday crushed an environmentalist push to increase fuel-efficiency standards, as the Senate removed mileage requirements from a sweeping energy bill." 3-02
- Snakehead Fish - Invasive Species (Chicago Tribune - Miller)
Describes the red snakehead fish, an Asian species that kills all native fish when it enters a waterway. Discusses efforts to ban the fish from states in the USA. 7-02
- Superfunds - Bush to Shift Costs to Taxpayers (Time - Reaves)
President Bush plans to shift the cost of cleaning up major pollution sites away from the corporations responsible for the pollution. Instead, he wants to reduce the size of the Superfund and to have taxpayers pay a larger share for the cleanup. "A White House victory would likely bring an immediate drop-off in the number of sites approved for Superfund status. But of even greater concern to environmental advocates is that the change will see the disincentive to pollute wither away alongside the Superfund coffers. After all, industrial polluters have been kept in check by the threat of having to fund costly cleanups." 2-02
- Superfunds Cleanup Plans Cut - Bush to Shift Costs to Taxpayers (Seattle Times - Seelye)
"Faced with dwindling reserves in the huge Superfund waste-cleanup account, the Bush administration has decided to target fewer sites for restoration and to shift the bulk of costs from industry to taxpayers." 2-02
- Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Description (Time.com)
Describes how the electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. "Not only does it have no brakes, it also has no engine, no throttle, no gearshift and no steering wheel. And it can carry the average rider for a full day, nonstop, on only five cents' worth of electricity." The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01
- Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Picture (HowStuffWorks.com)
Provides details of how an electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01
- Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Picture (Time.com)
Provides details of how an electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01
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