IT'S MY PARTY, I CAN WRITE IF I WANT TO

THE LAY OF THE LANDSLIDE
Senate Gives Thumbs-Up to Leavitt to Head EPA

Senate Democrats put up quite a fuss over the nomination of Mike
Leavitt to head the U.S. EPA, but in the end, the Utah governor was
overwhelmingly confirmed for the post in an 88-8 vote yesterday.
Republicans had to do a little behind-the-scenes wrangling to get to
a final floor vote on the matter and satisfy senators who had placed
holds on the nomination; in the process, Sens. Joe Lieberman
(D-Conn.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) managed to squeeze some
concessions out of the Bush administration on the matter of air
pollution at Ground Zero in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001.

BLACK MARKET CONTINUES TO ENDANGER SNOW LEOPARD: A report by the
wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC finds that the illegal trade
in snow leopard pelts and parts is continuing to endanger the
critically imperiled big cat "in all countries" where they are found,
with the possible exception of Bhutan says Environment News Service
. The snow leopard is found in 12 countries of Central Asia and
although estimates of the wild population range from 4,000 to 7,000,
much of the information is dated and with the increase of black market
trading in places like Afghanistan, "there is a good chance the figure
is closer to the lower end of that range and could be as low as 3,500."

IT'S MY PARTY, I CAN WRITE IF I WANT TO
Former EPA Chief to Call for Moderation in New Book

Christie Whitman, who seemed none too happy during her conflict-laden
stint as head of the U.S. EPA, has found a new vocation: author.
Whitman has struck a deal with the Penguin Group to publish a book
that will call for political moderation instead of hard-line stands.
Presumably, she knows whereof she writes: Whitman ran into plenty of
hard-liners while serving in the Bush administration, where she
clashed with officials on a number of environmental issues, most
notably climate change. "The leaders must recognize the gap they are
creating between themselves and the majority of the electorate," she
said in a statement released yesterday. Her book, "It's My Party,
Too: The Education of a Moderate," is set to hit stores in 2005.

straight to the source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated
Press, 28 Oct 2003


PESTICIDE BUFFER IN THE WORKS: A federal judge has told the EPA,
conservationists, and agribusiness interests to "negotiate the terms of
an order that he expects to issue following the end of this year's fall
crop season" and is "likely to result in hundreds of miles of no-spray
buffers" along streams and waterways that provide habitat for salmon
and steelhead protected by the ESA says the Seattle Times 8/15. The
order is the result of an earlier ruling which "found that the EPA had
failed to comply with ESA requirement to assess the risks that as many
as 54 pesticides pose to salmon" and is expected to mostly impact
"vegetable and fruit farmers who grow high-value chemical-intensive
crops."

FISH FARMS JEOPARDIZE WILD SALMON: A ten-year study by Britain's Royal
Society has "found that wild salmon were vulnerable to extinction
because of genetic and competitive pressures from farmed fish" says BBC
News 10/20. Experiments with wild and farmed salmon hybrids showed
that "the offspring of fish that had interbred had a much lower
survival rate - some 70% of the fish died in the first few weeks of
life." Farm fish grow quicker that wild fish and "ones that did survive
displaced many of their wild cousins" and the scientists warned that
"accidental and deliberate introductions of farmed salmon could lead to
extinction of vulnerable wild populations of Atlantic salmon."

BIG GULP
Ford May Restart Production of Its Biggest SUV

Ford Motor Co. disappointed enviros with an announcement this week
that it may resume production of its monster-sized Excursion SUV,
dubbed the Valdez by the Sierra Club. Last year, Ford said it would
stop producing the Excursion after the 2004 model year because of
falling sales, but now the company is reconsidering because, it says,
the market for large SUVs is looking strong. The 3.5-ton Excursion
gets about 10 miles to the gallon, or a little more with a diesel
engine. Ford CEO William Clay Ford, Jr., has long talked about
incorporating environmental values into the company, but he's been
short on action. "We've been waiting to applaud Ford for doing
something right, but it's getting to be a rather long wait," said Dan
Becker of the Sierra Club. Meanwhile, Toyota is considering adding
its first-ever night shift at a Japanese factory in order to
dramatically boost production of its efficient hybrid Prius; demand
is running at almost double initial estimates.

straight to the source: New York Times, Danny Hakim, 28 Oct 2003

straight to the source: Financial Times, James Mackintosh, 28 Oct 2003


STATING THE OBVIOUS
More States Make Strides to Address Global Warming

In the absence of any meaningful action on climate change by the Bush
administration, more than half of U.S. states are stepping up to
address the problem through legislation, programs launched by
governors, or lawsuits. In the last three years, state legislatures
have approved at least 29 bills that deal with some aspect of global
warming or carbon dioxide emissions, often with bipartisan support.
At least 15 states, including Nevada and Texas, are requiring
utilities to add renewable sources like wind and solar to their
energy mix. "We hope to see the problem addressed at the federal
level, but we're not waiting around," said David Danner, energy
adviser to Washington Gov. Gary Locke (D). As states and cities
create a patchwork of varying laws and rules across the country,
pressure is likely to grow on the U.S. government to address climate
change on a federal level and set nationwide standards.

straight to the source: New York Times, Jennifer 8. Lee, 29 Oct 2003

IS THE SEA HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL?
Kazakh Dam Could Save Northern Aral Sea, But Kill Southern Portion

A seven-mile dam now under construction could mean total devastation
for a large southern section of the already beleaguered Aral Sea,
which straddles the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in
Central Asia. Once the world's fourth largest inland sea, the Aral
has lost half its depth and 90 percent of its volume over the past 40
years; many of its troubles began decades ago, when the USSR drew
large amounts of water out of the sea in order to irrigate cotton and
rice fields in the desert. Experts consider the Aral's decline to be
one of the worst human-caused ecological disasters in history, one
which has been disastrous for local people who formerly earned their
livings as fishers and farmers. In an effort to restore the northern
part of the sea, Kazakhstan is building a dam that will keep the
waters of a major tributary confined to a small area, but this will
leave much of the rest of the sea without water.


  • Jefferson City, MO — An alternative transportation fuel called E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, will be sold for 85 cents a gallon today from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Apple Trail Travel Center at 1103 N. Buckner Tarsney Road in Grain Valley, Missouri. The promotion is in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the new E85 pump. The Missouri Corn Growers Association, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) and General Motors Corporation made an announcement at the station this morning introducing a multi-million dollar ethanol awareness campaign to promote greater use of corn-based ethanol fuel, E85, as an alternative to gasoline.
    E85 is currently made from domestically produced corn. Its price and performance are similar to that of regular gasoline, but ethanol is a renewable, domestically produced fuel that produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Over three million vehicles on the road today can burn the fuel. The market for E85 has increased 10-fold during the past five years, to about 10 million gallons a year.
    The public awareness effort is part of a two-year partnership with the nonprofit NEVC focused on increasing E85 use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). FFVs may fuel with either E85 or gasoline, interchangeably. The direct-mail program, called “I Fuel Good,” will target owners of 2002-2004 model year GM flexible fuel vehicles by giving them a $30 debit card that can be used to purchase E85 fuel. Owners also will receive E85 informational literature, a list of E85 refueling stations in their area, a window sticker and a T-shirt. Additionally, participating GM dealers will receive assistance in educating customers about the benefits of using E85.
    Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan and Illinois also are participating in the education campaign.
    “Establishing new outlets for using and distributing ethanol not only benefits Missouri’s farm communities, but has a positive impact statewide,” said Peter Hofherr, director of agriculture. “The benefits are clear: ethanol adds value to one of our state’s most plentiful commodities – corn – and produces a clean-burning fuel that is better for the environment. The Missouri Corn Growers Association, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and General Motors have formed an alliance that is vitally important to Missouri’s economic health, and I applaud their vision and cooperative spirit.”
    “E85 is only beginning to become more widely available, and we’re pleased to be able to provide consumers with an incentive to try this homegrown alternative fuel and take advantage of the benefits,” said John Gaydash, director of marketing for GM’s Fleet & Commercial Operations. “We want to educate and encourage industry and consumers to use E85 in their GM flexible fuel vehicles whenever possible.”
    There are five additional E85 outlets in Missouri.
    •