LEASE AND DESIST House reps blow taxpayer dough on pricey gas-guzzlers It’s almost April; do you know where your taxes are? Last year, at least $1.05 million in public money went to leasing SUVs, luxury cars, and other vehicles for members of Congress — just as the Founding Fathers intended. Members of the House are legally allowed to lease cars out of their office budgets to travel in their own districts, a perk that about one-third of reps took advantage of in 2005. Leasing fuel-efficient, inexpensive vehicles could cost taxpayers less than reimbursing representatives for driving their own cars, yet dozens of the vehicles leased in 2005 were gas-guzzlers. The biggest spender in 2005, Rep. Michael Ross (D-Ark.), spent more than $36,000 to lease three vehicles, including a Ford Expedition SUV; the median annual income of his constituents is about $30,000. “Leadership by example,” says Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project, “has never been a forte of the United States Congress.” straight to the source: Knight Ridder News Service, Matt Stearns, 12 Mar 2006 http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=6587
NOBODY UNDOES IT LIKE SARA LEE Industry-backed bill would overthrow state food-labeling laws Two hundred or more state laws requiring warning labels on foods — labels indicating the presence of, say, cancer- or birth-defect-causing ingredients — would get nixed under a bill debated yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would preempt state food-labeling rules in favor of a national standard, even when the state laws are tougher. Critics of the legislation, including state food and agriculture regulators and a bipartisan coalition of 37 state attorneys general, say this is the food industry’s bid to overturn state rules and regulations they’ve opposed in the past. “The real effect of this legislation will be the deregulation of the United States food industry,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). Food giants like Heinz, Sara Lee, and Kraft back the measure, and there appears to be enough support to get the bill through the House next week. It’s expected to face a tougher road in the Senate. Label us nervous. straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Zachary Coile, 03 March 2006 straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Libby Quaid, 28 Feb 2006 http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=6542
MELTS IN YOUR SOUTH, NOT IN YOUR PLANS Antarctica ice sheets melting faster than expected Another day, another round of studies showing the world’s ice sheets melting faster than expected, another outbreak of indifference from the public, another resigned sigh from enviros, another bout of empty rhetoric from legislators. K, see you tomorrow! Oh, what, you want details? All right: The lucky ice sheets featured in these particular studies are in Antarctica. New research shows they’re melting faster than they can be replenished by new snow. So, sea levels could rise faster than anticipated in coming centuries. The result was confirmed in two independent studies, one in the journal Science, another in The Journal of Glaciology. The reports come on the heels of last month’s news that Greenland’s glaciers are melting twice as fast as expected. Congressional Democrats say the new findings should impel the U.S. to put mandatory curbs on greenhouse-gas emissions right away. Only, like, for real this time. They mean it. Ooh, look, a shiny port scandal … straight to the source: The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 03 Mar 2006 straight to the source: The New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin, 03 Mar 2006 straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Robert Lee Hotz, 03 Mar 2006 see also, in Grist: Greenland ice sheet melting speedily, making seas rise faster
ANY PORTUGAL IN A WIND STORM Portugal gives wind power a big bear hug; England gives it the finger Portugal is already building the world’s largest solar power plant; now, to make us feel even worse about ourselves, it’s planning a huge new project to more than double its wind-energy capacity. A contractor bid will be accepted by this summer for the project, which will provide enough energy to power 750,000 homes, and is expected to create 1,600 jobs. But what’s some good news without a little bad news? Plans to create the largest wind farm in England, able to power 45,000 homes, have been rejected by the government. As explained by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, “the impact on the landscape and recreation would outweigh the benefits in terms of reducing carbon emissions.” Hey, aesthetics over averting climatic catastrophe, we always say. straight to the source: The Guardian, Giles Tremlett, 02 Mar 2006 straight to the source: BBC News, 02 March 2006 straight to the source: Reuters, 02 March 2006
REBUKE NUKEM
U.K. government advisory commission puts the smackdown on nuclear power
Nuclear power incites stiff support in U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. But he
may be feeling a bit flaccid this week: The Sustainable Development Commission,
an advisory body established by the U.K. government, has formally advised
against revitalizing a national nuclear-energy program. Says the commission
chair, “There’s little point in denying that nuclear power has its benefits
but, in our view, these are outweighed by serious disadvantages.” In a report,
the SDC cites five major concerns about nuclear — waste, cost, inflexibility,
security, and efficiency — and notes that doubling nuclear capacity would only
decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2035.
Instead, the SDC recommends the U.K. pursue renewables, which could potentially
supply more than two-thirds of the country’s electricity, and increase energy
efficiency, which could cut carbon emissions by 20 million tons a year. No word
on whether Blair plans to abandon Bush’s Axis of Atom.
straight to the source: The Independent, Michael Harrison and Michael McCarthy,
07 Mar 2006
straight to the source: The Guardian, David Adam, 07 Mar 2006
ANATOMY
Hospital menus getting green overhaul
Soon “hospital food” may no longer mean the worst American factory-farmed
cuisine has to offer. A handful of hospitals around the country are starting to
put hormone-free meats, rBGH-free milk, and organic veggies on their menus. For
years, the best advice of health-care professionals hasn’t been reflected in
the typical hospital menu. But now, hospitals “are increasingly seeing food as
a treatment issue and not necessarily as a cost center,” according to Scott
Exo, director of a group working with hospitals to green up their menus.
Patients at the Good Shepherd Medical Center in rural Hermiston, Ore., for
example, now get made-to-order meals featuring organic, sustainably grown
meats and produce. Food waste is down, and people are even asking for the recipes.
The trend is partially driven by baby boomers, who are spending more time in
hospitals and want the meals to appeal to their restaurant-honed palates.
straight to the source: The Oregonian, Leslie Cole, 07 Mar 2006
straight to the source: The New York Times, Kim Severson, 07 Mar 2006
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