Senate Republicans, led by Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), are trying one more time to get the Bush administration's energy bill passed, but growing worries over the massive federal budget deficit are making it difficult. You see, Domenici and crew larded the bill up with billions of dollars worth of tax incentives and subsidies (on top of Bush's already-larded $18 billion original) in order to buy the votes needed ... oops, did we say "buy"? We meant "persuade"! With deficit worries reaching an election-year fever pitch, Domenici has promised to trim the fat, but doing so may cost him the votes of …

Egyptian Agro-Business Is Socially Conscious and Green to Boot In the arid Egyptian desert -- an area not typically associated with socially progressive entrepreneurship -- the Sekem Group is demonstrating how home-grown business can make both profit and positive change. Founded in 1977 by Ibrahim Abouleish, the agro-business has developed a wide range of products (herbal medicines, organic food and cotton, and more), and it provides good schooling, vocational training, and health care to its 2,000 employees and other local community members. At a time when many other businesses are struggling, Sekem actually grew by 25 percent last year. It …

Citigroup Adopts Green-Friendly Policies After four years of pressure and protests from the Rainforest Action Network, the world's largest financial institution announced today that it will adopt a comprehensive corporate policy stressing eco-friendly investment. Citigroup will carefully assess financing requests for projects that might adversely affect natural habitats and will not finance any logging in tropical forests (nor any "illegal logging" -- that's big of them!). The corporation will also develop a program to invest in renewable energy and sustainable forestry and will report the greenhouse gas emissions of any power project in which it invests. Said Ilyse Hogue, global …

Condom Factory in Brazil to Fight AIDS, Deforestation Giving new meaning to the promise of "protection," a new condom factory in northwest Brazil is expected to not only fight the spread of AIDS in that country (one of the world's hardest-hit by the disease) but also to slow the destruction of native old-growth forests. The factory -- which aims to produce 200 million condoms a year by 2006, helping to meet Brazil's 1.2 billion annual usage demands (go Brazil!) -- will use rubber from local rubber trees. By raising the value of rubber, it will make the surrounding forests more …

This morning, some 50 people powwowed in the chandeliered Ticonderoga conference room of the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill for a conference entitled "Environmental Issues 2004: How to Get Results in an Election Year." There weren't more than a handful of environmentalists in attendance -- perhaps because the conference was hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers, known to be one of the most anti-environment industry groups in the country. The great attraction of the affair (which cost up to $150 a head) was its keynote speaker -- not an industry kingpin, not a bigwig GOP pollster like Frank …

New Controls Needed on Wildlife Trade to Prevent Disease, Scientists Say Leading wildlife and conservation experts from 10 nations say that stronger controls on global wildlife trade are needed to stem the spread of deadly diseases from exotic animals to humans. "Most wild-caught animals found in pet shops and food markets have never been tested for diseases and parasites that can harm humans and other animals," said Mary Pearl, head of the New York-based Wildlife Trust. The scientists, who made their announcement from Bangalore, India, said that unscrupulous trading also could wipe out wild populations of endangered species such as …

Oil Pipeline Through Georgian Republic Runs Into Trouble A $3 billion, 1,000-mile pipeline -- slated to be pumping oil from the newly opened Caspian oilfields through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey to the world market by April 2005 -- has run into a whole mess of trouble. Environmentalists and many local groups are incensed that the pipeline, being built by BP, is set to run through the Borzhomi mountain gorge, a pristine and landslide-prone area that is the source of Borzhomi mineral water (Georgia's third-largest export) and many of the region's tourism dollars. Farmers are incensed that the land-development grants distributed …

Supporters Claim $300 Billion Energy Plan Would Create 3.3 Million Jobs A coalition called the Apollo Alliance released a report on Wednesday proposing and outlining a 10-year, $300 billion investment in alternative energy sources, which it claimed would create 3.3 million jobs and more than pay for itself through energy savings and economic stimulation. The 10-point plan -- which contains prescriptions for everything from more efficient factories to modernized electrical plants to hybrid cars -- contrasts sharply with the Bush administration's proposed energy plan, which would heavily subsidize the oil, gas, and nuclear industries. The report prompted criticism from economists …

Subaru Outback to Become "Light Truck" to Avoid Fuel Economy Rules As of next year, Subaru's Outback sedan will be classified as a "light truck," thanks to some technical modifications to its ground clearance and back bumper position. The revised classification will place the car ... er, truck in a category requiring (as of 2005) 21.2 miles per gallon; in contrast, each automaker's fleet of standard passenger cars must average 27.5 mpg. More than semantics are at stake: Since the regulatory categories were put in place in the 1970s, the automotive industry has developed the minivan and the SUV, both …

Forest Service Cancels Timber Sales in Tongass The U.S. Forest Service plans to cancel 20 timber sales in Alaska's Tongass National Forest -- not because it's dedicated to preserving old growth in the vast rainforest, but because the sales were sure to be money-losers for logging companies. Enviros are feeling vindicated by the development; they say it proves that a lack of timber from the Tongass has not been the cause of decline in the region's timber industry. Aurah Landau of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council says the timber sales could have led to damaged salmon streams and expressed hopes …