Just before Thanksgiving, Senate Democrats (with the aid of a few Republicans) stymied the massive national energy bill, guaranteeing that debate on the measure would drag into an election year -- and significantly reducing its chance of passing. The setback surprised some observers because the bill, which currently weighs in at just under 1,200 pages, was carefully designed by congressional leaders for maximum political appeal: Its ethanol subsidies tempted farm-state Democrats, while renewable-energy perks drew endorsements from advocates of wind and solar power. Power to the People By Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 358 pages, October 2003 But …

Deafening Silence Greets Bush's Call for Voluntary Pollution Cuts Two years in, President Bush's "Climate Leaders" program -- a call for commitments from companies to voluntarily cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent or more within a decade -- has seen only 50 of the thousands of polluting companies in the U.S. sign up, and of those only 14 have set concrete goals. Many of the nation's most egregious polluters have shown no interest in the program because, well, it would actually oblige them to spend money on cleaning up. And most of the "leaders" are companies that have …

New California Wind Farm Blows Previous Efforts Away Between San Francisco and Sacramento lies the nearly completed High Winds Energy Center, a state-of-the-art wind farm expected to generate roughly 162 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 75,000 homes -- and make wind power competitive with extractive energy sources. The turbines at High Winds represent a substantial improvement in technology: they are more efficient than previous models, creating almost 20 times as much energy as turbines from 20 years ago; they turn to face the wind; their blades revolve more slowly and kill far fewer birds; and they are more …

Bank Protects Land in Tierra del Fuego Environmentalists in Chile have reason to be muy feliz of late. First, the government agreed to turn a vast tract of land owned by U.S. multimillionaire Doug Tompkins into a public nature reserve. Now, investment bank Goldman Sachs has announced that it will create another such reserve in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America. Goldman Sachs obtained the land -- 680,000 acres of it -- by purchasing defaulted bonds from U.S. forestry company Trillium Corporation, which had planned to log the area for wood chips and other products, much to …

Dear Umbra, Every time I go to the grocery store and see meats, dairy products, and other products displayed in open-air refrigerators, I get a little miffed and wonder if this isn't a huge waste of energy and a tremendous cost to the supermarket as well. Do supermarkets make more money having their products in open-air rather than closed-door displays? DelosChapel Hill, N.C. Dearest Delos, If you've ever made an impulse purchase, you can answer that question for yourself with a resounding "yes." And the friendly co-operative grocery store designer with whom I spoke will confirm it. Anything that stands …

A-tisket, a-tasket, an organic produce basket. Photo: USDA. Organic food has hit the big time. The Whole Foods Market chain, the largest natural-foods retailer in the world, boasts 145 stores throughout North America; its leading competitor, Wild Oats, has 101 stores in 25 states and Canada. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture put in place a set of national standards for organic food, smoothing the way for organic processors who buy ingredients from multiple states. Organic products -- fresh produce, frozen pizzas, and everything in between -- are now part of a multi-billion-dollar industry that's growing by 20 to …

House and Senate Reach Agreement Over Ethanol in Energy Bill Clearing one of the last major hurdles on the way to a final energy bill, negotiators from the House and Senate agreed yesterday on most parts of a plan to almost double the use of ethanol by 2012 and provide a new tax credit for diesel fuels that are blended with soybeans or other farm products. Under the plan, the U.S. gasoline industry must mix at least 5 billion gallons of ethanol into other fuels by 2012, compared to 2.7 billion gallons today. That's good news for farmers in the …

Europe Pushes for Chemical Testing, But U.S. Backs Voluntary Approach While the European Commission voted last week to require new safety testing of chemicals (though not nearly as strict of testing as environmentalists would have liked), the U.S. is making no such strides. Rather, an average of two new chemicals are approved for use in the U.S. every day, most of which have undergone little or no lab testing to determine safety. A number of potentially dangerous chemicals are increasingly showing up in human blood and breast milk. "We're treating [people] worse than lab rats," said Karen Florini, a lawyer …

Most of us don't think much about car insurance. We eyeball the policy every year, fiddle around with a few changes to bring down the premium, and then forget about it until the bills come. And come they do -- each exactly the same amount, no matter whether we've driven across the country or left the car in the garage. Counting the miles. Doesn't sound right, does it? Mileage -- like factors such as age and driving record -- has long been correlated with accident risk. The more you drive, the higher the chance of a crash. But unlike a …

Coral Gardens in Alaskan Waters Spur Controversy Over Trawling If you think coral is only to be found in warm, tropical waters, think again. Cold-water coral gardens contain a surprising array of biodiversity, and scientists discovered a particularly impressive coral bed in waters off Alaska's Aleutian Islands last year, containing numerous coral varieties not seen before. That finding is now spurring controversy over commercial fishing practices in the region, particularly the use of nets weighted down with chains that scrape the sea bottom, scooping up loads of sea creatures and sometimes loads of coral too. Enviros are comparing such trawling …