Wednesday, 02 Mar 2005

A Great Leap Forward, Without All the Famine

China passes its first renewable-energy law

The Chinese legislature on Monday passed a bill aimed at increasing the country's use of renewable energy by mandating that power-grid operators get a portion of their electricity from local renewable sources and by providing financial inducements such as tax incentives, discounted loans, and a national development fund. When it takes effect in 2006, the law -- the first of its kind for China -- will be a big step toward fulfilling a pledge made at an international renewables conference last year to increase the country's renewable-energy production from under 1 percent of the total to about 10 percent by 2010. Said Beijing Greenpeacer Yu Jie, "China could and should be a world leader in renewable-energy development." Couldn't happen too soon. Fast-developing China is now second only to the U.S. in emissions of carbon dioxide (though, as the world's most populous country, it ranks far lower on a per capita basis).

It's Not Watching Cars Go in Circles That Does It

NASCAR race-cars spew lead

What's the connection between NASCAR racing, diminished mental capacity, and increased criminal behavior? If your answer was "lead," well, we commend your high-mindedness. Indeed, that is the answer: Though leaded gasoline was phased out in the U.S. decades ago, the racing industry (along with aviation) was exempted. Despite years of pleas from the U.S. EPA, NASCAR has not developed an alternative to leaded gas, which it says keeps engine valves lubricated. "We just have not been able to find a solution," said NASCAR spokesguy Ramsey Poston. Lead from auto exhaust can stay in the air for up to 10 days and travel many miles. Those in the most danger are children, for whom lead presents the threat of permanently diminished mental capacity. Low-level lead exposure has also been linked to criminal behavior. NASCAR is the fastest-growing "sport" in America, with some 3.5 million spectators a year attending races. (Look, we made it all the way through the blurb without saying "Bush" or "red state"! Oh, oops.)

Message in a Bottle Bill

U.S. bottle-recycling rates fall as bottled-water sales rise

Plastic bottle recycling rates in the U.S. have plunged, at least in part because of the boom in sales of bottled water -- from some 3.3 billion bottles in 1997 to 15 billion in 2002. So, what to do? Some environmental activists argue that one of the most effective tools for pushing up recycling rates is a deposit law whereby consumers pay 5 to 10 cents more per bottle for their beverages, with the money refunded upon the bottle's return to a recycling center. Currently, such laws are in place in 11 states, and consumers in those states recycle four out of five bottles, says Patricia Franklin of the Container Recycling Institute. (But only two of those states, California and Maine, now include plastic water bottles in their programs.) A national bottle bill has had varying levels of support in Congress in the past, but the powerful beverage industry largely opposes it, wary of legislation that would add to consumers' costs and, it argues, hurt sales.

Sex and the Single Frog

High rate of frog hermaphroditism linked to pesticides

An examination of the sex organs of cricket frogs collected in Illinois between 1852 and 2001 is presumably its own reward. However, in this case it's also led researchers to a notable conclusion: Heavy use of chemicals such as DDT and PCBs may cause higher rates of hermaphroditism in frogs. In a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists noted that the number of cricket frogs born with both male and female sex organs was highest during the 1950s when the chemicals were used most heavily, before being outlawed in the U.S. In the 1960s, the once-abundant cricket frogs quickly dropped in number, presumably because the chemicals affected female hormone production, leading to an unhealthy male/female ratio and eventually a population crash. The research also suggested that atrazine, the most popular herbicide in use today, may be causing similar effects. Val Beasley, coauthor of the study, says it's hard to determine how serious the current problem is "because you can't collect where the intersex rate was high. There aren't any frogs left in those areas to collect."

And You Thought Clinton Liked Hummers

Feds using terrorism excuse to crack down on eco-activists

The U.S. government is using the Patriot Act to go after radical environmental activists -- and some unfortunate folks who just happen to look like them -- by branding them as "terrorists." Despite the fact that the Earth Liberation Front has caused no injuries during its acts of sabotage and arson over the years, the FBI told U.S. senators that the group and others like it are "a domestic terrorism investigative priority." One FBI agent says President Bush himself called to inquire about a 2003 incident in Southern California in which Hummers were torched or defaced at a dealership, acts for which ELF claimed responsibility. Thanks to the Patriot Act, groups or individuals deemed terrorists lose several constitutional protections and can be surveilled without a warrant. "It's a ludicrous extension of the word terrorist," says professor Steven Best of the University of Texas at El Paso, who has written about the animal-rights movement. "It drains it of any meaning."