Tuesday, 16 Aug 2005

This week's Grist List features eco-friendly erotic toys, climate-change siestas, irresistibly cute critters, and more. Come find out what's on our radar this week. Oh, did we say "come"?

For This Relief Much Tanks

Big SUVs likely to keep guzzling gas under forthcoming fuel-economy plan

The Bush administration is said to be abandoning efforts to set fuel-economy standards for huge SUVs like the Hummer H2 and Ford Excursion, which fall outside the weight classes covered by current standards. Those concerned about the warming globe, skyrocketing gas prices, and foreign-oil dependence have long chafed at the loophole, but, well, Big Auto has more lobbyists than they do. American automakers say such standards would damage their shaky bottom lines. The administration is poised to release its new plan for auto fuel-economy standards later this month; it will be the first major rewrite of the rules since the 1970s. The plan had been expected to regulate well-hung gas guzzlers weighing in excess of 8,500 pounds for the first time, but insiders now say that's unlikely. Once it's officially released, the plan will be open to public comment.

A No Life on Lease

Court ruling blocks new oil drilling off California coast

New oil and gas drilling off the California coast has been effectively thwarted, thanks to a federal court ruling last Friday. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered federal officials not to extend leases to energy companies on 36 central-coast tracts until environmental risks have been more fully assessed, a process that's likely to take years. The U.S. Minerals Management Service has been extending the leases for more than 15 years over the objections of state officials. Ten green groups filed suit after the MMS announced in February that extending them again would not cause significant ecological harm -- after rather selectively analyzing only pre-drilling activities, like surveys, while excluding predictable next steps like exploratory drilling, building platforms, and pumping oil. A similar situation in Florida led the feds to buy back offshore oil leases for $235 million, at the special request of Gov. Jeb Bush (R). But negotiations for a California buyback have stalled. Perhaps the Governator is distracted by other matters?

Smokey and Mirrors

Feds cut estimated economic worth of recreation in national forests

During the Clinton administration, the U.S. Forest Service estimated that by the year 2000, recreation in national forests would contribute about $111 billion a year to the American economy. Now the Bush administration has slashed that estimate by a whopping $100 billion for 2002, down to $11 billion. According to agency officials, Clinton-era estimates of 800 million visits a year to national forests were inflated -- instead, they say 2002 saw about 200 million visits. Conservationists were nonplussed, noting that in 2001 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated birders and wildlife watchers alone spend $38 billion yearly on equipment and travel. Some fear the feds are gearing their analysis to justify more mining and logging in national forests. "Would I expect anything different from the Bush administration?" asked the Wilderness Society's Michael Francis. "No. They will cook the books for whatever they want."

Diary of a Mad Black River

Millions of gallons of liquid cow manure flow into N.Y. river

At some point last week -- nobody's quite sure when -- one wall of an earthen reservoir on one of New York state's biggest dairy farms collapsed, releasing some 3 million gallons of liquid cow manure into the Black River. "That stinks," noted observant 15-year-old New Yorker Dustan Wisner. But the stink is the least of the problems: The river is now clogged with bloated, dead fish. "It's the biggest fish kill I've ever seen," said regional fisheries manager Frank Flack. "Before it's all done, it could end up to be millions of fish." That's bad news for a region dependent on tourism and a river beloved by recreational anglers. The Adirondack community of Watertown hasn't canceled its upcoming national kayak championship (uh, dudes?), but they have cut off intake of drinking water from the river. The manager of poopy polluter Marks Farm had only this to say: "I'm too busy cleaning up the mess to talk now."

Consider This a Bear Hug

Fervent support from Grist readers brings a tear to our eye

Really, you're too much. Our two-week fundraiser is over, and more than 1,000 of you responded to our desperate, naked pleas for support, sending a remarkable $54,478.74 our way. You shot the mercury right out of our hackneyed fundraising thermometer, forcing us to stare helplessly as rivulets of quicksilver slid toward Puget Sound. Don't worry, we called in the hazmat team, and they've got almost all the baby orcas detoxed now. In all seriousness (and for us, that's saying a lot): many, many, many thanks to the many of you who support us in all that we do. We couldn't survive without you. (And the 10 lucky winners of our Global Warming Survival Kits will be announced later this month, so stay tuned!)