Monday, 27 Feb 2006

New York's South Bronx was once a getaway for the rich; now the defining landmarks of the community are power plants, landfills, and parking lots. Where some might see hopelessness, though, resident Omar Freilla sees opportunity. Freilla founded Green Worker Cooperatives to salvage reusable materials from trash and demolition waste, creating a neighborhood that is healthier both environmentally and economically. In a virtual walking tour of his community, Freilla discusses his vision of creating hundreds of jobs out of the abundance of "things that nobody else wants."


Alan Hipólito is putting low-income residents of Portland, Ore., to work restoring ecosystems with native plants. He is director of Verde, a new nonprofit that trains residents of affordable housing for new eco-friendly jobs and careers. As this week's InterActivist, Hipólito chats about his aversion to authority, his plan for livening up your city council meetings, and his desire to see everyone benefit economically from environmental protection. Send him a question of your own by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Is This the "Safe, Clean" Nuclear Power We Hear So Much About?

Illinois nuke-power operator criticized for leaks and "incidents"

Quantity doesn't equal quality with Chicago-based Exelon Corp., which runs all six nuclear plants and 11 nuclear reactors in Illinois. There were at least four "incidents" at Exelon plants last week, including a false alarm at one generating station that initiated the first "site-area emergency" at a U.S. nuclear plant in 15 years. These came on the heels of disclosures that there were eight radioactive leaks and spills at Exelon plants since 1996 that went unreported to the public. One spill of roughly 3 million gallons of tritium-laced water in 1998 wasn't completely cleaned up eight years later. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) plans to introduce legislation this week requiring nuclear facilities to notify state and local officials of unintended or accidental radioactive leaks -- or face possible loss of their operating licenses.

Shell Shocked

Nigerian court orders Shell to pay $1.5 billion for pollution

A Nigerian court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell to ante up $1.5 billion in damages to communities in the Niger Delta, citing oil spills that polluted regional rivers, spoiled crops, and poisoned fish. The Friday ruling is a major victory for the region's Ijaw people, who have struggled for over a decade to get compensation for environmental damages. Shell says it will appeal. The court ruling comes during an upsurge in violence in the Niger Delta, where local communities live in squalor despite the region's oil riches. The militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta kidnapped several employees of a U.S. oil industry subcontractor nine days ago and demanded that foreign oil firms leave the region. The group's attacks over the past two months have shut down almost a fifth of the country's oil production.


Wedding season is just a few months away, and as spouses-to-be across the nation gear up for their blessed events, their thoughts naturally turn to one thing: loot. Today, a puzzled bride wonders how to register for socially and environmentally responsible gifts. Advice maven Umbra Fisk unveils the way.

There Once Was a Man From ... Alaska?

Nantucket Sound wind farm could be doomed by Don Young amendment

There's plenty of local opposition to the controversial Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, but the final blow (ha!) may come from an Alaskan. After the House and Senate passed versions of a Coast Guard budget bill, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced an amendment to extend the distance between offshore wind turbines and ship navigation paths to 1.5 nautical miles. He then circulated a letter soliciting support from colleagues, claiming that turbine blades can mess with shipboard radar and specifically calling out the Cape Wind project. If the bill passes with Young's amendment, so much of Nantucket Sound would be off-limits to turbines that the 130-windmill project would be effectively doomed. Cape Wind honchos point to a 2003 study conducted for the Army Corps of Engineers that determined the wind farm would pose no threat to navigational systems. A decision on Young's amendment could be made behind closed doors as early as today.