During his confirmation hearing in May 2001, J. Steven Griles promised the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that his former job with a lobbying firm, where he represented a broad array of utilities, mining companies, and energy producers, would not interfere with his new position as deputy interior secretary of the United States. He signed two letters pledging to recuse himself for up to six years from matters that could affect his former firm and clients -- but within weeks of taking office, he began meeting with former clients and taking positions on regulatory matters affecting them. Griles …

The Bush administration distorted a report to the U.S. EPA by deleting the views of government experts who sought to curb emissions from snowmobiles, according to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Reid has released documents (which he says he obtained from an anonymous whistleblower) showing that the Interior Department removed pro-emissions-restrictions comments from a government report that was used by the EPA to develop new standards for snowmobiles. Earlier this month, the EPA released rules requiring that snowmobiles emit 30 percent less hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide by 2006, with further cuts required by 2010 and 2012. Environmentalists say the rules didn't …

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats will remain in power by a narrow majority, thanks to a strong showing by his coalition partner, the Green Party. Commentators agree that the most remarkable achievement of the tight parliamentary elections belonged to Joschka Fischer, foreign minister and leader of the Greens. Despite the small size of the Green Party, Fischer consistently ranks as Germany's most popular politician in the polls; in this election, he campaigned fiercely to preserve the coalition with the Social Democrats. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the Greens had a record 8.6 percent showing at the voting booths, cementing …

The Bush administration announced yesterday that it plans to consider new rules for enforcing the Clean Water Act. Some conservative lawmakers have been pressuring the administration to revise the enforcement rules since January 2001, when the Supreme Court imposed new limits on the scope of the act. Some interpreted that court ruling to suggest that the federal government should leave more water pollution control up to the states, but environmentalists fear that doing so would leave hundreds of thousands of miles of isolated streams, tributaries, and wetlands without critical protection, and they see the move as another effort by the …

In better news for environmentalists, a federal judge has rejected an effort by the White House and the U.S. Navy to exempt underwater military testing and other deep-sea activities from environmental review. Judge Christina Snyder ruled yesterday that the National Environmental Policy Act applies to such activities even if they are conducted beyond U.S. territorial water (but within 200 miles of U.S. shores). At issue was a Navy sonar system using bursts of sound so loud they could cause temporary or permanent loss of hearing in marine mammals, abandonment of habitat, and disruption of mating, feeding, nursing, and migration, according …

Negotiators for the U.S. House and Senate have reached an agreement on new fuel-economy rules that would expand rather than decrease the country's oil consumption. Under the agreement, automakers would continue to receive credits through the model year 2008 for manufacturing vehicles that can run on both ethanol and gasoline. These credits are used to offset the production of SUVs and other low-gas-mileage vehicles. Environmentalists criticize the credits as a giveaway, because those who drive the flexible-fuel vehicles seldom make use of the ethanol option. A recent government report found that extending the credit program through 2008 would increase petroleum …

President Bush issued an executive order yesterday directing federal agencies to speed environmental reviews of important transportation projects, arguing that highways, airports, and other such projects are critical to the nation's economy and need to be freed of red tape. Environmentalists immediately denounced the move, calling it part of a systemic effort to restrict public debate and undermine environmental protections, including the 32-year-old National Environmental Policy Act. That act requires federal agencies to study and disclose the environmental impact of their actions and to involve the public in their decision-making processes. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta claims the permit system …

Meanwhile, in the other Washington, Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed an executive order yesterday calling for sustainable environmental practices in all state agencies. The order includes a directive that the state's $1.1 billion annual purchasing power be spent on environmentally friendly products and conservation. Washington already has some exemplary sustainability policies in place, including programs to reduce energy use in capitol buildings and another to encourage green construction projects that use eco-friendly materials, improve workplace air quality, increase efficiency, and reduce utility costs. But, Locke said, "There is more that we can do to close the gap between production and …

Is it a tax or is it not a tax? That's the question in London, where diplomats are up in arms over a proposed daily fee on cars driving into the city center, in order to discourage congestion and clean up the city's air. They say the fee most certainly is a tax, and that therefore embassies should be exempt from it under the 1961 Vienna Convention, which bars governments from levying taxes against such institutions. But Ken Livingstone, the famously contentious mayor of London, says it's not a tax -- a claim the U.S. is threatening to respond to …

Two new power plants being built just south of the U.S. border will generate billions of watts of electricity for Californians, a handful of jobs for Mexicans, and plenty of pollution for everyone. The plants, which are the first to be built in Mexico specifically to provide power to the U.S., mark a new era in the relationship between the two nations. Some hail the development as a perfect example of the merits of free trade, while others excoriate it as a prime case of neo-colonialism, calling the plants "energy maquiladoras," in a reference to the assembly-line factories where Mexicans …