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Phosphorous, easements, and ecosystem services

An article in the current issue of National Wildlife Magazine highlights the troubles of a lake that might not immediately come to mind as "A Lake in Distress" -- Lake Champlain. But a number of issues have led citizens and groups in the lake basin to take action. Just one example is the phosphorus runoff that lead to algal blooms in the lake.

The article brings together a number of recently discussed topics, including:

• land trusts and easements, which are being used not only to preserve the land but restore it,
• which of course helps to restore ecosystem services, in the form of retaining the phosphorous that would otherwise run off, and
• the effects of changing land use, namely, the rise in non-point source pollution and runoff.

Lee Raymond stepping down as head of most eco-unfriendly oil co.

Pollutocrat nonpareil Lee Raymond, CEO and chair of ExxonMobil, today announced his resignation, effective at the end of the year.

As chair and CEO of the world's largest publicly traded oil company -- and the most recalcitrant on climate issues -- he consistently appalled green observers with his steadfast denial of any need to curb greenhouse-gas emissions or work toward the goal of U.S. energy independence.

From a 2002 interview with Raymond:

Q: Isn't it time to join the scientific mainstream in countering the greenhouse effect?

A: The mainstream of some so-called environmentalists or politically correct Europeans isn't the mainstream of all scientists or the White House. The world has been a lot warmer than it is now and it didn't have anything to do with carbon dioxide.

We'll have a hard time replacing this most iconic of eco-villains. Even Bush admits that climate change is happening.

Chat with Simmons

The Washington Post is hosting a live chat with Matt Simmons, author of Twilight in the Desert.

It starts three minutes ago. Check it out.

Is P&G’s Tide Coldwater just more greenwashing?

Everyone who listens to Umbra knows you should wash your clothes in cold water. Sounds like the folks over at Procter & Gamble might be listening.

I give you Tide Coldwater.

Here is the marketing spiel from the Tide website:

Tide Coldwater provides a deep clean in the care of cold water, making it the coolest way to clean. When used in a cold water wash, Tide Coldwater can:

• Remove even stubborn stains better than the leading competitive liquid detergent in warm water
• Save energy and money by lowering your heating bills
• Help colors stay brighter and whites stay whiter
• Provide a cool new scent experience

Though I missed it, my TV-watching buddy tells me that they specifically mentioned the eco-friendly aspects of Tide Coldwater in a commercial. So, do we applaud or boo?

Oh, and you gotta love how they're trying to appeal to those outdoorsy types with their two scents: "Glacier -- a classic floral scent linked with fruity, woody, and citrus elements" and "Fresh Scent -- a modern floral scent combined with fresh, crisp herbal notes."

Update [2005-8-4 13:53:46 by Chris Schults]: Ok, so I found the TV commercials online here. While they don't specifically mention any environmental benefits, they do promote the energy and money saving aspects of washing with cold water. And we all know that reducing energy consumption is good for the environment. Though, who knows what chemical nastiness is in this version of Tide.

Weigh in on NEPA

Spruce Almighty

Federal judge says Bush rule change on logging illegal The Bush administration broke the law last year when it changed the rules on logging in the Pacific Northwest, a federal judge ruled this week. The Northwest Forest Plan of 1994 requires the government to survey many proposed timber sales for the presence of rare plants […]

Author declines to make pun, citing ‘posting rules’

The Milltown Dam at the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers near Missoula, Mont., will be removed, returning the rivers to their original flow by 2009, according to an agreement reached this week.

The folks over at Environmental Economics recently ran a post connecting such dam removals with cost-benefit analyses, pointing to a Time article, archived but available in PDF here.

The case of the Milltown Dam has an interesting additional layer to it, as the dam is also the largest Superfund site in the country. Toxic waste has piled up behind the dam as a result of mining in the area, to the tune of 6.6 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment. Some waste will be completely removed while the rest will remain and be controlled at the site.

Strangely enough, $5 million of the $286.5 billion highway bill will be used to finance a park at the site, according to a New York Times article this morning.

Does respect for the former help the latter?

A while ago I posted about environmentalism and the religious worldview. I'm afraid that post was overbroad and led to a discussion about whether one can be a religious environmentalist (of course one can) and, more tediously, whether religion is "good" or "evil" overall.

But I had a more specific question in mind. Let me approach it from another direction.

This week Bush came out in favor of teaching "intelligent design" alongside evolution in school science classes.

I've been debating whether to post about this. This is an environmental blog. Is it an environmental issue?

I think it is, if only indirectly, if you accept the following three propositions:

Individual legislatures take up eminent domain laws

For all the hubbub about the Supreme Court's ruling in Kelo v. City of New London -- that eminent domain could be applied to cases where "economic development" was the public use in question -- the response of state legislatures has been swift. The decision did not prevent states from making their own laws regarding the scope of eminent domain, and public opposition to the ruling has been widespread and bipartisan. An article in USA Today detailed the states' responses and had this to say:

In Washington, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said his office received more calls from constituents angry about this case than it did for the Supreme Court ruling that limited displays of the Ten Commandments on public property
...
"We don't like anybody messing with our dogs, our guns, our hunting rights or trying to take property from us," says [Alabama] state Sen. Jack Biddle, a sponsor of the law.

Reasonable people largely agree about what we should be doing

There's a short-but-great exchange today in the Wall Street Journal on the subject of peak oil. You have to subscribe to read it there, but PeakOil has reprinted it in full.

It's a conversation between James Hamilton, an economist at UC San Diego (blog here), and Robert Kaufmann of Boston U's Center for Energy & Environmental Studies (what, no blog?!). Generally speaking, Kaufmann favors government intervention in markets to prepare for peak oil, and Hamilton favors letting the free market sort it out. But neither is dogmatic or shrill, and the exchange is quite enlightening, ending in a surprising degree of agreement.

Below the fold is a play-by-play.