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Where did all the fishies go?

In all the Northwest's big dailies today: the annual run of big spring Chinook are nowhere to be found on the Columbia River. Normally, by this time of year, roughly 3,100 King salmon have made their way past Bonneville Dam on the Lower Columbia--the vanguard of a run that can easily number a quarter million.

But this year so far, only 200 have arrived. It's the worst early showing since the Bonneville Dam was constructed in 1938. (The last time it was close was 1952 when only 478 had arrived by now.) Scientists are unanimous about only one thing: they don't know what's wrong.

Despite accusations otherwise, U.S. enviros are working to help their Chinese counterparts

I'm going to take my own advice, though I was mostly thinking about oil and global warming. Let's engage.

Cicero, on the neoconservative blog Winds of Change, writes about the recent riots against pollution in rural China:

I would like to see people calling themselves environmentalists take a stand on this. Stopping seal clubbing is not going to change the world. Signing on to feel-good accords like Kyoto accelerates environmental destruction in places like China. Taking a stand with the villagers of Huaxi -- if only a symbolic gesture -- would be a step in the right direction. In the end, we should all do business for child and survival.

I don't think there's any evidence that Kyoto would have any effect one way or the other on "environmental destruction in places like China," so I don't know what he's talking about there. It's a red herring. But China is an environmental catastrophe, and I agree that China's environmental problems are more important than seal-clubbing.

Here's a quick overview of China's disaster from Joshua Kurlantzick:

Pollutocrats need not apply

Must enjoy long walks on the beach and vegetarian cooking. I kid. But seriously, the good folks over at Clean Air-Cool Planet are looking to encourage high-level decision makers in the public and private sectors to attend their upcoming conference: Global Warming Solutions 2005: Navigating the Risks and Opportunities. The conference aims to bring together the private sector, including businesses and investors, with regulators to focus on climate economics and public policy. The two-day event will be held June 8 and 9 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Conference sessions will include surveys of the latest climate science, advice on navigating new climate-related regulations, and workshops on emerging climate and financial issues. Early-bird registration ends April 30, so hop to it!

Americans want more and bigger stuff, and they’re getting it

Check out Mother Jones' two-page spread on the upsizing of the American Dream (text here or in two PDFs). Here's how it starts:

• Since 1950, the average new house has increased by 1,247 sq. ft. Meanwhile, the average household has shrunk by 1 person.
• The National Association of Home Builders' "showcase home" for 2005 is 5,950 sq. ft. That's 15% bigger than last year's model.
• The Unabomber's legal defense team cited the size of his shack -- 10' x 12' -- to buttress his insanity plea.

Read the whole thing.

(Via Alan)

Poultry in Motion

Poultry-to-oil plant in Missouri struggling to survive Like many renewable-energy ventures, a high-profile processing plant in Carthage, Mo., built to turn turkey waste into usable crude oil has been struggling to survive. Touted as a solution to foreign-oil addiction (but not to global warming), the plant cooks down 270 tons of bird leftovers into 300 […]

It’s an Honor Just to Be … Oh, Screw That

Grist flogs Webby nod, shamelessly asks for reader votes Grist is in contention for a Webby Award, like unto an “Internet Oscar.” You know it’s true, ’cause their site says so! We’re nominated in the “magazine” category. Members of “The Academy,” including folks from major news and media outlets, will decide the Webby winners May […]

When Bisphenol Is Said and Done

Key ingredient in clear plastics called unsafe, except by industry A chemical widely used in the making of clear plastic products, including baby bottles, food storage containers, and even dental fillings, is the subject of debate between those who say it is safe, namely plastic-industry flacks, and those who say it’s not, namely most everyone […]

Powerful House committee chair shoots down fuel economy standards

The House Energy and Commerce Committee shot down an effort to raise CAFE standards yesterday. Mike Millikin has the grimy details.

Speaking of that committee, do read today's WA Post profile of its new chair, Joe Barton, a man deeply and unapologetically in the pocket of big industry lobbyists.

Canada’s Kyoto “plan”

Ottawa officially unveiled its plan for complying with the Kyoto Protocol yesterday. The Globe and Mail and Vancouver Sun (subscription required) have good coverage. Unfortunately, the news was mostly drowned out by a continuing scandal that may trigger a new federal election.

The upstaging of the announcement is disappointing, because the Kyoto "plan" deserves an intense public debate--something it's unlikely to get during the hockey brawl of a Canadian federal election.

I put the word plan in quotes because Ottawa's proposal is terribly short on specifics. It largely consists of more than $1 billion a year in federal funding to invest in greenhouse gas reduction projects. That's enough money to get something done--an excellent start and a miraculous achievement when compared with US intransigence. But it's also almost surely doomed to be inadequate, because it doesn't do much to make prices tell the truth. And it's lame compared with what's going on in Europe.

I've argued that feebates--point-of-purchase incentives that are an elegant combination of fees and rebates--could be the turbocharger that can deliver on Canada's Kyoto promise. And Ottawa has promised to consider them. Read more about that here.

Beer giant shies away from GM crops

Does anyone like beer? I do. Does anyone like beer with human proteins in it? Uh...

A proposal in Missouri to plant 200 acres of rice enhanced with synthetic human genes -- a crop intended for medicinal uses -- has Anheuser-Busch up in arms. The company is threatening to boycott all rice produced and processed in Missouri if the state OKs this latest "biopharming" venture.

If the project is approved, it would be the largest such in the country. Ventria, the company behind it, is relocating from California, due in part to opposition there. Missouri's governor and Farm Bureau stand by the plan, despite a petition signed by 175 local farmers.

"Anheuser-Busch is a company that certainly uses technology for their product," a spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization told the Sacramento Bee (which painted Ventria as "tiny" and "hounded"). "It's very disappointing to see them turning away from another technology."

The logic of that argument aside ("hey! technology is technology!"), it raises an interesting point. God knows what they do to that beer -- yet they draw the line here. That's saying something.