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Iconic Ford SUV plant to be idled for summer

Ford will close its Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne for nine weeks -- four weeks longer than previously announced -- starting on June 23. Birthplace to Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions, the MTP has come in for hard times due to the plummeting market for SUVs. Since January, Expedition sales are down 31 percent; Navigators, 22 percent. Once bread and butter for American automakers, SUVs have fallen victim to $4-a-gallon gasoline.

To the lay observer, the temporary MTP closure is just another symptom of the shift away from SUVs, but it actually signifies a whole lot more for American automakers: At the height of the SUV boom in the late '90s, the MTP was the most profitable factory, in any industry, anywhere in the world.

Keith Bradsher, Detroit bureau chief of The New York Times from 1996 to 2001, wrote in his book High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV:

Humans have a hand in Midwest flooding

Photo: Mark Hirsch How much responsibility do humans have for the floods disastrously deluging the Midwest? Of course the rain poured for days, but it fell on plowed-up prairies, drained fields, altered streams, no-longer-wetlands, and developed flood plains — all unable to absorb precipitation to the best of their natural ability. Between 2007 and 2008, […]

McCain calls for 45 new nuclear reactors in U.S. by 2030

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, at a campaign event Wednesday in Missouri, called for 45 new nuclear reactors to be built in the United States by 2030, with a longer-term goal of 100 new reactors. Existing nuke plants currently provide some 20 percent of U.S. electricity, but no new nuke plants have been built in […]

How greens and Democrats can win the energy debate

If the pro-environment Republican wasn't already dead, I think this week killed him. John McCain, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, President Bush, and many others threw overboard one of the last policy planks Republicans (at least in coastal states) used to show that they're pro-environment too by calling for a massive offshore drilling program.

As chronicled in this excellent article by Politico's Charles Mathesian and David Mark, it's a politically risky move for Republicans: although national polls show some support for more oil drilling, there's also zealous support for keeping coasts and beaches clean in many coastal states. What's Florida Republican senator Mel Martinez to do, for instance, during his next election campaign after gas price anxiety fades (most likely) and his opponent can waive around this quote to cast doubt not only on his green cred, but also his general trustworthiness and strong leadership:

"I'm trying to clarify my position," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.). "In Florida today most voters probably want more drilling."

Meanwhile, although the Democratic leadership is expressing opposition to the Bush-McCain drilling plan, they're not exactly showing a lot of rhetorical backbone on it: Afraid to make the argument against offshore drilling on environmental grounds, they're instead going for the "We're for oil drilling too, but just not as much as Republicans" argument that has built them such a loyal and enthusiastic skeptical and tepid following among environmentalists.

Latest health scare exposes a frayed food-safety net

Salmonella-infected tomatoes have made headlines over the course of the last week, but there's nothing new about the problem that tainted tomatoes reveal.This outbreak has put more than 25 people in the hospital and sickened hundreds, but it is just the latest in a long line of sickness and recalls.

Salmonella in tomatoes, spinach, and lettuce, eColi in peanut butter, beef from downer cows; all throw into question the legitimacy of agency claims that the U.S. has the best food safety apparatus in the world. The facts are clear: after years of budget and staffing cuts, America's food safety net is frayed past the point of effectiveness.

NYC unveils plan to open huge swaths of roadway to pedestrians and bikes — temporarily

On Monday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a new event called "Summer Streets." For three Saturdays in August, pedestrians and cyclists will enjoy exclusive access to a contiguous stretch of city thoroughfares running from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd Street. No cars allowed.

 

 

Offshore drilling will have no impact on oil prices through 2030

McCain has flip-flopped his position on offshore drilling, pandered to the oil companies, and embraced the exact same strategy endorsed by the man McCain is trying so hard to run away from -- President Bush. He must have a damn good policy reason:

"Tomorrow I'll call for lifting the federal moratorium for states that choose to permit exploration," McCain said. "I think that this and perhaps providing additional incentives for states to permit exploration off their coasts would be very helpful in the short term in resolving our energy crisis."

Short-term? If only the facts supported that position. If only the man who wants to be the next president bothered to check the analysis by the current president's own energy analysts.

McCain’s offshore drilling plan irks coastal state governors

The Obama campaign hosted a press conference this afternoon with Democratic governors to highlight opposition to John McCain’s call to end the moratorium on offshore drilling. The governors expressed uniform distaste with the proposal, and skepticism that voters in their states would approve of drilling off their coasts. “Our economy is driven by tourism and […]

Snippets from the news

• Feds cut back climate research trips — to save fuel. • Residents of proposed U.K. eco-towns could be fined for driving. • Lobsters fall prey to war on mosquitoes. • Germany approves new climate legislation. • Polar bear sighted in Iceland.

McCain goes to Springfield, talks up nukes and coal

John McCain followed up yesterday’s energy speech with more energy talk today during a roundtable at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. Today he focused more specifically on his support for two energy sources: nuclear power and “clean coal.” The roundtable also featured Greg Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, and […]