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Net Neutrality: Why you should care

Congress is expected to vote this week on the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006," which, in all its Orwellian glory, is written to allow internet companies to compartmentalize the web, restricting access to domains that can't or won't pay a fee to be able to load at full speed. It undermines the concept of net neutrality, whereby internet users have equal access to any and every website, be it a corporate media node or a personal blog.

According to Vint Cerf, one of the "founding fathers" of the internet, this is bad:

Dumping chemical weapons in the ocean: never a good idea

The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy blog ... has the longest name ever. It also has a post up drawing attention to a report that's not easily available in the public domain: "U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress" (PDF). Here's an excerpt from the summary:

The U.S. Armed Forces disposed of chemical weapons in the ocean from World War I through 1970. At that time, it was thought that the vastness of ocean waters would absorb chemical agents that may leak from these weapons. However, public concerns about human health and environmental risks, and the economic effects of potential damage to marine resources, led to a statutory prohibition on the disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean in 1972. For many years, there was little attention to weapons that had been dumped offshore prior to this prohibition. However, the U.S. Army completed a report in 2001 indicating that the past disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean had been more common and widespread geographically than previously acknowledged. The Army cataloged 74 instances of disposal through 1970, including 32 instances off U.S. shores and 42 instances off foreign shores. The disclosure of these records has renewed public concern about lingering risks from chemical weapons still in the ocean today.

Lovely.

(hat tip: reader KR)

Electric cars a’comin’

I hear from my inside sources -- and by that I mean a press release I was sent -- that a company called Champion Motors of America is going to start manufacturing and selling a line of electric vehicles:

The company envisions its vehicles as workplace alternatives to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The line, which ranges from a 2-person personal car to a 14-passenger shuttle, will be offered to the public as well as to anyone interested in becoming a distributor/dealer. The small vehicles can be used for a number of duties calling for a light vehicle such as quick trips to and around industrial parks, college campuses, private communities, hotels and resorts, malls, amusement parks and security operations. According to company literature, they are environmentally-friendly because they are emissions-free and run on rechargeable batteries, are basically maintenance-free and provide relief in cutting the cost of expensive repairs and maintenance. Their lightweight design and compact size allows them to easily go just about anywhere. The company plans on providing technical support and assistance to its customers.

These are mainly for businesses, not consumers, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Champagne vineyards threatened by radioactive contamination

Global warming isn't the only thing threatening wine. In France, groundwater less than 10 km from the famous Champagne vineyards has tested positive for radioactive contamination, caused by a nearby leaking nuclear waste dump:

"We have been told for decades that nuclear dumpsites will not leak and that the best standards are being applied. In reality the dumpsite in Normandy is a disaster, and radioactivity is already leaking from the dumpsite in Champagne," said Shaun Burnie nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace International. "The authorities know they have a problem in Champagne already, with mistakes in the design. This is only the beginning of the problem, the bigger picture is that France has a nuclear waste crisis out of control that is threatening not only the environment and public health but also the economy of the Champagne region."

Clearly, there are some promises that just can't be kept. I wonder if Champagne is iconic enough to influence public opinion about nuclear power. In the meantime, bringing a Geiger counter to the next New Year's bash would be a cool party trick ...

Mining company returns funds to tribe

In the midst of our Poverty & the Environment series, we published a walking tour of Wisconsin's Sokaogon Chippewa community, which had partnered with another tribe to buy a nearby zinc and copper mine and keep it from reopening. At the time of our interview with tribe member Tina van Zile, the Sokaogon Chippewas -- one of the poorest tribes in the nation -- were struggling to raise funds to pay their share and save their community from being overrun by miners and the accompanying land degradation and pollution.

The Sokaogon tribe just made their final $8 million mortgage payment to the BHP Billiton mining company -- and BHP is donating the $8 million back to the tribe in a trust fund.

[Tribe administrator Tony] Phillippe said Tuesday the land will be used for conservation purposes, such as public trails and parks, and the mining project will never be developed.

"The minerals underneath it are basically sacred from now on into eternity," he said. "We own it all."

Woo hoo! A bit of good news, and just in time for World Environment Day!

Ethanol sucking up corn

AP:

Ethanol production in the United States is growing so quickly that, for the first time, farmers expect to sell as much corn this year to ethanol plants as they do overseas.

"It's the most stunning development in agricultural markets today - I can't think of anything else quite like this," says Keith Collins, the U.S. Agriculture Department's chief economist.

The amount of corn used for ethanol, estimated at 2.15 billion bushels this year, would amount to about 20 percent of the nation's crop, according to department projections.

And remember, this is with ethanol still serving only a tiny fraction of our liquid-fuel needs. What if there really were an E85 station on every corner?

Don Shaffer, local-biz promoter and green skateboard entrepreneur, answers questions

Don Shaffer. What work do you do? I’m executive director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and co-owner of Comet Skateboards. What does your organization do? BALLE is a growing alliance of more than 5,400 entrepreneurs and small-business owners from across the U.S. and Canada who are dedicated to building Local Living Economies, […]

Unseen Al Gore campaign video

On a blog about "professional presentation design" -- yes, there is such a thing -- Garr Reynolds posts about Duarte Design, the outfit that helped Al Gore design his now-famous climate-science slideshow. It includes a short interview with Nancy Duarte, the co-founder. Quite interesting.

Even better, the post led me to "Unseen Al Gore Campaign Video" (part one; part two), which consists of footage director Spike Jonze shot just before the 2000 campaign started in earnest. I can't recommend the videos highly enough -- they're fascinating. They show Gore at home, flirting with his wife, getting razzed by his daughters, joking about the campaign ... it's the first thing I've seen that really shows him as he is: a middle-aged family man who cares about public service. I wish they could have gotten circulated more widely in 2000. Check them out.

And the Sand Played On

World’s deserts will become more desert-y, says U.N. Happy World Environment Day — we got you some bad news! As climate change progresses, desert temperatures will rise up to 12.6 degrees F by the end of the century; rainfall in most deserts will decline by up to 20 percent; water will become scant, or too […]

Top ethical businesses

Business Ethics magazine has posted its list of the 100 best corporate citizens. Here are the top 10: