Bush's Ruthless Roadless Forest Rule Repeal

In a press release issued today by Campaign to Protect America's Lands and Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees, the Bush Administration was held responsible for jeopardizing the well being and health of 23 U.S. national parks and monuments. According to Peter Altman, Director of Campaign to Protect America's Lands, "The Bush Administration's repeal of the roadless rule turns our national parks into front row seats for the destruction of our national forests. Worse, the parks themselves will suffer from the collateral damage of timber clear-cuts, destroyed wildlife habitat and migratory corridors, streams destroyed by sediment and the noise and stench of industrial development. "

Never before in U.S. history has a rule had more support than the Roadless Rule. Yet the lobbying efforts of the American Recreation Coalition, a coalition of a hundred corporations including Coleman Company, Walt Disney and manufacturers of off-road vehicles and snowmobiles has come out on top once again. The administration's repeal of this rule is an undeniable offering to special interests at the expense of the environment.

Syngenta Leaving Britian and Moving to the U.S.

Rueters News Agency reported today that Syngenta will end its biotech crop research in Britain and move their operation to the United States, where the market for genetically modified crops is more favorable. Friends of the Earth (England) welcomed Syngenta's decision and said the company had misjudged the market for genetically modified crops in Britain and Europe.

The moving of Syngenta's biotech research and development to the United States is just another example of the U.S. welcoming corporate growth and profits despite potential health and environmental risks. Once again Britain and Europe lead the way in environmentally, when will the United States learn, when will we catch up?

New Environmental Regulations Push U.S. Automaker's Profits Down

Sunday's New York Times (free registration required) reported that as new environmental regulations move to reduce global-warming emissions, automakers may be forced to spend more on each vehicle in order to comply with new global warming rules.

As carbon constraints take hold and access to new technologies are developed and integrated, manufacturers able to produce vehicles with lower carbon emissions may see their global market share grow and their financial performance improve.

According to a report issued by the World Resource Institute Ford and GM stand to lose the most. According to this report their lack of commitment to lower CO2 emission rates is going to cost them. Ford will have to spend more than $403 on each vehicle while G.M. would have to spend $377 more. Meanwhile manufacturers, such as Honda and Toyota, who have already invested much more in fuel efficiency technologies, may actually be helped by tougher regulations.

Despite Ford's “greenwashing of their blue oval�, this report demonstrates how far Ford has to go before it is truly an environmental leader in the automotive industry.

Taking Precaution

Taking Precaution is a new web site dedicated to promoting the Precautionary Principle. This principle lies at the heart of much of our work at Ecopledge.

Our economy currently operates on the assumption of "safe unless proven harmful." For example, chemicals are assumed to be safe until someone proves that they aren't. "Someone" in this case usually means the government (i.e. your tax dollars) or a nonprofit research organization. This is true even though private companies produce, use, and profit from the chemicals.

The Precautionary Principle turns this equation around. New chemicals must be proven to be safe before they can be used, and the burden of proof lies with the private interests who want to use the chemicals.

There's a lot more to the Precautionary Principle. Take a look at Taking Precaution and let us know what you think.

NYC & 8 States Sue Global Warming Polluters

Contrary to yesterday’s blog entry in which corporations were applauded for proactively reporting and minimizing their greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental Media Service reported on July 21, 2004 that New York City and eight states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin) filed suit against the five largest global warming polluters in the United States. The companies being sued are American Electric Power Company; the Southern Company; Tennessee Valley Authority, Xcel Energy Inc.; and Cinergy Corporation. Combined these five industry giants own or operate 174 fossil fuel burning power plants and emit over 650 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. The plaintiffs have filed suit because global warming is a serious threat to communities and the environment in the states. The action mandates the targeted companies reduce their pollution however the action does not seek monetary compensation.

The Greenhose Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting amd Reporting Standard

Despite the U.S. reluctance to participate in the Kyoto Protocol, there have been undeniable advances in the accounting and reporting of corporate greenhouse gases (GHG) worldwide. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Buisness Council for Sustainable Development recently published the revised edition of The Greenhouse Gas Protocol. While WRI and WBSCD were the key conveners of the project, the success of the protocal depended on the close involvement of over 500 buisnesses, organizations and governments. The wide acceptance of the GHG Protocol has been pivotal in creating greater standardization for corporate GHG accounting and reporting and is a solid step for environmental corporate responsibility.

Labor and Enviros Join Forces

It's nice to see local labor and environmental groups joining forces to demand an environmental impact report before ConocoPhillips is allowed to expand two oil refineries in Los Angeles. The government agency responsible for the case, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, has said there will be no impact, so no report is needed. But that doesn't make sense to people who live near the plants, including members of the pipe fitters union:

Cosmetic Ingredients...Anything Goes

According to the Environmental Working Group, eighty nine percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in cosmetics and/or other personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by any government agency. The absence of governmental oversight has allowed cosmetic manufacturers to use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient. In response to the lack of basic safety evaluations EWG conducted a six month investigation into the health and safety of the more than 10,000 personal care product ingredients. The results of their analysis shows that although a fair percentage of cosmetic ingredients are harmless, one out of every 120 products contain ingredients certified by government authorities to be known or probable human carcinogens. In addition to EWG's analysis on their findings a list of potentially high-risk cosmetic products has also been posted.

CO2 in our oceans water. Will this affect the food chain?

This is a question that some marine biologists and oceanographers are contemplating. According to Reuters atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would be 55 ppm (parts per million) higher without ocean absorption. Atmospheric levels are currently 380 ppm up from 280 ppm two centuries ago.

Oceans have the capacity to continue to take in CO2 for thousands of years. However as ocean surfaces capture and store carbon, the slow water circulation keeps the toxic gas more highly concentrated in the upper 10% of the ocean, where there is a high concentration of species.

Although this article does not directly target a particular corporation or industry sector per se I found this research to be yet another appalling example of how our current production methods, weak national and international environmental regulations and overall general indifference may soon come back to haunt us via the destruction and pollution of our very own food web.

Cloud Wars

Who owns the clouds in the sky? It sounds like a silly question, and a few years ago it would have been. But just as the land is privately owned and water is increasingly privately owned, so now people have begun to fight over ownership of the clouds.

Former American Electric Employee Speaks Out

Former American Electric Power engineer Bill Wilson was fired last May after handing over internal company documents to government regulators detailing, "a pattern of willful and knowing violation of state and federal law." According to the The Dallas Morning News (free registration required), Mr. Wilson also provided documents showing that the American Electric power plant violated the plant's state permit by burning industrial waste in addition to regular fuel oil. Moreover, American Electric knowingly failed to report plant emissions and routinely exceeded emission limits.

Once again, thanks to the weak U.S. environmental enforcement agencies and the political / industry hand-holding corporations are able to maneuver through regulations while the health of the environment and surrounding communities suffer.

Driving Down Waste

It costs a lot to dispose of a car in Japan, in some cases over $150. To help drive these costs down, a new law in Japan will require automakers to include the disposal cost in the price of every new car sold.

How will this decrease disposal costs? By encouraging automakers to be build cars that can more easily be disassembled and recycled. Cheaper disposal means lower sticker price means competitive advantage. The market can work to make things cleaner and greener, if it is just set up in the right way.

For the full scoop, check out Planet Ark.

(via Earth Blog.)

Free and Convenient (and Temporary)

Suddenly it's a lot easier to get rid of your old computer. A new program from Dell provides free home pickup of an old computer for anyone who buys a new Dell. Not interested in something new, but still want to get rid of that old clunker cluttering up your closet? Equally easy: just drop it off at any Office Depot store in the country. From there it will be shipped to an HP recycling facility.

Both these programs meet the Ecopledge criteria of being free and convenient. Unfortunately, there's a catch. Both programs are temporary.

Ecopledge applauds the steps that Dell and HP have taken to take full responsibility for the e-waste that they produce. And since they plan on producing electronic equipment forever, we hope they'll extend their commitment to free and convenient takeback just as far.

High Tech Wasteland

A story in Orion provides a good overview of the problem of e-waste:

Yep.

United Airlines fined for Waste Violations

Bankrupt and broke United Airlines agreed to pay $850,000 to environmental regulators over alleged waste violations at San Francisco International Airport's maintenance center. United admitted no liability in the settlement but insisted that the deal was the best route to avoid a costly litigation. Despite United Airlines claims of innocence, United is currently working with the EPA to develop an environmental compliance management system.

The Politics of Oil

The Center for Public Integrity will hold a press conference on Thursday, July 15 at 10 a.m. at the National Press Club to discuss the oil and gas industries' political influence via lobbying and campaign contributions. Should be interesting. Watch this space for updates.

Living in a Teflon World - II

June 28th's blog entry reported on the frequency and high levels of C-8, one of the chemicals used to make Teflon, in virtually every Americans’ blood stream. Two weeks after the EPA announced their decision to re-launch their investigation on C-8s’ health and environmental toxicity, the EPA declared the threat of an unspecified 'action' against DuPont for withholding decades of critically important health studies on C-8.

The Environmental Working Group's President, Ken Cook stated, "This is shaping up as another in a long series of industry-friendly environmental 'enforcement' actions by the Bush EPA." EPA officials are currently avoiding disclosing any details of the consequences for DuPont, although Agency officials said they would not likely seek the maximum possible fine of $300 million. By law, DuPont can be fined up to $27,500 per day for the entire time period of the environmental violations, from 1984 through 2001, a sum equaling well over $300 million.

Mercury in my cereal?

Natural Resources Council of Maine is requesting the immediate halt to sales of cereal boxes containing toys operated by mercury batteries. Despite the warning that states, "battery in toy contains mercury, dispose of properly" there is no infrastructure for cereal buyers to properly dispose of the mercury batteries. Instead the mercury-filled toxic batteries will be sent to local landfills and nearby incinerators. Enraged, Representative Scott Cowger stated, "I never suspected we would find mercury batteries in cereal boxes' and believes that, 'this mercury "Spidey" toy should convince the Legislature that enough is enough."

Cruise Exec Pleads Guilty to Polluting Ocean Waters

On July 5, 2004 Richard Softye, former executive of Holland America cruise lines, pled guilty to six charges of falsifying records about its ships' discharge of polluted wastewater into the ocean lying about the cruise line's compliance with a court-ordered environmental audit.

Dell Seeks to Move Mountains -- of E-Waste

As I wrote on Tuesday (see From the Classroom to the Boardroom), I have been representing Green Century Capital Management in talks with Dell. Green Century is part of a coalition of socially responsible investors who are concerned about the mounting threat posed by e-waste and the risk this creates for companies like Dell.

Dell is making great progress on developing their recycling program and increasing the amount of equipment that they take back. We challenged them to work with their suppliers to establish an airtight system that guarantees that any material received by Dell for recycling is disposed of properly.

We spent close to an hour with Dell CEO Michael Dell discussing these issues. I expressed our desire to see Dell provide a free recycling option to consumers in order to encourage as much participation in the program as possible. He did not directly answer the question, saying that he does not think that there is one solution that would increase consumer recycling rates. We will continue to talk with the company on this key issue, and educate them on the value of a free recycling program that makes it as easy as possible for consumers to send back their old computers.

Overall, the meeting was an important step on the road to an e-waste solution. Dell has met many of the challenges that we have laid out for them, and has demonstrated a genuine desire to engage with concerned stakeholders and improve their performance. This is an excellent example of the power of shareholder advocacy.

Monsanto GE Food Update

Mafruza Khan of the Corporate Research Project provides a good update and overview on Monsanto's investment in genetically engineered foods.

Breaking the lawn-care pesticide cycle

Jane M. Bradley exposes the myraid health hazards associated with lawn care pesticides, the neglegence of the federal government to perform adequate testing, and pesticide free alternatives.