Friday, 06 Dec 2002

The Dow of Poo

Outgoing Michigan Gov. John Engler (R) is trying to relax the state standard for dioxin pollution, a move that unhappy environmentalists say is designed to minimize Dow Chemical's financial liability for future cleanup efforts. The proposed change, which has also angered Gov.-elect Jennifer Granholm (D) and regional U.S. EPA officials, would increase by more than nine-fold the amount of dioxin permissible in the soil in Midland, Mich., where Dow is headquartered. Dioxin can disrupt human immune and reproductive systems and cause cancer; its presence in Midland and areas downstream stems from Dow's half-century history of manufacturing Agent Orange, mustard gas, chlorinated pesticides, and chlorophenol. The clean up may result in one of the largest corporate pollution cases since the U.S. EPA ordered General Electric last year to pony up a half a billion bucks to remove PCBs from New York's Hudson River. Yesterday, Michigan environmental groups sued to block a proposed consent order that would allow the lower dioxin standard to take effect before Engler leaves office.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The Kyoto Protocol on climate change has not yet gone into effect, but the first sale of greenhouse gas credits negotiated within the treaty's proposed framework is officially a done deal. Slovakia (of all places) has sold emissions credits equivalent to 200,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide to a Japanese trading house, which declined to reveal either the identity of the buyer or the value of the deal. However, experts say the amount of CO2 in question would have been worth $1 million if it had been sold on an emissions market outside of the Kyoto framework. The trade in greenhouse gases enables companies that can't reduce their emissions below specified levels to buy credits from industries that can, or from eco-right-on projects such as wind farms or reforestation efforts. If Kyoto is approved, the market could reach $60 billion per year. Meanwhile, in other global-warming news, a three-day conference in the U.S. concluded yesterday with experts saying that the Bush administration plan to study climate change for many more years is unlikely to result in significant new information unless the proposal is substantially revised and better funded.

Half and Half

In the interest of living up to our reputation for providing the occasional sliver of cheery environmental news, Grist is pleased to report that notwithstanding rampant ecological degradation, nearly half of the land on Earth remains undeveloped and unpopulated, according to an international study released earlier this week. The study -- the most comprehensive such analysis to date -- was greeted with surprise by many scientists, but it was also viewed as a wake-up call, because only 7 percent of the 46 percent of the Earth that is still wild is protected. For a given area to qualify as wilderness under the terms of the study, it had to be at least 3,800 square miles in size, accommodate fewer than two people per square mile, and have at least 70 percent of its original vegetation. In total, some 26 million square miles made the grade, about a third of them in the Antarctic and the Arctic tundra. "A lot of the planet is still in pretty decent shape," said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International, which organized the study involving 200 scientists.

Lifestyles of the Rich, Famous, and Recycled

Having dispensed with the good news, we can now move on to the goofy news: Danny Seo, the young fashion guru who has been featured in Grist's pages before as the Martha Stewart of the environmental movement, is packing up his New York life and moving to Los Angeles to position himself as an "environmental lifestyle consultant" to the stars. In that unlikely capacity, he will advise the glitterati on how to reconcile their earnest environmental commitments with their passion for Prada leather, home swimming pools, and SUVs -- at the cool starting rate of $2,000. There would appear to be a demand for Seo's talents; sometime-actress Anna Getty, for instance, recently sported a recycled dress he chose, and the young entrepreneur earns $15,000 a pop for appearances on the lecture circuit. Says Seo of his decision to take his green vision to Hollywood, "A lot of trends start at the upper-income levels. What I don't want to do is start mainstream and work my way up. It goes the other way around."

Drain, Drain, Go Away

Now, back to typically depressing fare: California's Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board said yesterday that it would extend exemptions on pollution limits for farmers, meaning that pesticides, salts, and other pollutants will continue to drain from agricultural fields into the region's watershed. The exemptions were set to expire on Dec. 31, a deadline enviros had hoped would prompt an aggressive new statewide cleanup effort; instead, water regulators decided to extend waivers for more than 25,000 farms for an additional two years. The board said the extensions come with conditions that will help clean up rivers and streams as well as encourage farmers to work together to begin monitoring water quality and developing voluntary pollution-reduction measures, but skeptical environmentalists will likely challenge the plan in court.