Monday, 23 Feb 2004

Certifiably Insane?

Timber Industry's Sustainable Forestry Initiative Falls Short

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative sounds right fine -- a labeling system intended to assure consumers that the wood they are purchasing came from environmentally responsible sources. But enviros contend that the industry-backed certification program amounts to little more than greenwashing, attempting to put an eco-friendly face on the same old industry practices. A dispute over this issue has been heating up in recent months, with SFI launching a big-bucks media campaign to promote its label and the Rainforest Action Network and a coalition of partners launching a "Don't Buy SFI" counter-campaign that warns consumers not be hoodwinked by SFI's claims. Jeff Shaw reports on the battle over sustainable-forestry standards and wood labels -- only on the Grist Magazine website.

Apocalypse Later

Pentagon Report Details Apocalyptic Climate Change Scenario

Major European cities are submerged and become uninhabitable. Famine spreads across the globe. Countries race to develop nuclear capabilities to fend off invaders seeking food and resources. China and India devolve into chaos. The U.S. becomes a large fortress to prevent an onslaught of millions of refugees. "Once again, warfare would define human life." 1950s B movie? Wild-eyed leftist fantasy? No, this is a scenario described in a secret Pentagon report commissioned by legendary defense strategist and uber-hawk Andrew Marshall (dubbed "Yoda" by colleagues for his extensive experience and influence). The report on possible long-range effects of climate change, leaked to the media, is expected to seriously embarrass the Bush administration, which is still publicly skeptical of global warming, and it could influence the upcoming presidential election. While he was quick to clarify that the report described a worst-case scenario, not a prediction, one of the report's authors, Doug Randall of the Global Business Network, got the heart of the matter: "It seems obvious that cutting the use of fossil fuels would be worthwhile."

True North

InterActivist Michael North on Solar Community Centers and More

This week's InterActivist is Michael North, president of Greenstar, an organization that invests in solar-powered community centers for villages in the developing world, providing electricity and Internet access to stimulate economic development. Today, North answers our questions, describing the challenges of doing business in far-flung spots around the globe, the joys of living in Hawaii, and the role of entrepreneurialism in the occasionally business-hostile environmental movement. Don't forget to send in your questions for North by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers on Friday.

A Green and Pleasant Continent

Europe's Green Parties Unite

Thirty-two national Green parties united on Saturday to become the European Green Party, predicting that a unified voice will gain them influence and votes in the coming elections. The Greens, now the first pan-European political party, will run under a common banner and with a common agenda focused on environmental protection, social justice, and sustainable development. Currently, Green politicians hold 44 of the 626 European Parliament seats; only in Germany are they represented in national government. At the Green congress in Rome this weekend, care was taken to preserve the national identity of the constituent groups. Said Grazia Francescato, leader of the Italian Green Party, "You can't imagine how difficult it was, but also challenging and stimulating, to put together 32 parties ... we've been trying hard to accept each other's diversity and not impose one pan-European idea on everyone." While the party hymn, written by film composer Ennio Moriconne, is a somber reminder of the challenges ahead, the atmosphere was brightened by the choice of a snappy party slogan: "Europe, let's have a party!"

Turning Over an Old Reef

Great Barrier Reef Is Doomed, Says Report

Australia's Great Barrier Reef -- the world's largest chain of living coral and one of the seven wonders of the natural world -- will be almost completely destroyed by rising sea temperatures by 2050, predicts a new report released by Queensland University's Center for Marine Studies. "Coral cover will decrease to less than 5 percent on most reefs by the middle of the century, under even the most favorable assumptions," says the report, which goes on to forecast that damage to the reef -- one of the world's top tourist attractions -- will cost Australia $6.3 billion and more than 12,000 jobs by 2020. Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government has made some attempts to mitigate the damage, but Australia has not signed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, and has no plans to do so.

Going Postal

Opinions on Atkins, Plus a Touching Tale of a Family Reunited and More

The solar debate continues this week as Grist readers pooh-pooh PV and extol the virtues of passive-solar design, a set of techniques that enable a house to be more efficiently heated and cooled just by sitting there. Several newly slim readers protest our gloomy predictions of environmental ruin brought about by popular high-protein, low-carb diets like Atkins; they testify that low-carb is possible with vegetables, soy, and free-range, enviro-friendly beef. Sadly, we've received no word yet on passive dieting. Finally, this week's batch of mail brings a heartwarming story of family reunification. For all this and much more, read our Letters to the Editor -- only on the Grist Magazine website.