Friday, 11 Jun 2004

How Can We Sleep While the Liberals Are Winning?

Environmentalist Rock Star to Run for Australia's Parliament

Peter Garrett, former lead singer of the band Midnight Oil and a longtime environmental activist, announced yesterday that he will run for a seat in the Australian parliament as a member of the opposition Labor Party. He's almost sure to win, as the Sydney seat he's vying for reliably goes to Labor candidates. The party is counting on him to attract young, eco-minded voters to Labor, which hopes to oust the ruling Liberal Party (which is, in fact, conservative) in an election expected to take place by October. Garrett has fought against coastal development, genetic engineering, and the nuclear industry, and has served as president of the Australian Conservation Foundation and as a member of Greenpeace's international board. Liberal Prime Minister John Howard attacked Garrett yesterday, saying, "You don't want extreme green attitudes because extreme green attitudes are anti-investment and anti-jobs."

Sweet City Woman

Inquiring Minds Want to Know About Greening Cities

Which communities have been most successful at creating smart, green urban centers? How does gentrification play into urban redevelopment? Why don't many enviros recognize urban issues as being as critical as wilderness preservation and protection of endangered species? Good questions, but they don't stump Diana Williams of Urban Ecology. As this week's InterActivist, she tackles these reader queries and more -- today on the Grist Magazine website.

The Drill of It All

Bush Administration Pushes to Open More Alaska Land to Drilling

The Bush administration hasn't been able to finagle its way into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but it's pressing ahead with plans to drill for oil and gas on other remote, environmentally sensitive public lands in Alaska. The Bureau of Land Management this week proposed opening up 387,000 acres of protected land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to drillers, a plan the agency says would promote "environmentally responsible energy development." Enviros scoff at that claim, arguing that the area in question should be protected because it provides critical habitat for caribou, migratory geese, and other wildlife, as well as a subsistence hunting ground for Natives. "It's an incredible rollback that the agency is not acknowledging to the public,'' said Eleanor Huffines of the Wilderness Society. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until August 2; Interior Secretary Gale Norton will make a final decision on the matter later this year.

Fit to Be Thai-ed

Toxic Waste Being Dumped on Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste from wealthy countries, Greenpeace warned yesterday. Large quantities of dangerous refuse -- including medical and electronic waste, old tires, and used lead acid batteries -- are being shipped to Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines from industrialized nations that don't want to pay to dispose of the material safely. Greenpeace cited a recent case in which nearly 12,000 metric tons of toxic industrial waste were illegally shipped to Malaysia from a company in Taiwan, and said the incident was "the tip of the iceberg." Greenpeace is calling on the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to ratify an amendment to the Basel Convention that would control shipments of waste from industrialized nations to developing ones.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Lights Out in Skyscrapers Can Save Birds

Everyone knows that turning off the lights saves energy -- but did you know it can save birds too? Migratory birds are drawn to lights in skyscrapers, an attraction that too often causes them to crash into the buildings' plate-glass windows or die of exhaustion after flying confusedly around a light source. Chicago has set the bar for addressing the problem; about four years ago it launched a lights-out program that has convinced the managers of the vast majority of big buildings in the city to turn off lights between 11 p.m. and dawn. Toronto has also made notable strides. "There is no environmental issue that is as easy to overcome," said Michael Mesure of the Fatal Light Awareness Program. "Turn off the lights and the problem disappears."