Here’s a list of the previous week’s stories that were interesting (to me at least). Are there any others that you think should be on the list? Leave a comment.
EPA approves more pollution and higher food prices
On October 13, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived the limitation on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. The waiver applies to fuel that contains up to 15 percent ethanol – known as E15 – and only to model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks. This represents the first of a number of actions that are needed from federal, state and industry towards commercialization of E15 gasoline blends. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson made the decision after a review of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) extensive testing and other available data on E15’s impact on engine durability and emissions. “Thorough testing has now shown that E15 does not harm emissions control equipment in newer cars and light trucks,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Wherever sound science and the law support steps to allow more home-grown fuels in America’s vehicles, this administration takes those steps.” (Source: EPA news release)
Home grown energy sounds good for energy independence. Well, “what does it do to our wallets?” asks Gregg Easterbrook. “Ethanol from genetically engineered dwarf trees or tall grasses holds tremendous promise as a cost-effective, greenhouse-neutral fuel. But for today, nearly all ethanol sold in the United States is made from corn. Domestically produced corn-based ethanol is subsidized via federal payments to grain farmers, by refinery tax exemptions for fuel containing domestic ethanol, and by tariff barriers intended to prevent Brazilian sugar-based ethanol from entering the country. Annual federal subsidies to corn ethanol cost around $5 billion. Are the benefits worth that?”
The New York Times story noted, “The fuel itself gets a mixed reception from environmental advocates. Ethanol production consumes prodigious quantities of natural gas, diesel fuel and other inputs that lead to carbon dioxide emissions.” And, “Ethanol also evaporates more easily than gasoline, which can put an ingredient of smog into the air.”
Not only is it expensive but it takes food from the poorest people. Robert Bryce at the Energy Tribune quotes the Earth Policy Institute (EPI), “(EPI) reports that in 2009, US ethanol distilleries consumed 107 million tons of grain. That amounts to more than 25% of total US grain production. That quantity of grain, says EPI, ‘was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels.'” In fact, “the amount of grain needed to produce enough ethanol to fill the tank of an SUV one time could “feed one person for an entire year.”’
“Continuing to divert more food to fuel, as is now mandated by the U.S. federal government in its Renewable Fuel Standard,” says the EPI, “will likely only reinforce the disturbing rise in hunger. By subsidizing the production of ethanol, now to the tune of some $6 billion each year, U.S. taxpayers are in effect subsidizing rising food bills at home and around the world.”
Canada declares BPA toxic
Bisphenol (BPA) is a chemical used to line food cans, and make some hard plastic containers and toys. BPA has formally been declared a toxic substance by Canadian authorities. (Source: CBC News) This step will make regulation of the the substance easier. Given that BPA had been found in the urine of 91 per cent of Canadians aged 6 to 79 and animal studies were “quite concerning,” “Health Canada considers that sufficient evidence relating to human health has been presented to justify the conclusion that bisphenol A is harmful to human life and should be added to Schedule 1 of [the Canadian Environmental Protection Act].”
The Minister of the Environment’s order notes, “Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical used to make a hard, clear plastic such as polycarbonate, which is used in many consumer products, including reusable water bottles and baby bottles. Bisphenol A is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resins, which act as a protective lining on the inside of metal-based food and beverage cans. Polycarbonates have wide application in consumer products (e.g. repeat-use polycarbonate containers), in medical devices, glazing applications, film and the electronics industry, while epoxy resins are used in protective coatings, structural composites, electrical laminates and as adhesives and sealants.”
This declaration has some mystified. “Just days after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) once again confirmed that BPA is safe for use in food-contact items, Environment Canada’s announcement is contrary to the weight of worldwide scientific evidence, unwarranted and will unnecessarily confuse and alarm the public,” said Steven G. Hentges of the [American Chemistry Council]‘s Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group. (Source: Reuters)
MIT oped says global warming is “not worth the fight”
“Global warming is real. It is predominantly anthropogenic. Left unchecked, it will likely warm the earth by 3-7 C by the end of the century. What should the United States do about it?” asks Keith Yost, Staff Columnist for MIT’s The Tech newspaper. His answer is, “Very little, if anything at all… unilateral action will not mitigate climate change…To act unilaterally, or even in conjunction with the [Annex 1 countries], would mean paying the full measure of mitigating climate change while receiving only a fraction of its benefit. It is tempting to play the crusader, to make some moral, if futile stand in defense of our current thermostat setting. But we must be realistic.”
Steelhead trout numbers up in California
According to an Associated Press story in the Sacramento Bee, steelhead trout populations may be on the rise in California. “Santa Cruz water resource manager Chris Perry says this year’s numbers bode well for a steelhead population that once boomed along the Central Coast. In 1997, the fish was listed as threatened species.” Steelhead are an ocean-going rainbow trout (anadromous salmonid fish) which hatches in a freshwater stream or river then travels to the sea to mature and returns to the place they hatched to spawn.
Welcome Back, Otter
Otters have increased their numbers in England after being close to extinction, reports the BBC. “In many watercourses in the south-west and along the River Wye otter numbers are at maximum capacity.” Paul Raven, head of conservation and ecology at the Environment Agency, said: “The recovery of otters from near-extinction shows how far we’ve come in controlling pollution and improving water quality.”
Judge backs prairie dogs
In other rodent news, the New York Times has an article about a 74-year-old rancher, Larry Haverfield, who took county officials to court challenging a 100-year-old Kansas law which gave them the right to come on his or anyone’s property and eradicate prairie dogs when they deemed it necessary. “Numbering about 25,000 prairie dogs in far western Kansas, the colony (on Haverfield’s ranch) is a prime source of food for one of the most endangered mammals in the world, the black-footed ferret…In 2007, estranged from neighbors and fighting the county commission, he (Haverfield) allowed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to release endangered black-footed ferrets on his property as part of a program to increase their population.” In his ruling, District Judge Jack Lively said that the U.S. endangered Species Act superseded state law, and exterminating prairie dogs would put the black-footed ferret at risk.
Ugandan President Museveni tells Buliisa District residents to eat the crocs before the crocs eat them
Uganda’s Daily Monitor reports, ‘”President Museveni has advised Buliisa District residents to eat crocodiles that have been tormenting them…“If these crocodiles are killing your people, you can also learn to eat them.” Mr Museveni said his office can facilitate Buliisa residents to study from communities that have prospered from crocodiles. “You can go for a study tour in Buwama, Mpigi District, where there is a farm operated by Zimbabweans. They get hides besides eating crocodile meat,” he said amidst a huge applause from the crowd that turned up for the rally (at Butiaba Primary School in Butiaba Sub-county).’
Nullius in Verba 