TOP STORY

It's a Glac-Sure Thing
World's glaciers melting rapidly, report says

The world's glaciers are melting quite rapidly and will likely cause all sorts of environmental problems, according to data from the World Glacier Monitoring Service. The WGMS tracks the health of 30 "reference" glaciers throughout the world and has said that their rate of melt has sped up significantly in recent years. Between 1980 and 1999, the glaciers shrunk an average of 11.8 inches; between 2000 and 2006, they dwindled by 4.9 feet on average. Wilfried Haeberli, director of WGMS, said that most of the world's roughly 160,000 glaciers are receding "at least" as much as the reference glaciers, if not more. Rapidly melting glaciers are likely to cause avalanches and severe flooding in the short term, and in the long term could lead to sea-level rise as well as extreme drought and food shortages in many places that depend on them for their water supply. "There are many canaries emerging in the climate-change coal mine," said Achim Steiner of the United Nations Environment Program. "The glaciers are perhaps among those making the most noise and it is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and takes notice."

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sources: Agence France-Presse, The Guardian, The Guardian, Associated Press

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TODAY'S NEWS

Diesel Do
EPA announces tough air-pollution standards for shipping industry

On Friday, the U.S. EPA announced tough new diesel pollution standards for the shipping industry. The new standards for diesel trains and ships will begin to be phased in in 2015; when in full effect, they'll require a 90 percent reduction in soot emissions and an 80 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. Says Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch, "This is a rare case of the Bush administration doing something positive on air pollution." That's high praise.

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sources: Reuters, Associated Press, Environmental Defense Fund
see also, in Grist: Green group ranks eco-friendliness of shipping companies, How companies are driving down the impacts of shipping

Bush Whacked
President Bush interfered to weaken U.S. ozone standards, documents say

Before you start feeling too warm and fuzzy about the Bushies, consider this: President Bush interfered at the last minute to weaken the recently announced U.S. ozone standards, according to EPA documents. Last week, the EPA set both the "public health" standard (how much ozone is permitted in one place at one time) and the "public welfare" standard (consideration of the long-term effect of ozone) at the same level. Before Bush interfered, the agency planned to make the "public welfare" standard more stringent, as encouraged by EPA scientists and enviros. "This is not a weakening of ... standards," a White House spokesperson said Friday. "It was an effort to make the standards consistent." But since Bush's order to make the limits less stringent was in direct conflict with past EPA statements on the negative effects of ozone, the announcement of the standards was delayed for five hours while officials scrambled to come up with new legal justifications for the weakened limits.

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sources: The Washington Post, Associated Press

Pros and Econs
EPA's economic analysis of climate bill relatively favorable

The U.S. EPA has released its economic analysis of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008, concluding that implementing the bill, which includes a carbon cap-and-trade system, would not significantly harm the U.S. economy over the next 20 years. The agency estimated the bill would likely cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 11 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and about 56 percent below by 2050. The EPA also forecast that the U.S. gross domestic product would grow by some 80 percent between 2010 and 2030 under the bill -- only 1 percent below what it would otherwise have been. Critics of climate legislation will likely seize on the EPA's forecast that the Lieberman-Warner bill could increase electricity prices some 44 percent by 2030 and may increase gasoline prices by 53 cents a gallon by 2030. However, environmentalists interpreted the report as confirmation that climate bills can coexist with economic growth, and also stressed that the EPA analysis didn't calculate the economic benefits of reducing emissions.

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sources: The Wall Street Journal (access ain't free), Environmental Defense Fund, EPA's analysis of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act [PDF]
see also, in Gristmill: Bush administration quietly acknowledges climate plan is doable

Dioxane Another Day
Some 'green' products test positive for nasty chemical

Nearly half of 100 consumer products claiming to be "natural" or "organic" tested positive for a carcinogenic petrochemical manufacturing byproduct, according to the Organic Consumers Association. The products tainted with scary-sounding 1,4-dioxane came from various well-known brands, including Alba, Jasön, Kiss My Face, Method, Nature's Gate, and Seventh Generation. Some of the companies said they would review their ingredients, while others lamented that eliminating 1,4-dioxane would at this point mean using alternatives that irritate skin or reduce cleaning effectiveness. They continue to work on the issue, says Martin Wolf of Seventh Generation: "We're not there yet. We have more work to do."

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source: Los Angeles Times

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GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES

The Corps of the Matter
A special series on the Army Corps and the Mississippi River

It's spring, and for most of us that means tackling a few home improvement projects. But what if you took your to-do list and magnified it by millions of acres, billions of dollars, and reliable bursts of outrage from the neighbors? Why, you'd be the Army Corps of Engineers! This week, we take a look at what the nation's legendarily industrious and controversial agency is up to along the Mississippi River -- and what its presence there has meant for both residents and natural resources over the last 200 years. With stories by Michael Grunwald, Mike Tidwell, Emily Gertz, and others, our special series brings you face to face with America's busiest beavers.

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new in Grist: A special series on the Army Corps and the Mississippi River

Espresso Express
On transporting coffee by bike

Q. Dear Umbra,

Now that there are promises that the snow will melt someday, I'm dreaming about biking again -- to work, to the farmers' market, to church, etc. However, my sweet husband loves to make me coffee and send it with me when I leave the house. I have wonderful reusable coffee cups for the car, but how do I transport coffee on a bicycle without ruining it or me? Any bright ideas?

Caffeine Appreciator
Duluth, Minn.

A. Dearest CA,

"Thermos thermos thermos, you keep things hot all day, thermos thermos thermos, you're leak proof and lightweigh ... t." My bright idea is a thermos. I have had this bright idea before, but as far as I am concerned a thermos never loses its luster as an idea. Perhaps it will seem newer if I say, "The Dewar flask is for you" ...

Read the rest of Umbra's answer.

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new in Grist: On transporting coffee by bike

Coming Tuesday: How to green your pets (without hair dye!)