Good News/Bad News July 11, 2002

Welcome to the first issue of Good News/Bad News, a weekly roundup of environmental and health stories that you may not have seen in the paper or on the TV. The idea is to try and balance the positive with the negative, to keep the dread sludge of pessimism from drowing us in despair. This week looks pretty good, but I can't promise anything for next week.

First, the Good News

California's legislature has passed the first bill limiting automobile emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The bill is on Gov. Gray Davis' desk, and his office says that he will "in all likelihood" sign it into law. Details

There can be only one WWF: The World Wrestling Federation has succumbed to the crippling full-nelson of the World Wildlife Fund's lawsuit over the coveted initials. The wrestlers' group announced it would change its name to World Wrestling Entertainment. We'd hoped for more grappling, but what can you do? Details

Eble maws I ere I swam Elbe: The German government has spent 13 years and millions of euros on purifying the Elbe river, and on July 7, thousands of people celebrated by going for a swim. The project marks a huge accomplishment for reversing the damages of neglect and poor stewardship, and stands as a beacon of hope for us all. Details

The U.S. Government, in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, and the World Wildlife Fund (yes, the WWF), has worked out a deal to cancel $14 million in Peruvian debt payments in exchange for similar spending in Peru on conservation work. Details

Continuing its reputation as a contrarian province, Quebec has announced it will ban most nonfarm pesticides by 2005. Lawns, parks, schools, and even golf courses will soon be pesticide free. If it were ever to succeed in seceding, Quebec would be the first nation to ban such pesticides. Details

Then Comes the Bad News

President Bush has decided that the federal government can't afford to continue funding Superfund site cleanups. Thirty-three of these sites, among the most toxic areas of the country, have been targeted for cutbacks because the company that originally polluted the land has gone out of business or can't afford to help pay for cleanup. Details

Just when you thought it was safe to eat Chee-tos ... A Swedish study found abnormally high levels of acrylamide in high-carb foods like potato chips and french fries. Acrylamide is a naturally-occurring chemical that is known to cause cancer in animals and probably in humans as well. Food industry spokespeople say it's too early to say for sure, but we know better than to trust them, don't we? Details

A French court decided this week that Greenpeace's StopEsso logo, which features the Esso logo with dollar signs in place of the S's, is a violation of the oil giant's trademark. Drug slang t-shirts are presumably next . . . Details

The U.S. Senate has voted in favor of storing highly radioactive nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Aside from the earthquakes at the site (600 in the past 20 years), the fact that the site is on top of an aquifer that provides drinking water to many Nevada citizens, and the sheer logistical and Homeland-Security nightmare of ensuring the safety of 100,000 shipments of deadly waste, this is a great idea. Details

This one is both good and bad news: Greenpeace's True Food Network has published an expanded list of foods it has tested for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). No surprises here: large agribusiness conglomerates tend to put GMOs in their products, smaller companies are usually free of GMO ingredients. Read the list at: True Food Now