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DISPENSING WITH THE PEASANTRIES China’s economy is exploding, with consequences that may only be understood decades from now. In addition to massive hydropower ventures like the $25 billion Three Gorges Dam, the government is encouraging smaller hydro projects, which are bringing electricity to southwestern rural villages where life has scarcely changed for generations. Now, the past century or two of Western development will likely unfurl in those villages in a matter of decades. Already villagers are lauding the benefits: artificial light for working or socializing by night, and food kept fresh by the miracle of refrigeration. They are also wondering, thanks to the introduction of satellite television, why they are receiving such a small slice of China’s growing economic pie. Now the question is this: Will this rural development bring the same hopelessly mixed blessing to China as it did to the West—health and economic improvements at the price of ravaging urbanization, overconsumption, and environmental damage? DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK 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 11pm 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.” FORGIVE ME, FATHER, FOR I HAVE WIND The political—and in some places legal—pressure to move to renewable energy is raising the profile of wind energy and the wind farms and wind turbines that generate it. In locales from India to the U.K., groups have agitated against wind farms for a variety of reasons. The BBC offers a tidy round-up of the top objections, ranging from the plausible (wind turbines kill birds) to the not-so-plausible (turbines break up clouds, drive away monsoons, and cause drought). Some groups have alleged that the “ghostly noise” from wind turbines causes headaches and depression, though no systematic health effects have been shown. Others simply allege that wind farms are ugly and defile the landscape, an objection that may be circumvented by moving wind farms off the coast into the oceans, but then you’ll have to deal with the maritime industry worried about accidents. Getting away from oil is hard! THAT’S OWL, FOLKS Remember the northern spotted owl? Caused a bit of a fuss about a decade ago? According to a comprehensive, federally funded review of the available science, the world’s most studied bird still faces dire threats. While the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan sharply curtailed logging in the old-growth forests that serve as the owl’s habitat, it still faces danger from the incursion of the competing barred owl, the possible spread of the West Nile virus, and the prospect of wildfires in overgrown Cascade forests. While logging is no longer the primary threat, protecting the forests is more important than ever, as “there is no hope for the spotted owl without habitat,” said researcher Jerry Franklin. Private Portland-based group Sustainable Ecosystems was contracted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to review research on the bird; the agency is under court-ordered mandate to determine by November 15 whether to continue listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act. JOLLY GOOD, GUV’NORS Western governors agreed this week to a resolution calling for development of renewable energy in the region, a plan they hope will stabilize energy costs for consumers and make the region an exporter of energy—nay, the “Saudi Arabia of wind and solar energy,” according to the group’s statement. Co-sponsored by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), the Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative establishes aggressive targets: 30,000 megawatts of clean energy produced in the West by 2015, and energy efficiency gains of twenty percent by 2020. The bipartisan resolution was passed unanimously on the third day of the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association. Officials established a working group that will study individual states’ needs for two years and make recommendations, likely to include a call for state and federal subsidies. The resolution comes at a time when the Bush administration is calling for increased oil and gas exploration in western states. For more environmental news from Grist.com, visit Grist Magazine, “Gloom and doom with a sense of humor,” at www.gristmagazine.com. |
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