EnvironmentalM Ne range. Concentrations in formula were higher than in breast milk. Using data from the national food consumption survey, the researchers estimated the daily intake of NPs to be 7.5 µg/day for a German he first comprehensive analysis have the highest fat contents. adult, 0.2 µg/day for infants fed with of nonylphenols (NPs) in food Of all the foods tested, tomatoes breast milk, and 1.4 µg/day for inreveals that the estrogenic and apples had the highest levels of fants fed with formula. Although chemicals are ubiquitous in NPs. According to Günther, this can there are insufficient data to deterGerman food products, including likely be attributed to pesticides. mine whether the levels of NPs baby food. The findings, which Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), found in the German food pose a were published in the April 15 issue which degrade to NPs, are comhuman health risk, low levels of NPs of ES&T (pp. 1676–1680), suggest monly used as emulsifying agents (8.3–85.6 µg/L) have been shown to that food may be an important in pesticide formulations. When the cause endocrine-disrupting effects route of exposure in rainbow trout to endocrine-disin laboratory rupting comaquatic toxicity Peanut cream 5.2 pounds in tests (Environ. Gooseberry marmalade 7.3 humans. Sci. Technol. Mayonnaise 5.0 Sugar 6.8 Klaus Günther 2001, 35, Tuna 8.1 and colleagues at 2909–2916). Butter 14.4 the Research “In general, takLard 10.2 Spinach 1.3 Centre Jülich ing in xenobiMilk chocolate 14.1 GmbH, a nationotics via the Hen’s egg 1.5 al research cendietary route is Pineapple 2.6 Fresh cheese 7.5 ter in Germany, of less concern Pasta 1.0 measured the than possible Liver sausage 13.0 levels of NPs in uptake through Apples 19.4 Chicken meat 3.8 39 foods and other routes, Tea 0.1 beverages, inbecause of Potatoes 0.6 Tomatoes 18.5 cluding fruits degradation Whole milk 1.1 and vegetables, within the aliWholemeal bread 1.6 dairy products, mentary system Beer 0.5 Coffee (brewed up) 0.3 fish and meat, and detoxificaOrange juice 0.1 bread, pasta, tion in the 0 5 10 15 20 25 beer, coffee, and liver,” says Nonylphenols [µg/kg] chocolate, purJohn Sumpter Source: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002, 36, 1676–1680. chased from of Brunel German superUniversity in Nonylphenols(NPs)have been found in a w ide varietyofGerman foodsatthe levels markets. The the United show n above.Tomatoesand appleshad the highestconcentrationsofNPs,mostlikely foods were seKingdom. In because nonylphenolethoxylates,w hich degrade to NPs,are commonlyused asinactive lected to reprelong-term laboingredientsin pesticides. sent a typical ratory studies German diet, to determine based on data from a 1980s survey pesticides degrade, “the lipophilic possible effects of dietary adminisof the eating habits of nearly 25,000 nonylphenols accumulate in the tration of NP to rodents, high doses German people. wax coats of fruits and vegetables,” (hundreds of mg/kg body weight) Concentrations of total NPs in Günther says. were required to produce estrothe foods were in the 0.1–19.4 µg/kg The levels of NPs in 21 infant genic effects, he says. The levels of (fresh weight) range. Although NPs and baby food products, including NP found in German food were in are hydrophobic and accumulate in powdered milk formula, breast the low µg/kg range, which is well fat, somewhat surprisingly, the foods milk, and baby food with and withbelow the dose of concern, based with the highest NP levels did not out meat, were in the 0.2–4.0 µg/kg on the results of the rodent studies.
Endocrine-disrupting nonylphenols detected in wide range of foods
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© 2002 American Chemical Society
nonylphenol in food is coming from man-made sources because the distribution of the different nonylphenol isomers found in food is very similar to the distribution of the isomers found in the technical product,” Günther says. NPs occur as a complex series of isomers. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, the researchers showed that the distribution of NP isomers in food is nearly identical to commercially available NP standards, suggesting the NPs in food are of synthetic origin. Because levels of NPs in food are independent of fat concentrations, NPs appear to be getting into food via multiple pathways and at various stages in food production. Some of the NPs could originate from detergents and disinfectants, but NPs could also be getting into food via plastic packaging materials that use tris(nonylphenol)phosphite as an antioxidant, as well as via pesticides, Günther says. It is uncertain exactly how food is getting contaminated, “But one fact is now clear: nonylphenols are ubiquitous in food and in many other environmentally relevant biomatrices,” he says. Although the foods analyzed in the study were purchased from German supermarkets, many of them originated elsewhere, and many others are consumed by people all over the world. The study is therefore likely to have implications beyond the German border.
Ignoring estrogenic mixtures underestimates risk Eight weak estrogenic chemicals, all below the levels at which they produce measurable effects individually, were found to produce significant effects, as measured by a gene assay, when combined, researchers in Britain report in the April 15 issue of ES&T (pp. 1751– 1756). Although endocrine-disrupting compounds have been previously shown to have interactive effects, this is the first time estrogenic chemicals below their noobserved-effects concentrations
(NOECs) have been shown to act together to produce an effect. Andreas Kortenkamp and colleagues at the University of London tested multicomponent mixtures of chemicals known to bind to the estrogen receptor, including hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls, benzophenones, parabenes, bisphenol A, and the naturally occurring phytoestrogen genistein. The mixtures were prepared so that no one chemical would contribute disproportionately to the overall ef-
Governm ent Watch Taxing use of global natural resources Emissions from aircraft flying in international airspace and ships on the high seas are two rapidly increasing sources of greenhouse gases not currently covered by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, finds a report by a scientific advisory council to the German government. Charging for the use of these global commons could provide additional financial support for international sustainability policies, says Benno Pilardeaux of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), a group of politically independent German scientists nominated by the government to advise officials on environmental issues. In its report, Charging the Use of the Global Commons, the WBGU recommends imposing charges on aircraft emissions based on aircraft type, flight route, distance flown, and load. Resulting funds could be used for climate protection measures, such as increasing energy efficiency, more widespread use of renewable energies, and programs for mitigating problems caused by global climate change. Likewise, charges could be imposed on long-distance shipping that take into account the pollution ships cause, the WBGU proposes. Rebates could be issued for measures designed to reduce polluting discharges, such as higher technological standards on board ships. The WBGU also recommends paying developing countries for conserving natural resources such as forests, soils, and water bodies
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It is difficult to assess the risk to humans because eating contaminated food is just one way that humans are exposed to NPs, and there is the possibility of additive effects when combined with other similarly acting chemicals. In laboratory experiments with rainbow trout, researchers have shown that the potency of a mixture of 4-tertnonylphenol and 17β-estradiol is equal to the sum of the potencies of the individual compounds (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 2476–2481; 35, 277A–278A). Even so, some experts say that the levels of NPs in food are not of concern because humans are exposed to much higher levels of naturally occurring phytoestrogens in food. Hermann Bolt and colleagues at the University of Dortmund in Germany have estimated a daily exposure to phytoestrogens of up to 1 mg/kg bw for adults and in the 4.5–8 mg/kg bw range for infants fed soy-based formula. Soybeans and flax seeds are the primary sources of phytoestrogens in food. NPs are estrogenic and more toxic and bioaccumulative than their parent NPEs. The use of NPEs in household detergents has been phased out in some European countries, but they are still commonly used in a variety of household products, including latex paints, pesticides, and plastics. Although there are naturally occurring phenols, the NPs detected in foods are likely to be anthropogenic. “I think all of the
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EnvironmentalM News wildlife are almost always exposed to complex, usually ill-defined, mixtures of chemicals, he says. “What we really need to know is whether or not these mixtures cause effects, and if so, how adverse these effects are.” To test for estrogenic effects, Kortenkamp and colleagues used a NISSANKA RAJAPAKSE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
fect, based on their known individual potencies. Concentrations of the individual components ranged from 0.004 to 1.04 µM. “We’ve published a series of papers looking at combinations of four agents, but we were [previously] not able to address this key point, whether there is a combina-
A YeastEstrogen Screen assayshow sthata foreign chemicalhasactivated the estrogen receptorprotein byproducing a colorchange from yellow to red.
tion effect at concentrations below NOECs,” Kortenkamp says. When eight chemicals formed the mixture, the researchers got the answer they’d been looking for. The results show that estrogenic chemicals act together to produce additive effects even when all of the chemicals are at concentrations below their NOECs. Traditional risk assessments of estrogenic chemicals ignore the possibility of joint actions, which will almost certainly lead to significant underestimations of risk, say the researchers. “From a regulatory point of view, the crucial question is whether the chemicals act together. Additive combination effects matter a lot because all of these agents can interact,” Kortenkamp emphasizes. “Assessing the effects of chemicals on a chemical-by-chemical basis, as is done presently, is not very informative,” agrees John Sumpter of Brunel University in the United Kingdom. Humans and 180 A
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reporter gene assay called a Yeast Estrogen Screen, in which yeast cells are genetically modified to contain DNA that encodes the alpha human estrogen receptor. When a foreign chemical activates the estrogen receptor protein, a gene is switched on that causes an enzyme to hydrolyze a colored substrate, producing a color change from yellow to red. All of the chemicals were shown to activate the protein individually at concentrations above their NOECs. The researchers used four models to predict the mixture effects— concentration addition, toxicity equivalency factors (TEF), effect summation, and independent action. When they compared the predicted effects with the effects they actually observed, they found that concentration addition and TEF are both suitable for mixtures of chemicals that bind to the estrogen receptor via a similar mechanism. Independent action and
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effect summation, however, led to an underestimation of the observed effects. “We’ve done previous work with smaller mixtures and found that a number of competing models, including independent action and concentration addition, worked well at predicting the observed combination effects,” Kortenkamp says. Those previous mixtures only contained up to four chemical agents. When more chemicals were added to the mixture, concentration addition turned out to be the better model. Concentration addition works on the premise that chemicals act in a similar fashion. It assumes that every chemical in a mixture contributes to the overall effect in proportion to its concentration, even at levels below those known to cause effects. When dose–response curves of each component in a mixture are parallel, the TEF approach also works well, says Kortenkamp. “If you use the wrong model, you can then wrongly conclude that your mixture acts synergistically. Had we used independent action as our reference model, we would have probably erroneously con-
Assessing the effects of chemicals on a chemicalby-chemical basis, as is done presently, is not very informative. John Sumpter, Brunel University
cluded that the mixture effect is synergistic because the observed effects were stronger than those predicted. The same applies to the effect summation model,” Kortenkamp says. “We think that hunting for synergism is a bit of a red herring. We see combination effects even when we combine the agents at concentrations that would not produce any measurable effects if we administered them individually. That is much more important than asking if there is synergism.” —BRITT E. ERICKSON
Governm
“Clear Skies” may be ahead for electric power plants
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President Bush has proposed an ambitious plan by asking Congress to replace key Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements with several “cap and trade” programs for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, and mercury emissions from electric power plants. Called the Clear Skies Initiative, Bush’s plan has earned a lot of attention and generated controversy since it was released on February 14. It has ignited discussions over the value of the New Source Review (NSR) program, which requires plant owners to seek a new permit if a modification might raise emission levels, and at the same time called into question the administration’s commitment to lawsuits EPA filed against power plant companies under NSR. Clear Skies builds on the successful acid rain control program, which allows a power plant company that hasn’t met its SO2 emission cap to “buy” emission allowances from a utility that has controlled emissions below its cap. Such trading programs would allow utilities to reduce emissions of the three pollutants any way they choose, through fuel switching, new technology, trading, or shutting down older, less efficient plants. More important, utility executives say, Clear Skies would replace the existing patchwork of
PresidentBush proposesto significantly revise portionsofthe Clean AirActfor coal-fired electric pow erplants.
regulations with a few standards, or caps. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman called the initiative “the most aggressive plan to reduce air pollution in this country in more than a decade.” The scheme would reduce emissions more than if the current clean air programs remained in place, Whitman adds. If enacted, proponents say Clear Skies would reduce SO2 emissions by 73%, from today’s 11 million tons to a national cap of 4.5 million tons in 2010, and 3 million tons in 2018. Nitrogen oxide emissions would fall by 67%, from 5 million tons to 2.1 million tons in 2008, and to 1.7 million tons in 2018. Mercury emissions, which are not currently controlled, would be cut 69%, from 48 tons to 26 tons in 2010, and 15 tons in 2018. EPA and U.S. Department of Energy staffs are examining the CAA to see which, if any, provisions related to power plants could be eliminated if the president signs a law with stringent caps on the three pollutants. EPA’s NOx State Implementation Plan (SIP) program, designed to control the interstate movement of NOx, the regional haze rule, and the upcoming mercury standards, are all being reviewed, agency staff say. If modeling shows that the president’s plan will result in more reductions sooner than the current act, then EPA would recommend that they be replaced. Whitman says her agency’s staff is busy developing provisions to replace the New Source Review program. Efforts to revise NSR began almost a decade ago, at the urging of both industry representatives and state regulators. Created as part of the 1977 CAA, NSR requires the owners of older facilities to apply for a permit when a modification increases a plant’s emissions. These facilities were exempted from the 1977 act’s requirements to install state-of-the-art technology, mainly because industry officials said they believed the plants would soon
that have global value. The report is available at www.wbgu.de/ wbgu_sn2002_engl.html.
Montana gives a nod to coal-bed methane One of the most active methane reserves in the world is one step closer toward expanded drilling under a draft environmental impact statement (EIS). Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality released the draft EIS on February 15, concluding that the extraction of methane and groundwater may shrink aquifers by as much as 25% without harming the environment. The state proposed that methane well operators submit a plan describing how extracted groundwater will be handled and prohibited unnecessary degradation of water quality. Once finalized this summer, the EIS will create a framework for well permits. A single coal-bed methane well pumps 20,000 gallons of groundwater per day to release pressure on the methane held within watery coal seams, according to John Wheaton, a research hydrologist at the University of Montana. The saline wastewater is usually drinkable, but it can harm streams and irrigated crops when it spills onto the landscape (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2000,34, 294A). The EIS suggests that state review of development plans will steer well operators away from discharging poor-quality water. Environmental groups say the EIS violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires that studies be completed before recommendations are made, but as many as nine different studies associated with the EIS are not yet finished. The state plans to finish several studies before the EIS is released. The EIS can be found at www.deq.state.mt.us/ CoalBedMethane/EIS.asp.
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EnvironmentalM News shut down. However, the same plants are still operating. At a congressional hearing in March, Whitman noted that if Congress approves Clear Skies, the NRS program would be “redundant” with respect to power plants. This effort to nix NSR is a policy turnaround for EPA, which under former President Bill Clinton, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, sued nine power companies for noncompliance with NSR. The policy change led to the resignation of the chief of EPA’s Office of Regulatory Enforcement, Eric Schaeffer, who in a Feb. 27 letter to Whitman said the NSR discussions interfered with his office’s ability to settle the lawsuits. “We obviously cannot settle cases with defendants who think we are still rewriting the law,” Schaeffer wrote. Democratic senators, especially, are unhappy with the agency’s idea to relax or replace NSR, and sent a letter in early March urging Whitman not to issue any modifications to the program without more public input. Most Republican senators, however, see changes to NSR as being positive. Before the president’s plan can be put in place, Congress must agree on legislation to revise the CAA in a targeted manner directed at power plants. Several bills have been introduced, but the legislation
getting the most attention, introduced by Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.), would require that power companies achieve reductions by 2007, a little more than 10 years earlier than Clear Skies. Jeffords’ bill also proposes to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, which is a step that the current administration has pledged against. It seems unlikely that Congress will pass legislation this year to change the CAA, congressional staffers and lobbyists say. Plans to simplify the act for utilities with a more integrated approach have been under way at EPA for a number of years, and many issues remain to be resolved. Bush’s proposal has ignited discussions over the potential success of trading programs for NOx and mercury and whether the long deadlines will help those states that are currently out of compliance. For example, officials of northeastern states oppose Bush’s initiative, arguing that it will allow large, older power plants in the Midwest to put off reductions for at least 10 years, or more if they are able to trade allowances. Pollution from Midwestern plants carries into the Northeast, preventing those states from meeting current CAA standards, officials there say. Electric utility executives welcomed the initiative because it,
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among other things, streamlines many CAA regulations. Trade associations including the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a group of shareholder-owned electric companies, have been lobbying Congress and EPA for several years to devise a program that does just that. Utilities must continually update their control technologies or fuel sources to comply with regularly updated standards, company officials say. Clear Skies “would harmonize the current piecemeal regulatory system,” says Thomas Kuhn, president of EEI. At the same time, Clear Skies would be very challenging to meet, because it would demand fundamental changes to the way electric companies do business, Kuhn says. On the other hand, environmentalists are alarmed by what the electric industry anticipates. Clear Skies “has numerous problems,” says Frank O’Donnell of the Clean Air Trust, a nonprofit environmental group, “not the least of which is that if you repealed current safeguards, there would be nothing to prevent continued—or even increased—pollution that threatens the health of local communities.” These groups maintain that Bush’s proposal would achieve far fewer reductions than the CAA if EPA vigorously enforced the existing law. —CATHERINE M. COONEY
Quadrillion Btu
History Projections In spite of the economic downturn in the aftermath of the 9-11 250 attack, worldwide energy consumption is still expected to expand by 60% over the next two decades, with much of the Industrialized 200 growth occurring in the developing world, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration 150 (EIA). The administration’s annual forecast of international enDeveloping 100 ergy demand predicts that carbon dioxide emissions will grow by 62% between 1999 and 2020, although the forecast also 50 says that carbon intensity—the amount of carbon dioxide Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union emitted per dollar of gross domestic product—will improve 0 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 over the period, particularly in the transitional economies of Source: Energy Information Administration. Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The latest forecast is particularly robust for natural gas, especially in the developing world. The forecast also revises upward projections for nuclear power use, although the number of nuclear plants is still expected to decline. To see a copy of the report, go to www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/02-03-1.gif.
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A study published in the April 15 Most studies linking THM levels issue of ES&T (pp. 1692–1698), proin drinking water to miscarriages, vides “strong evidence” that the tribirth defects, premature births, and halomethanes (THMs) in tap water low birth weight babies have foare actually taken up by the people cused on THM concentrations in who shower in it, says Philip Singer tap water, Singer says. “All of the of the University of North Carolina– [THM] health studies that are done Chapel Hill, the paper’s correspondwith respect to reproductive outing author. comes suffer immensely from poor That connection is exposure classificaimportant because tion. We’re providing THMs, which are tools for the epidemiformed as a byproduct ologists who try to do of disinfecting drinkthese types of studing water, have been ies,” he explains. linked to cancers and The study provides reproductive proban important link to lems including misresearchers using tap carriages, Singer says. water levels to estiW omen take up more THM s, The THM levels in mate exposure to w hich have been linked to canthe women’s blood cersand reproductive problems, THMs, says co-author quadrupled after they during a 10-minute show erthan Pauline Mendola, an bydrinking a literofw ater. showered, according epidemiologist with to the researchers. the U.S. EPA’s Human The levels measured in the new Studies division. The paper’s lead study corroborate previous studies author, Amy Miles of the Research showing that women take up more Triangle Institute, a nonprofit conTHMs during a 10-minute shower tract research organization, stresses than by drinking a liter of water, says that the study “does show that coauthor Michele Lynberg, an epiTHMs are getting into blood, but it demiologist with the Centers for doesn’t address the question of Disease Control and Prevention’s whether those levels of THM in the (CDC) National Center for Environblood are harmful.” The link bemental Health. However, the levels tween uptake and adverse health of THMs found in peoples’ blood are outcomes still remains to be deter1000 times lower than the levels in mined, Singer says. water, Singer stresses. By testing the blood of women The Chlorine Chemistry Council from two locations with distinctly says that chlorination of drinking different drinking water characterwater is “a critical public health meaistics—Cobb County, Ga.’s tap water sure that saves thousands of lives has relatively low bromide conceneach year.” And the ES&T article’s autrations and Corpus Christi, Tex., thors say that there is as yet no indihas relatively high bromide levels— cation that pregnant women should the researchers were able to show change their bathing behavior. that the distribution of the four Environmentalists aren’t so cerTHMs—chloroform, bromodichlorotain, however. “Pregnant women methane, dibromochloromethane, have often decided to switch to botand bromoform—in women’s blood tled water in the perhaps false belief mirrors the levels in the water in [that] that’s going to shield them which they shower. from significant exposure [to THM As a follow-up, the researchers and other drinking water disinfection at both the University of North byproducts]. The study shows that Carolina and the CDC plan to conyou can get pretty significant expoduct studies that more carefully sure just from taking a short shower,” control the water use activities that says Erik Olson, a senior attorney the subjects are exposed to, such as with the Natural Resources Defense the length and water temperature of Council, an environmental group. their showers. —KELLYN S. BETTS
Governm States lag on permits One-third of U.S. state agencies have fallen behind schedule in issuing the facility-wide pollution control permits required by Title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA), according to a draft U.S. EPA report released March 11 by a nonprofit advocacy group. Title V requires states to issue to major sources facility-wide permits that incorporate all of the air pollution emissions from that facility into one document. The permits illustrate the controls a facility should have in place to be in compliance with the CAA. States were required to have all of the permits in place by 1997. Only 63% of state environmental agencies have issued Title V permits, according to the draft. Some states have had more success than others: Those in the Rocky Mountain region have issued 91% of permits, whereas states in New England lag behind with a 41% compliance rate, according to the draft EPA figures. Because the permits involve both state and federal requirements and guidance from EPA has been unclear, many state regulators are unsure of how to complete a permit, according to state officials. A lot of states also lack the financial resources needed for the program. EPA officials have made Title V a top priority and set an October 2003 compliance deadline for the states. EPA’s Office of Inspector General generated the draft, but agency officials have not released it. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit advocacy group for government employees, made the document public now because efforts are under way in Congress and by
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EnvironmentalM News EU on track to ratify Kyoto Protocol The European Union (EU) and its individual member states are on track to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by June, just ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to the European Commission (EC). Even without U.S. participation, the EC claims it is possible that the international treaty, which requires industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels by 2012, will go into force by year’s end. Implementation of the treaty requires ratification by 55 countries and by the countries responsible for 55% of industrialized countries’ 1990 emissions. Denmark, France, Luxembourg, and Portugal, which together represent nearly one-third of the EU nations, are among the 47 countries that have ratified the treaty so far. With the EU as a whole accounting for 24.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the block is counting on ratification by key countries— Japan, with 8.5% of the world’s emissions; Russia, with 17.4%; and eight EU accession countries that account for 7.4% of emissions—to
put them over the 55% mark necessary for Kyoto to take effect, says Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, the EC’s spokesperson for environmental affairs. The EU has received indications that these countries are also preparing for ratification, she adds. Current U.S. greenhouse gas emissions represent roughly 36.1% of the world’s total. What effect EU ratification will have on U.S. industries doing business in Europe will depend on the measures that individual countries develop to meet their Kyoto targets, says Daniel Bodansky, who served as the U.S. Department of State’s climate change coordinator during the Clinton administration and authored a paper on the topic for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a public policy think tank. U.S. subsidiaries in Europe will be subject to any emission reduction targets these countries impose. Because the United States withdrew from the Kyoto negotiations last year, however, companies will not be able to take advantage of any lower-cost emission reduction opportunities in their U.S. operations to meet these requirements because Kyoto doesn’t recognize emission reductions achieved by
countries not party to the treaty, according to Bodansky. Likewise, the U.S. refusal to join Kyoto could limit opportunities for U.S. firms marketing technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Bodansky says. It could also lead to a public backlash against U.S. companies, potentially resulting in consumer boycotts and trade measures by Kyoto parties against nonparties, he adds. The Bush administration announced an alternative domestic climate change plan in February involving voluntary reduction targets, but many experts have dismissed the policy as offering no real emissions reductions. Instead of reducing absolute emissions as set by the binding targets called for under the Kyoto Protocol, the Bush strategy uses a growth-based approach that the administration says will cut greenhouse gas “intensity” by 18% over 10 years. Greenhouse gas intensity is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output. According to Bodansky, however, the strategy “doesn’t really change much because it doesn’t involve any mandatory programs.” And the EC goes so far as to state that Bush’s plan would increase emissions by 30−40% over 1990 levels by 2010. —KRIS CHRISTEN
Pioneering hydrologist wins Stockholm Water Prize Ignacio RodríguezIturbe is this year’s recipient of the $150,000 Stockholm Water Prize for his work on the geomorphology of river basins and the hydrological cycle of floods and droughts. He will receive the award during a ceremony on August 15, 2002, at the Stockholm City Hall. This year’s award committee cited Rodríguez-Iturbe’s research on the feedback mechanism for water transfer between the land and the atmosphere, which helps explain the locking of climatic conditions 184 A
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that occurs in persistent droughts or flooding. “Systems become locked in a wet or dry type of mode, but very seldom remain in the average,” Rodríguez-Iturbe says. These wet and dry cycles tend to be persistent in time. And thus, the longer the drought has been going on, the longer it will persist, he says. For the past six years, RodríguezIturbe’s work has centered on ecohydrology. “I want to find the hydrological dynamics responsible for many ecological patterns and processes.” Many ecosystems are water-controlled, and spatial and temporal changes are dependent on water dynamics. Fluctuations in rain and drought cycles are increased because of climatic alter-
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ations caused by human activities. “The whole system can produce an extremely unexpected type of climate behavior that is not only quantitatively different, but qualitatively different,” he says. Rodríguez-Iturbe, who is a native of Venezuela, holds joint positions in the civil and environmental engineering department at Princeton University and at the Princeton Environmental Institute, where he serves as acting director. When asked what he intends to do with the prize, he said, “I have five kids, seven grandchildren, and one coming. …There are still a couple of them in college, so I think [the prize] will find a lot of good uses.” —LEONA KANASKIE
FedEx Corporation has announced plans to begin testing hybrid electric vehicles this October, as part of the company’s effort to replace its existing ground delivery trucks with less polluting and more economical vehicles by 2004. The tests are the outgrowth of a joint project between FedEx Express, the world’s largest express delivery service, and the nonprofit Alliance for Environmental Innovation. Proposals from General Motors’ Allison Transmission Division, BAE SYSTEMS Controls, and Eaton Corporation because of their promise to increase fuel efficiency by 50% and reduce emissions by 90%. The quest for policies that meet economic and environmental goals is attainable, asserts Gretchen Daily of Stanford University. Daily outlines her vision of an ecosystem-based economy in The New Economy of Nature: The Quest To Make Conservation Profitable. Released in April, the book advocates a “new economy” that places economic value on natural systems and allows profits to be made through conservation. For example, land possesses economic value for the ecosystem services it provides, such as cleansing our air and water, offering flood and mudslide protection, and providing recreation. Daily also cites cases where corporations have discovered ways to meet environmental standards and the bottom line: To order the book, go to www. stanford.edu/group/CCB/Daily_ alternate.htm. Organic farming can increase food security, reduce poverty, and protect environmental resources in the developing world, according to a Greenpeace-commissioned report. The Real Green Revolution, Organic and Agroecological Farming in the South by Nicholas Parrott and Terry Marsden of Cardiff University discusses 10 case study sites in Africa,
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
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Asia, and Latin America where organic and agroecological farming systems are proving effective at increasing yields, eliminating or significantly reducing chemical inputs, and increasing farmer incomes. For more information, go to www.greenpeace.org/%7Egeneng/ reports/hunger/realgreenrevwhole. pdf. Industrial plant inspections can improve environmental performance in China, according to a World Bank report. A group of researchers affiliated with the World Bank analyzed plant-level data from Zhenjiang, a highly polluted city on the Yangtze River. They found that the Zhenjiang Environmental Protection Bureau’s inspections had a statistically significant impact in decreasing water and air pollution. The analysis also demonstrates that citizen complaints have a significant impact on pollution control. For a copy of Industrial Environmental Performance in China: The Impact of Inspections, go to www.worldbank.org/nipr/ china/China_inspection.htm. The Baltic Sea remains burdened by excess nutrients despite the surrounding nation’s efforts to reduce their discharges, according to a report by the Finnish Environment Institute. The attempts of the nine nations to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous by 50% between 1988 and 1995 have fallen short of their aims in most cases. The efforts to cut nonpoint pollution from agriculture proved most elusive,
with Finland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden realizing only small phosphorous reductions despite implementing water protection measures. Evaluation of the implementation of the 1988 Ministerial Declaration regarding nutrient load reductions in the Baltic Sea catchment area is available at www.vyh. fi/eng/orginfo/publica/electro/ fe524/fe524.htm. A lack of data is “insufficient justification” for fishery managers to postpone efforts to reduce the effects of trawling and dredging operations on seafloor habit, finds a report by the U.S. National Research Council. The report recommends ways to fill current scientific gaps, such as the geographic extent and frequency of such operations and knowledge of the physical and biological characteristics of the seafloor. It also discusses how comparative risk assessments can be used to bring stakeholders together to identify risks to seafloor habitats and prioritize management actions. Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitat can be downloaded at http://books.nap.edu/books/ 0309083400/html/index.html. Nearly 90% of Southeast Asia’s coral reefs are threatened by human activities, according to a recent report published by the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit environmental group, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme. The report blames overfishing, destructive fishing, sedimentation, and pollution runoff for land for damaging the area’s coral reefs. This degradation represents not only an ecological loss to species diversity, but also an economic loss. The report estimates the value of the reefs to the countries of Southeast Asia at $2.4 billion annually. Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia is available on the Web at
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