correlates well with levels of phosphorous, a nutrient that causes eutrophication and may threaten species in decline, such as the world’s largest freshwater salmon, the Hucho taimen or “tiger of the river”. “It’s really crazy to go in and rip up a stream. I think we as a society are beyond that now,” says Glenn C. Miller, director of the graduate program in environmental sciences and health at the University of Nevada. Miller is an expert on mines in the western United States and spent last summer examining mining activity on the Russian side of the Selenga watershed. “It’s not even the Mongolians that that are doing it,” he adds. “It’s these outside organizations that have the technology.” With a GDP of only $5 billion (slightly greater than the budget of Orlando, Fla.), the Mongolian government has made the country a very attractive place for international mining conglomerates, which partner with local Mongolian companies. The corporations are taxed a percentage of their earnings, and because larger companies are taxed at higher rates, large conglomerates typically break up into smaller subsidiaries to maximize profits. Indus-
try sources state that mining is now Mongolia’s largest industry, accounting for more than 55% of its industrial output and 40% of its export earnings. “It’s kinda’ laughable,” Stubblefield says. “We toured one of the dredges, and a worker pointed to a tiny postage stamp for remediation. It was literally 30 square meters, and surrounding it were kilometers of gravel piles.” Although Mongolia does not allow companies to employ mercury for gold extraction, its own government officials admit that some companies use mercury illegally. And scientists attribute mercury use to locals nicknamed “ninja miners”, villagers who sneak into the gravel ponds at night and pan for gold. Scientists worry about the longterm environmental problems Mongolia will experience when mining ceases. They cite California as an example: More than 100 years after the California gold rush, the state still spends millions of dollars annually to clean up mines. “Mongolia is so hungry to get any kind of industry in to help pay the bills,” says Miller. “And they’re not too selective about the people who go in.” —PAUL D. THACKER
“Dead zones” on the rise The number of oxygen-starved “dead zones” in coastal waters has doubled over the past decade to nearly 150 worldwide and is projected to become the greatest threat to marine ecosystems, according to a new report from the UN Environment Program (UNEP). The culprit is the 160 million tons of nitrogen dumped into the environment every year from fertilizers, sewage, and fossil-fuel burning, which are driving the growth of massive algal blooms that die and then consume oxygen. The nitrogen inputs must be scaled back through efficient fer-
tilizer use, appropriate sanitation technologies, and scrubbing nitrogen from exhaust gases, UNEP says. The report, released on March 31 as the first annual Global Environment Outlook Year Book 2003, highlights the fertilization of the planet as a spreading threat due to a rapidly growing and industrializing human population, says Nick Nuttall, a spokesperson for UNEP. “Oxygen-starved coastal waters will worsen as developing countries expand the use of industrial fertilizers and increasing human numbers put cities on a massive growth
News Briefs Ecologists take Stockholm Prize Two ecologists will share the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize for their pioneering work in the modeling and understanding of how lakes and wetlands function. The Stockholm International Water Institute, a policy think tank dedicated to addressing the world’s water crisis, announced its decision in March. Sven Erik Jørgensen, 69, professor of environmental chemistry at the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen, and William Mitch, 56, professor of natural resources and environmental science and director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park at the Ohio State University in Columbus, will share the $150,000 award for contributing substantial work to understanding welands. Since 1990, the prize has been awarded for outstanding achievements in water science, management, or awareness. For more information, go to www.siwi.org.
Nuclear power to fill gap Canada’s Ontario province should invest in nuclear power, according to a new report from the Ontario Ministry of Energy. To meet an international commitment to cut ozone levels by 2007, Ontario plans to close its five coal-fired plants, which currently provide more than 20% of the province’s electricity supply. The report recommends a plan for Ontario Power Generation, Ontario’s publicly owned electricity utility. The first step of the $600 million plan is to restart one of three mothballed reactors at the Pickering A Power Station, which could generate 3.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year for 12 years. For more information on Transforming Ontario’s Power Generation Company, visit www.opgreview.org/eng.
JUNE 1, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ■ 193A
