Grey Wolf De-Listing Reconsidered

Earlier this spring, the grey wolf was taken off the endangered species list. While many ranchers, hunters and tribes in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana favored the de-listing, others worried about the gratuitous killing of wolves once they lost their protection.

Earthjustice, an environmental group, filed a lawsuit to encourage the US Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the de-listing. This summer, Federal District Judge Donald Malloy supported a temporary order reinstating the protection of the wolf while the lawsuit wends its way through the courts.

This week, the Fish and Wildlife Service asked the Judge to vacate the de-listing so that the federal agency could reconsider the decision. For the first time since the wolves were reintroduced into the wild, the agency found that the population dropped from an estimated 1,545 a year ago to 1,455 this year. They do not know what explained the drop in population. Until they better understand the population dynamics, they want to reconsider the decision and plan to de-list.

Cavendish Bananas and Resiliency

By focusing on a single target of creating the perfect banana, have we lost the resiliency of the species?

Cavendish bananas are the most common banana found in the US, Canada and Western Europe markets. The Cavendish replaced the Gros Michel banana beginning in the 1950s, when it became susceptible to Panama disease-- a fungus that attacks the roots of the banana tree. By 1960 the Gros Michel was pretty much extinct.

The Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Investigation is the chief banana breeder and the Cavendish is the go to banana for uniformity in taste, texture and size.

In 2008, reports from Sumatra and Malaysia suggested that Cavendish bananas may also be susceptible to Panama disease. A more virulent strain of the disease seemingly has now evolved. All of the Cavendish plants are clones and therefore genetically identical and cannot evolve disease resistance. There are currently no effective pesticides against Panama disease. See this article in Popular Science for additional information.

There are two proposed paths to solve the potential problem. On one side are scientists who are trying to use traditional breeding techniques to create a replacement plant that looks and tastes just like the Cavendish. On the other side are bioengineers who are manipulating the plant's chromosomes to create a disease resistant Cavendish.

Fire Transfers Covered by Congress

It looks like the House may pass a continuing resolution today that would cover the recent monies that were transferred away from the Forest Service and Department of Interior to pay for fire suppression. The current proposal is to cover $775 million for the Forest Service and $135 million for the Department of Interior-- primarily the Bureau of Land Management.

For the Forest Service, the breakdown of the $775 million would entail:

$500 m for fire suppression
$175 m to hazardous fuel reduction
$75 for rehabilitation and restoration
$25 m for preparedness for retention activities in areas of high risk for catastrophic fire

This year, the USFS spent $1.6 billion fighting fire. Fire fighting now accounts for about 50% of the agency's budget.

Polar Bear Migration

Check out this amazing simulation of polar bear migrations in Alaska by the US Geological Service. It illustrates where polar bears spend most of their lives-- on the ice pack. Concerns about climate change on the ice pack led to the polar bear being placed on the Endangered Species List earlier this year.

Clean Coal Technology

Germany debuted this week a new coal burning power plant that sequesters carbon dioxide. See the full story here from ABC News.

The plant was build by a Swedish power company. It is a 30 megawatt plant that burns lignite. The aim is for "almost zero" pollution. The company plans to scale up to a 300-500 MW plant and then a 1,000 MW plant by 2020.

Energy Legislation Uncertain

Lawmakers are scheduled to leave shortly to campaign for the upcoming elections, but before they do that a lot of work needs to be done. Top of the agenda, before the Wall Street Crisis hit, was energy policy-- especially the status of offshore oil and gas drilling.

The agenda is getting full and time is getting short. Congress must pass budget legislation to continued federal spending beyond the September 30 end of the fiscal year. A continuing resolution is most likely. Congress must also address the $700 billion proposed bailout for Wall Street and the current liquidity crisis. Will there be time left to deal with energy?

Probably not. The Senate had been working with the "Gang of 20" on comprehensive energy legislation. But that now looks dead until after the elections. Coastal drilling bans are often renewed annually in federal spending bills. A full renewal of the ban is unlikely given current economic pressures. Democrats have conceded that more drilling is probably necessary. Most likely the status of oil and gas drilling will be addressed in the next Congress.

That means the new president will influence the potential direction of the policy. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has made support for new offshore drilling a major campaign theme. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has criticized the idea but indicated he is open to some expansion as part of a larger energy compromise.

More on Bisphenol A...

The National Toxicology Program Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction conducted an evaluation of BSA and just released this report.

The NTP concluded that it has "some concern" for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to BPA.

It has "minimal concerns" for effects on the mammary glad adn and earlier age for puberty for females, in fetuses, infants and chaldresn at current human exposures.

There are "negligible concerns" that exposure of pregnant women will result in fetal or neonatal mortality, birth defects or reduced birth weight.

To avoid exposure to BPA, NTP suggests the following:

*Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. BPA is strong and durable, but over time it may break down from repeated use at high temperatures.
* Avoid plastic containers with the #7 on the bottom
http://www.recyclenow.org/r_plastics.html
*Don’t wash polycarbonate plastic containers in the dishwasher with harsh detergents.
* Reduce your use of canned foods. Eat fresh or frozen foods.
*When possible, opt for glass, porcelain or stainless steel containers,
particularly for hot food or liquids.
*Use infant formula bottles that are BPA free and look for toys

Bisphenol A Science Uncertainty

The Raleigh News and Observer ran a story today about the findings from a recent Food and Drug Administration report that suggests bisphenol A (BPA) is less harmful than previously expected. Meanwhile WRAL, a Raleigh news station, ran a story on the dangers of bisphenol A.

BPA is used in hardened plastics and in a wide range of consumer goods, including the lining of metal cans, eyeglass lenses and compact discs. Many scientists believe it can act like the hormone estrogen, and animal studies have linked it with breast, prostate and reproductive system problems and some cancers.

To make things confusing, the FDA did not recommend any change in habits but they did suggest tips on how people could avoid exposure. For instance people should avoid plastic containers imprinted with the recycling number '7,' as many of those contain BPA. People should also avoid warming food in such containers, as heat helps to release the chemical.

Several states are considering restricting BPA use, some manufacturers have begun promoting BPA-free baby bottles, and some stores are phasing out baby products containing the chemical. The European Union has said BPA-containing products are safe, but Canada's government has proposed banning the sale of baby bottles with BPA as a precaution.

Energy Compromise?

Business Week is reporting this week that a compromise bill on energy policy might be making its way through the Senate. The "Gang of 10"-- 5 Republican and 5 Democratic Senators-- are working on a comprehensive energy proposal.

Republicans and Democrats would trade off pet projects/issues such as Outer Continental Shelf drilling, nuclear power, wind, solar and other renewables and energy efficiency measures to create a compromise solution to the nation's energy ills.

Campaign politics could get in the way though. The current compromise calls on Republicans to give up drilling in ANWR in exchange for drilling in other places. Current polls suggest that drilling is a big issue among Republicans, so McCain/Palin may be reluctant to give up on ANWR. If the current package continues to make progress in the SEnate, both Presidential candidates will have to comment on it.

Sea turtle surge

The News and Observer reported last week that the number of sea turtles hatching on Cape Hatteras National Seashore is way up this year.

This is good news for the loggerheads and a rare green turtle that laid eggs this year, but not such good news for the fishers and other recreationists that enjoy Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

A legal agreement between the National Park Service, environmental groups and local economic interests requires that portions of the National Seashore be placed off limits during bird and turtle nesting season. Some fishers feel unfairly targeted by the full beach ban. They state that their driving at night behind the nests will not threaten the hatchlings and that lights by houses on the beach pose a greater threat to the hatchlings.

This year 821 loggerhead nests were laid in comparison to 715 nests, which are average. It is not known if the the uptick can be attributed to the beach closure.

Roadless Rules Progress in Idaho

There is an interesting story here in the Idaho Stateman about how the state has dealt with the Roadless Rule problem. The Idaho Conservation League and the Intermountain Forest Association both have supported protecting 8.9 million acres of national forest.

The Wilderness Society was not supportive of the plan, stating that it would take 400,000 acres out of roadless area protection under the preivous Clinton/Gore roadless rule. The Clinton/Gore rule was overturned by the Bush Administration leaving many roadless areas in limbo.

The proposed rule would create 250 roadless areas under five management themes that would guide road contruction, timber cutting and mineral development. It would supercede the 2001 rule that has resulted in 10 lawsuits. While the new rule does open 405,000 acres of roadless areas, it also narrow restrictions on logging and road building to 442,000 acres of the total 8.9 million acres of roadless lands.

The good faith effort on roadless areas has paved the way to take on another seemingly intractable problem-- salmon.