2008 Woodie Awards
Environmental Briefs
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Features
WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush called for a halt Wednesday in the growth of greenhouse gases by 2025, acknowledging the need to head off serious climate change.
The plan came under fire immediately from environmentalists and congressional Democrats who favor mandatory emission cuts, a position also held by all three presidential contenders.
Bush in a Rose Garden address for the first time set a specific target date for U.S. climate pollution reductions and said he was ready to commit to a binding international agreement on long-term reductions as long as other countries such as China do the same.
"There is a wrong way and a right way to approach reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Bush said, making clear that he opposes a Senate measure that would impose mandatory limits on greenhouse gases beginning in five years, followed by annual reductions.
"Bad legislation would impose tremendous costs on our economy and American families without accomplishing the important climate change goals we share," the president said.
He said he envisions a "comprehensive blend of market incentives and regulations" that would encourage clean and efficient energy technologies. And he singled out the electric utility industry, saying power plants need to stabilize carbon dioxide pollution within 15 years and reduce them after that.
While characterized by the White House as a fresh strategy to attack climate change, the president gave no new proposals for achieving these pollution reductions.
He cited, instead, measures already enacted such as a 40 percent increase in auto fuel economy, a requirement for a huge increase in use of ethanol and other biofuels, and some efficiency standards, as well as a push for developing clean energy technologies.
Environmentalists said the Energy Department's own forecasts have shown that even with those advances _ encompassed in energy legislation approved last year _ U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase by about 10 percent by 2025.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A chemical used to make baby bottles and other shatterproof plastic containers could be linked to a range of hormonal problems, a preliminary government report has found.
The report was greeted by some environmental groups as confirmation of their concerns, while chemical makers latched on to the report's preliminary nature and its authors' warning against drawing overly worrisome conclusions.
The federal National Toxicology Program said Tuesday that experiments on rats found precancerous tumors, urinary tract problems and early puberty when the animals were fed or injected with low doses of the plastics chemical bisphenol A.
While such animal studies only provide "limited evidence" of bisphenol's developmental risks, the group's draft report stresses the possible effects on humans "cannot be dismissed." The group is made up of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration and the Institutes of Health.
More than 90 percent of Americans are exposed to trace amounts of bisphenol, according to the CDC. The chemical leaches out of water bottles, the lining of cans and other items made with it.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents manufacturers, said the report "affirms that there are no serious or high level concerns for adverse effects of bisphenol on human reproduction and development." Among the manufacturers of bisphenol are Dow Chemical Co. and BASF Group.
The group said it supports additional research to determine whether adverse effects seen in animals "are of any significance to human health."
Environmentalists, meanwhile, hailed the report as the first step toward reassessing a chemical they believe could contribute to cancer and other health problems.
"We're hoping this decision will force FDA to recognize the toxicity of this chemical and make manufacturers set a safety standard that's protective of the most vulnerable populations," said Dr. Anila Jacob of the Environmental Working Group.
The FDA in November said there is "no reason at this time to ban or otherwise restrict its use."
The plan came under fire immediately from environmentalists and congressional Democrats who favor mandatory emission cuts, a position also held by all three presidential contenders.
Bush in a Rose Garden address for the first time set a specific target date for U.S. climate pollution reductions and said he was ready to commit to a binding international agreement on long-term reductions as long as other countries such as China do the same.
"There is a wrong way and a right way to approach reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Bush said, making clear that he opposes a Senate measure that would impose mandatory limits on greenhouse gases beginning in five years, followed by annual reductions.
"Bad legislation would impose tremendous costs on our economy and American families without accomplishing the important climate change goals we share," the president said.
He said he envisions a "comprehensive blend of market incentives and regulations" that would encourage clean and efficient energy technologies. And he singled out the electric utility industry, saying power plants need to stabilize carbon dioxide pollution within 15 years and reduce them after that.
While characterized by the White House as a fresh strategy to attack climate change, the president gave no new proposals for achieving these pollution reductions.
He cited, instead, measures already enacted such as a 40 percent increase in auto fuel economy, a requirement for a huge increase in use of ethanol and other biofuels, and some efficiency standards, as well as a push for developing clean energy technologies.
Environmentalists said the Energy Department's own forecasts have shown that even with those advances _ encompassed in energy legislation approved last year _ U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase by about 10 percent by 2025.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A chemical used to make baby bottles and other shatterproof plastic containers could be linked to a range of hormonal problems, a preliminary government report has found.
The report was greeted by some environmental groups as confirmation of their concerns, while chemical makers latched on to the report's preliminary nature and its authors' warning against drawing overly worrisome conclusions.
The federal National Toxicology Program said Tuesday that experiments on rats found precancerous tumors, urinary tract problems and early puberty when the animals were fed or injected with low doses of the plastics chemical bisphenol A.
While such animal studies only provide "limited evidence" of bisphenol's developmental risks, the group's draft report stresses the possible effects on humans "cannot be dismissed." The group is made up of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration and the Institutes of Health.
More than 90 percent of Americans are exposed to trace amounts of bisphenol, according to the CDC. The chemical leaches out of water bottles, the lining of cans and other items made with it.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents manufacturers, said the report "affirms that there are no serious or high level concerns for adverse effects of bisphenol on human reproduction and development." Among the manufacturers of bisphenol are Dow Chemical Co. and BASF Group.
The group said it supports additional research to determine whether adverse effects seen in animals "are of any significance to human health."
Environmentalists, meanwhile, hailed the report as the first step toward reassessing a chemical they believe could contribute to cancer and other health problems.
"We're hoping this decision will force FDA to recognize the toxicity of this chemical and make manufacturers set a safety standard that's protective of the most vulnerable populations," said Dr. Anila Jacob of the Environmental Working Group.
The FDA in November said there is "no reason at this time to ban or otherwise restrict its use."
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