In an attempt to green up the planet, and its image, General Motors will confirm today plans to make half of its 181 plants worldwide "landfill-free" by the end of 2010. That means nothing from their manufacturing processes would end up in a landfill. "Green has become a hot commodity," says Gary Liss, a zero-waste consultant. "It's something customers are asking about. Employees want to work for companies that are green, and politicians are struggling to be greener than the next politician. It's valued because everyone got the message that we have a global crisis with climate change." Although much of the global warming debate has focused on carbon dioxide emissions, methane gas emitted from landfills actually is about 21 times more potent in causing climate change, Liss says.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Smog, soot and other particles like the kind often seen hanging over Beijing add to global warming and may raise summer temperatures in the American heartland by three degrees in about 50 years, says a new federal science report released Thursday. The new report, written by scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, makes a case for tackling the short-term pollutants, while acknowledging that carbon dioxide is still the chief cause of warming.

Federal researchers are warning that warming temperatures could soon cause California's giant sequoia trees to die off more quickly unless forest managers plan with an eye toward climate change and the impact of a longer, harsher wildfire season.Hot, dry weather over the last two decades already has contributed to the deaths of an unusual number of old-growth pine and fir trees growing in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

As drought and hunger bite harder in their rural homes due to climate change and increased competition for resources, hundreds of Maasai men are heading to towns and cities. "It's the beginning of an end of Maasai culture," said tour guide Isac Oramat in Nairobi.

In southern New England, a mild winter, a warm spring and a lush summer have conspired to produce a bumper crop of Eastern cottontails.

CONSERVATION

The designation of a Japanese silver mine as a World Heritage site has sparked debate over the value of the Unesco label and whether it can do more harm than good in preservation.

Death of a Boondoggle  (NY Times)
Stephen Johnson, the E.P.A. administrator, deserves credit for killing a plan to build a pumping station in the Mississippi Delta.

While most of the platform's directives are, as usual, a pu-pu platter of dripping red meat served up for the party's conservative base, there are signs that the threat of manmade climate change is starting to resonate even in the red states.

ANIMAL RIGHTS

An animal rights organization says a secretly recorded video in the slaughterhouse of a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa showed inhumane practices in the killing of cattle.

An elephant that became addicted to heroin at the hands of illegal traders will return home after three years of rehabilitation, the Chinese state media said. They fed him bananas laced with heroin as bait and to pacify him.

WATER SUPPLY

The state's reserves are low after two dry years. The water bank program will shift resources from the Sacramento Valley to needy Southern California agencies.

NATURAL DISASTER

Virginia declares a state of emergency; Maryland makes a "pre-disaster" declaration.

DISASTER RELIEF

The State Department said that it had offered humanitarian aid to Cuban victims of Hurricane Gustav provided it does not go through the government of President Raúl Castro.

Floodwaters frustrated efforts by Argentine peacekeepers to distribute aid Thursday at orphanages marooned by Tropical Storm Hanna, confining them to their base as desperate people begged for food and water outside.

SUSTAINABILITY

Daniel Congiolosi is sure it won't be long before energy is so expensive he won't be able to pay the bills. When that happens, he will be ready. This spring, he tripled the size of his garden. He's rushing to install a hand pump on the well, build a concrete-lined root cellar and get an ice house ready before next summer.

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Honda

OIL DRILLING

It may have been in vogue in Alaska forever, but drilling for oil has never been so hot with Republicans as it was on the floor during the final night of the Republican National Convention.Stickers advocating ''Drill Alaska. Drill Now. Pay Less'' were everywhere, and not just on the lapels of delegates from traditional oil states like Texas and Alabama.

Colorado, Wyoming officials are wary of experimental drilling methods.

POLLUTION

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set stricter antipollution rules for engines that run pleasure boats, lawn mowers and weed trimmers.

There's more to artificial turf than meets the eye, according to California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. The A.G. has sued several manufacturers of the ersatz grass, saying they failed to disclose lead hazards.

The board of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority voted yesterday to curtail a multimillion-dollar program to replace all of the water system's lead service pipes, saying that the project was expensive and that other measures had reduced lead in the city's water.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

In criticism aimed primarily at the United States, Japan and the European Union, a U.N. report said Thursday that rich nations haven't delivered on promises to help the world's poorest nations and must increase aid by $18 billion a year.Ad Melkert, associate administrator of the U.N. Development Program, said he hopes the Sept. 25 meeting will remind countries to keep their commitments and promote the transfer of technology -- another millennium goal -- to address climate change.

AND FURTHERMORE...

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This news summary has been prepared for you by:

 
Carole Ashkinaze
Editor / Writer / Communications Consultant
Washington,
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