Environmental stories seldom seem to focus on good news. For once, however, amid the doom and gloom of air quality stories, global warming and the like comes promise of clearer skies ahead. Recent research has developed a new fuel cell that can offer another alternative to the infernal internal combustion engine. Although progress is being made on all fronts; hybrid cars, electric cars, natural gas powered cars, ethanol powered cars, there is resistance to the new technologies. Such cars are do not have the range and performance of the traditional automobile. For these reasons (and probably because of the influence of oil companies and the big three auto makers!) these cars are not yet viewed as viable alternatives by the public at large

The new fuel cell technology developed by Arthur Little Inc., with funding from the Department of Transportation, uses oxygen from the air and hydrogen from gasoline to power an electric motor twice as efficient as todayºs cars that would also reduce pollution by 90% without sacrificing the performance qualities. Whatºs more, because they run on gasoline, the existing infrastructure of fuel distribution would not have to radically change. Critics point out that this is not the final solution (but it may be a component of it) and believe some of the projected benefits are too optimistic. Many believe the emphasis needs to not only be on fuel cells, but also what fuels them. As one analyst puts it, "Gasoline is not the fuel choice for fuel cells. It makes them both dirtier and more complex. In effect, you have a 21st-century technology running on 20th-century fuel." When the Department of Transportation also reports that the US car population has grown twice as fast as the driver population in the last 30 years (there are now 176 million cars on US roads), any developments in fuel efficiency are encouraging!

Visit the following sites for more information:

• Alternative Fuels Data Center
• US Department of Transportation
• Arthur D. Little

In Living in the Environment see:

• Chapter 15.3 - Ways to Improve Energy Efficiency. (Ecocars page 404)
• Chapter 17 - Air and Air Pollution

With construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river in China well underway, world attention has focused on criticism of the project. As a prestigious symbol of the emergence (not submergence!) of modern China, the government believes the dam cannot fail” When completed in 2009, it will provide over 18,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity, alleviate the catastrophic flooding that has killed thousands over the centuries a well as provide water for irrigation, industrial and domestic use. It seems like a win-win situation. But you can always rely on environmentalists to dredge up some mud to sling. Looking beyond the projected price tag of $29 billion, the displacement of 1.2 million people and claims that the dams will not prevent flooding, there is a rising tide of environmental issues to consider. The dam will raise water level by 577 feet creating a lake 412 miles long flooding thousands of square miles. Simply put, habitats and ecosystems will be annihilated and some of China' s most spectacular scenery along with them. Some also fear the reservoir will become seriously polluted. It also goes without saying that the resettlement of 1.2 million people will have environmental consequences. That, briefly, is the upstream story. On the downstream side, valuable fisheries and other habitats run the risk the drying and silting up in addition to farmland not being nourished by the annual flooding of the Yangtze. Fears and criticism have been sufficient to dissuade the US Export-Import Bank from providing any financing for the project, but that is not enough to halt the dams construction. No doubt, environmental damage will occur but perhaps it is necessary to consider the alternatives. No objections can dam the current progress of China. It will find energy elsewhere, so perhaps it is preferable that it be clean energy; the electricity generated by the dam will be the equivalent of 18 medium sized nuclear power stations”

Visit the following sites for more information:

• Dam Impact
• International Rivers Network - Three Gorges Campaign

Gradually a new form of rainforest conservation is spreading in Brazil. Since the 1992 Rio environmental summit, native forest dwellers have seized the opportunity to protect their homes from clearance by cattle ranchers and mineral prospectors to the point where the rate of loss has slowed. Beyond distant big government, it is being recognized that the key to forest protection is at the local level where those that have the most to lose should have the most control over the forest. The Waiapi people of northern Brazil adopted a sophisticated plan that won them the right to create an Indian reserve. They literally defined the reserve by creating a forty foot wide buffer zone around their land to ensure no "accidental" intrusion. The Brazilian Government' s environmental agency is providing assistance with satellite monitoring of the reservation' s boundary. It is also beginning to rethink its overall approach to forest protection and management. To date, 11 percent of the Brazilian Amazon has been demarcated as Indian land. With an estimated 206 indigenous groups in Brazil, environmental activists now see that the best hope for rainforest survival lies with such demarcation plans.

Challenges to the reserves are being made in court by landowners. loggers and regional governments. However, ironically the biggest threat to the demarcation may be the forest itself. It quickly reclaims the buffer zones, making enforcement more difficult at the same time that the funds to provide machetes and chain saws to maintain the zones are lacking.

Visit the following sites for more information:

• Brailian Tropical Databases
• Conservation International
• Rainforest Action Network
• Ozone Depletion

In Living in the Environment see:

• Chapter 13 - Defoestation and the Loss of Biodiversity

National Parks are their own worst enemies. Their natural beauty makes them powerful magnets for visitors from near and far. In turn, they bring with them the indelible human footprint; unsightly development, pollution, traffic congestion, erosion, trash, habitat destruction. Ultimately the very beauty people seek is diminished by their presence. So much so that there is debate on limiting park visitors at many of the nation' s national parks. Yosemite National Park in California is suffering this fate, each year as many as 4 million flock to view its wonders. Last winter' s floods caused extensive damage to the park' s infrastructure, this apparent natural disaster actually proves clouds do have silver linings. Park officials concerned about overuse and traffic jams (yes, Yosemite has a smog problem at peak periods) were able to reassess strategies and the need to redevelop roads, campsites, etc. gave them the opportunity to consider methods of reducing traffic and visitor levels. Most recently a plan to reduce private cars and develop a regional mass transit system for visitors has been proposed, as one park planner put it, "the experience should be granite, not gridlock." Officials actually believe their plan will lead to the park accommodating even more visitors but with less stress placed on the park and its ecosystems. It involves increased ability to reach the park by public transit, improved internal park shuttles, more limited private car access and a reservation system for visitors. Authorities hope their Valley Implementation Plan can be in place by 2001. Local counties and merchants take a less optimistic view, believing the plan will reduce visitors and thus their revenues. As is frequently the case with environmental issues, short term economic needs are pitched against the long term objectives of conservation. However, if some form of action is not taken visitors will decline as the park' s appeal is eroded, not by flooding, but by overcrowding.

Visit the following sites for more information:

• John Muir Exhibit
• Yosemite Homepage

In Living in the Environment see:

• Chapter 24.6 - Managing and Sustaining National Parks

Although only causing relatively minor environmental damage, three small "oil" spills occurring recently along the California coast are all noteworthy. For different reasons, they highlight different aspects of the threats oil spills pose to the environment.

A spill of some 5,000 gallons in Humboldt Bay posed particular problems that concentrated its impact wildlife. Occurring in a very sheltered, shallow bay the spill could be contained relatively easily, but the natural action of the ocean could not be as effective at breaking up the slick as it would be in more open seas.

Further south in Monterey Bay, birds were found washing up on beaches dead or injured. This time suffering the ill effects of a different type of oil - vegetable cooking oil! Odd as this may seem, this incident draws attention to the fact that what most people would perceive as an innocuous substance can be harmful in a different environment. Oil is oil, birds and marine mammals fall victim to oil in two ways. Firstly, it damages their feathers or fur so that their ability to maintain body temperature is severely limited. Secondly, ingestion of the oil does not do a body good! Although the source has yet to be determined, enough oil was dumped to create a slick three miles long. Reprehensible and illegal as the dumping was, it is conceivable that the culprits had no idea of the consequences of their actions. Cooking oil does not provide the photo-opportunity that a black, gooey mass of crude oil can.

North of San Francisco off Point Reyes, another wave of dead and injured birds are also washing up on beaches along with numerous, but isolated, oil deposits. As yet, coastguards can find no obvious source of the pollution but it is being speculated that the culprit is a tanker, the Puerto Rican, that broke up in 1984 with recent storms disturbing the wreckage, triggering the release of oil from the sunken hull. Wildlife may have to endure the effects of a slow ongoing leak for who knows how long. Who knows just how many other wrecks pose threats around the globe?

The harmful extent of these incidents seems limited (by Exxon Valdez standards), but the cumulative effect of minor oil spills and deliberate discharges ultimately pose a greater threat to wildlife and their habitats. Identifying the offenders in big spills is easy, but spotting the culprits, billing them as well as enforcing laws, is much harder with smaller scale events.

Visit the following sites for more information:

• Ocean Planet
• EPA - Repsondng to Oil Spills
• Oil Spill Public Information Center

In Living in the Environment see:

• Chapter 19.3 - Ocean Pollution

This December voulunteers organized by the Audubon Society will take flight to conduct the annual Great American Bird Count across the nation. Although the data collected allows for population estimates to be made, the primary focus of volunteer ornithologist' s binoculars is to identify the amount of bird species in their area. As records accumulate each year trends can be identified as to the status of any particular species. Unfortunately, the trends take the form of decline as development spreads in one form or the other. The usefulness of the bird count has led to the Marine Conservation Network, modeling a fish count on the same principles along California' s shores since 1992. This past summer the count was expanded in scope to include the Florida Keys, the Texas and Georgia coasts and more extensive reaches of California' s coast. Over 2000 divers organized by the Marine Conservation Network, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration' s Marine Sanctuary Program, the Reef Environmental Education Foundation and the American Oceans Campaign took the plunge. The counting method may not be precise but the data collected will have its uses, especially as it accumulates over the years. This year' s results are expected to be published on the internet. The true significance of the count probably lies in deeper waters. As the count of divers increases each year, the general level of public awareness of what is going on in the oceans and the threats to marine life will grow. This increased awareness can only benefit conservation efforts in the long run.

Visit the following sites for more information:

• National Audubon Society
• NOAA's Great American Fish Count
• Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
• RAIN Global Environment Project

In Living in the Environment see:

• Chapter 25 - Sustaining Wild Species