Alternative energy technologies are starting to look a little more mainstream, and when wind, solar, bioenergy and other sources gain market share, politicians and government agencies are going to have some difficult choices to make.  It’s one thing to talk about new energy sources, but what about when they actually start to compete with oil and gas?  The U.S. has devoted decades and countless billions to developing a fossil fuel infrastructure.  But as Peter Slevin points out in the Washington Post, sparks fly when traditional fuels meet real competition from alternatives — especially when "old-style" power companies start to see the benefits of solar and wind and even begin to question the subsidies and set-asides they themselves have enjoyed. (more…)

In a burst of activity atypical for the Department of Labor, top officials are rushing to change rules about permissible exposure to toxins in the workplace, according to a report by Carol Leonnig in the Washington Post.  The Post stresses that "political appointees" at Labor are making the changes, locking out the usual research and comment from OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).  From a draft of the new rules Leonnig notes that they would restrict the government’s ability to regulate workers’ exposure to chemicals, and "require the agency to take an extra step before setting new limits on chemicals."  One critic called it "a guarantee to keep any more worker safety regulation from ever coming out of OSHA."  Read Leonnig here.  -NH

Weeds are growing faster and stronger due to increased CO2 levels and global temperatures.  You might think this is the one global warming issue that doesn’t affect you beyond your front lawn, but millions of acres of grassland in North America are losing the native plants that livestock prefer, and kudzu is moving up from Florida and may be in Michigan before too long.  Tom Christopher writes in the New York Times Magazine about how much better life will be for weeds with global warming — and how much worse for us.  But there are solutions if citizens and governments are ready to commit to projects like "replanting the prairie . . . [which] would require as much effort as the 19th-century pioneers gave to taming the prairie habitat."  Hardy weed species may lead to food grains that can survive higher temperatures.  And kudzu roots are "50 percent starch by weight" making them potentially "ideal for ethanol production."  So if you want a chicken in every pot, get ready for a weed whacker in every garage. -NH

Felicity Barringer of the New York Times zeroes in on a Brookings Institution study on cities and towns around the U.S. with the smallest per capita carbon footprints, a measure that could point to how different American regions will fare economically, environmentally, and even politically in the decades to come.  California, Oregon and Washington state joined a handful of cities like New York, Boston, Rochester and even Poughkeepsie, NY as population centers whose policies and populations were slowing the growth of global warming.  Population density itself plays a role, given that the study assesses per capita emissions.  But the study noted that Los Angeles, for example, located in a state that has promoted energy efficiency, has low overall carbon emissions in spite of massive automobile use.  It also highlights the harsh reality of state-regulated prices for fuel; Barringer notes that "rate-setting by state regulators has traditionally been geared to make more money for a utility if it sells more electricity.  While rates may remain relatively low, pleasing customers, utilities have little incentive to encourage energy conservation."  The Brookings report, available here, includes policy recommendations covering federal mandates, penalty pricing for high carbon emissions, and increased funding for research as well as mass transit.

Gregg Easterbrook presents a classic example of preventive journalism in The Atlantic.  It turns out that the threat from comets and asteroids that could strike the earth is far greater than is generally reported.  Large rocks from space have been responsible for massive climate disruption and species extinction in the past, and scientists have expanded estimates of the number of space rocks that could seriously threaten life on earth from 240 to 740 in just the last decade.

As far as understanding government’s response, Easterbrook’s reporting shows that the science sometimes known as struthiology (the study of ostriches) may be more relevant than astrophysics.  NASA is avoiding the save-the-world mission of identifying potential threats from comets and asteroids in favor of sending more astronauts to the moon. (more…)

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday announced the beginning of a new program called the Sentinel Initiative that will begin monitoring how medicines already in the marketplace are affecting people’s health.  As Gardiner Harris of the New York Times reports, the effort was accelerated after  widely-prescribed drugs like Vioxx were found to cause significant health problems.  Though encouraged, most experts believe it will be years before FDA can actually monitor side effects and potentially dangerous medicines effectively.  The agency will begin by testing drugs with recognized side effects, and then expand to watching new medicines.  Harris quotes a Harvard Medical School professor as saying that if the Sentinel Initiative succeeds, "the use of drugs and vaccines will be safer and better."  Read Harris here.  EH

When gas prices were hurtling upwards, most journalists wrote about (brace yourself) the fact that gas prices were high.  A few stretched themselves enough to address consumer pain and to ask vaguely whether Americans would give up "their love of SUVs" or start using mass transit.  Then, within the space of a week or so we learn that Americans react to economic laws just like everybody else.  Dee Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher of the Associated Press tell us about the spike in demand for small, fuel-efficient cars, leaving manufacturers low on inventory.  Clifford Krause of the New York Times reports on the growth of mass transit use, noting that rising fuel costs are taxing mass transit systems — not to mention the fact that most were unprepared for the rise in ridership.  These articles are better late than never, but for the most part, the trend toward smaller cars, mass transit, and subsequent carbon reductions are an untouched story.  Who is going to look ahead?

As we mourn the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, the question begs:  How could we have averted this tragic folly?  As a journalist, I have naturally thought about what our profession could have done.  It seems clear to me that an enterprising reporter could have discovered  that the (alleged) evidence of WMD was manufactured, out of date, or relied on extremely dubious sources like the aptly named "Curveball."

I ask myself why we seem to find out what’s wrong only when a disaster has happened.  After the coal mine explodes, we learn that proper safety procedures weren’t being followed.  And only after a Hurricane Katrina do we learn how unprepared we were for a natural disaster.  To encourage the media to find out in time instead of too late, Understanding Government is offering a $50,000 award for preventive journalism, for the best article that identifies inept leaders, misguided policies, and bureaucratic bungling in time to prevent another disaster.

– Charles Peters

Nominations are accepted through June 30, 2008.  For more information, please click here.

Michael Grunwald of TIME magazine brings us the truth about biofuels in a convenient, if fairly horrifying, package.  After extensive travel in Brazil and a clear-eyed look at the markets for fuel and food grains, Grunwald makes it clear that we are in the midst of a global screwup that could finally prove Malthus right.  (more…)

Understanding Government is accepting nominations and submissions for one of the largest prizes in journalism — the $50,000 Prize for Preventive Journalism.  The prize will go to the best piece of preventive journalism published between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.  We are looking for investigative reporting (local, regional, or national) that captures a problem before it becomes a major public crisis, and looking to debacles like the post-Katrina recovery, the Iraqi reconstruction effort, and the subprime mortgage mess as crises that, if reported on early and aggressively through preventive journalism, might have been stopped or stemmed.  Items must be printed in a newspaper or periodical (web-only submissions are not eligible), should cover proposed solutions, and must discuss how government is or is not addressing the problem under investigation.  The prize will be awarded in September 2008.  For more information on the prize, please click here.