Updates

NEVERGLADES?  The 1994 Everglades Forever Act, a cleanup agreement passed by the state legislature, promised to revitalize the nation’s most famous wetlands by 2006. That promise was broken in May when Governor Jeb Bush signed a bill delaying the deadline by ten years and relaxing water-quality standards. The bill was backed by the sugar industry, whose plantation operations contribute much of the phosphorus-laden runoff that threatens the Everglades’ health. (See "Lay of the Land," January/February.)

MAMMOTH VICTORY   Proponents of a commercial airport in Mammoth Lakes, California, were sent back to the drawing board in April. In response to lawsuits by environmental groups and the state attorney general, a judge ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration had illegally approved a proposal to expand the ski town’s airstrip. The FAA must now prepare a full environmental impact statement before any construction can begin. (See "The Sierra Club Bulletin," November/December 2002.)

INVESTOR INSURRECTION
Utility shareholders caused a ruckus this spring, demanding reports on greenhouse-gas pollution and commitments to cleaner technology. One-quarter of investors voted in support of these ideas at American Electric Power, TXU Corporation, and Southern Company, three of the five U.S. utilities that emit the most carbon dioxide. A similar resolution at Ford Motor Company was withdrawn after the automaker agreed to address its vehicles’ emissions. (See "Profile," May/June.)

HIGH-PROFILE HOMES
Singer Barbra Streisand is suing activist photographer Ken Adelman for including images of her Malibu mansion in his aerial survey of the California shoreline at www.californiacoastline.org. (See "One Small Step," July/August.) On the opposite coast, Martha’s Vineyard homeowners may be heartened to hear that a view of wind turbines does not diminish property value, according to a new report by the Renewable Energy Policy Project (www.repp.org). (See "Lay of the Land," July/August.)

For more news every weekday, visit www.sierraclub.org/currents.