Carrot & stick: who walks the walk, who's nothing but talk

CARROTS TO

The California Air Resources Board for requiring that all heavy-duty diesel trucks sold in the state beginning in 2008 must come with devices that automatically turn off engines after they've idled for five minutes. Truckers often let engines idle all night as they sleep (to power air-conditioning and heating). This burns more than 100 million gallons of diesel fuel annually. The new device is expected to prevent more than 700,000 tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted per year. As for driver comfort, truckers can use auxiliary systems to power AC and heat, such as plugging into electrification at truck stops.

The New England Journal of Medicine for advocating a boycott of research paid for by pharmaceutical companies that won't fully disclose information about the drug being tested Many drug companies fund studies without informing participants about a potential risks Merck's exaggeration of the safety of Vioxx is the most notorious example. In a December 29, 2005 editorial, the medical journal called on researchers to participate only in studies whose sponsors provide complete information through public registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov.

Greasecar.com, which manufactures kits that allow people who own diesel-fueled cars to convert the engines to run on nontoxic vegetable oil. Not only does the eco-friendly fuel offer comparable gas mileage at a lower cost, but there's a double benefit, reports the Florence, Massachusetts, company: People who convert their cars often collect used vegetable oil from local eateries, saving drivers the cost of diesel fuel and saving restaurateurs the cost of disposal fees. The kits are $800 to $1,200 each. For more information, visit greasecar.com.

STICKS TO

The Federal Bureau of Investigation for taking advantage of loose restrictions after 9/11 to investigate People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal welfare and environmental groups that have links to "violent or disruptive activities." One FBI document provided to The New York Times showed that t the agency's Indianapolis office planned surveillance of a "Vegan Community Proiect"--probably not the most likely way to find Osama Bin Laden.

The state of Florida for allowing "people who basically worked for DuPont and other chemical companies"--in the words of one scientist--to decide Florida's pesticide policy. In December 2005, environmental specialists told the Palm Beach Post that their recommendations to ban potentially dangerous pesticides were repeatedly overruled by superiors with ties to agrichemical companies, allowing pesticides to be released in waterways and soil. "Monitoring pesticide use in Florida has become make-believe," another scientist said.

US Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton for failing to respond to petitions to list polar bears as a threatened species. Because of global warming, the Arctic ice where polar bears live is melting at record rates: The ice floes on which they hunt are farther apart, and polar bears now have to swim up to 60 miles across open sea to find food. As a result, more bears have drowned--fatalities that are expected to escalate as temperatures increase. Norton has yet to act on the petitions, filed in February 2005 by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace. The Endangered Species Act requires a response within 90 days.

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