February 2004 news

•  Democrat & Chronicle: Petting zoo draws thousands — HENRIETTA — A traveling petting zoo and warmer weather Sunday gave families a chance to get out of the house. Thousands attended the Commerford Kids Fun Fair at the Dome Center on the Monroe County Fairgrounds. (February 2, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: CSX cleanup in new phase Sediment contaminated by chemical spill will be dredged from Genesee - — The second and final cleanup phase following a 2001 chemical spill in Charlotte could begin as early as March and end by May. Assuming they get regulatory approval, contractors for CSX Transportation will dredge a 1/3-acre patch of contaminated sediments in the Genesee River. They expect to extract 3,000 cubic yards from the river bottom. The soil phase ended in 2002. CSX dug up an area the size of a football field and removed nearly 28,000 tons of dirt. (February 3, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  ENN News Story - EarthTalk: Can mercury in seafood harm a fetus? - Methyl mercury — emitted by smokestacks and released to the environment from common household products like old thermometers — is a persistent heavy metal that ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans and accumulates in the tissues of fish and animals, including people. "Just one-seventieth of a teaspoon of atmospheric mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake for a year," said Michael Bender, executive director of the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project. (February 3, 2004) Environmental News Network - ENN.com
•  TheStar.com - Billions pledged to fight pollution - $4B over 10 years to clean up sites - `Green' technology will be emphasized -OTTAWA—The Liberal government painted itself a deeper shade of green yesterday with promises to double spending on the clean-up of contaminated sites, push "green" technologies in the marketplace and go beyond the Kyoto plan in tackling climate change. The green emphasis was praised by environmental groups who had been worried that a pro-business Paul Martin government might back away from previous commitments TheStar.com - News/News
•  TheStar.com - Police launch hunt for dog killer - Toronto police have launched a "full-blown criminal investigation" into the poisoning of dogs in Withrow Park. Detective Sydney Thomas confirmed this afternoon at a news conference that the dog that died this week had ingested an insecticide that had been placed in food in the park. TheStar.com - News/News
•  Bill Could Ban Some Dog Breeds - Some dog owners who enjoy the companionship of man's best friend, may also have a "deadly weapon" on their hands if a proposed state law goes through. A bill proposed in the state assembly would give cities and towns the right to ban certain "dangerous breeds." Opponents say you can't judge a dog by breed alone. (2/05/04)  R News: Your NewsChannel
•  Ruling protects Hudson fish A federal rule allowing new power plants to kill fish while using river water in their cooling systems, as long as they also have restoration programs, was struck down yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals as a violation of the Clean Water Act. The three-judge panel in Albany ruled that the law requires power plants and factories drawing more than 2 million gallons of water a day to use "closed-cycle cooling" systems — which recycle water in a form of industrial radiator — because they are the "best technology available."  (2/05/04) THE JOURNAL NEWS: A Gannett Suburban Webpaper
• Democrat & Chronicle: UR group hopes to save crows — AUBURN — A group of University of Rochester students and staff members plans to head to Cayuga County today to rescue birds injured in a controversial annual crow shoot. “It’s not likely we’ll recover many birds,” said Hoss Firooznia, a UR alumnus who now works as a computer programmer at the university. “But on the chance we’ll be able to do some good.” (February 7, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Lead-paint lawsuit settled — A local child has been awarded a settlement worth more than a half-million dollars for lead-paint poisoning injuries she sustained in a city rental property nearly 10 years ago. (February 7, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Democrat & Chronicle: Webster turns to slag for cold traction - — WEBSTER — When the temperature drops below 15 degrees, roads may be a little easier to travel on in the town of Webster than in some other communities.That’s because the town Highway Department doesn’t use salt or sand to provide better traction — it uses an abrasive called slag. “Our job is to provide safe driving conditions to the best of our ability and that’s what we do,” said Barry Deane, Webster’s highway superintendent. (February 8, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• ENN News Story - Animal welfare groups sue to block killing of cormorants WASHINGTON — Animal welfare groups sued the U.S. government Thursday to try to block new rules that permit the killing of double-crested cormorants, a hook-billed predatory waterfowl that is a voracious fish-eater. The large, dark birds are prevalent throughout North America, with the highest U.S. concentrations in the Great Lakes area. The cormorants were nearly wiped out by the pesticide DDT in the 1960s and 1970s. They have made enough of a comeback to pose a threat to commercial fishing and fish farming, proponents of the new rules say. Environmental News Network - ENN.com
• Democrat & Chronicle: Routes 5 & 20 plan offered — EAST BLOOMFIELD — The public is invited to comment at a special meeting Tuesday on recommendations from a yearlong study of a local stretch of Routes 5 and 20, commonly regarded as one of America’s most historic and scenic highways. At the meeting, planners and community leaders will discuss recommendations in a draft report. The study covers more than 20 miles of the road, which once carried horse-drawn wagons of settlers westward, winds through fertile farm country and links a series of small towns and villages between eastern Livingston and western Ontario counties. The draft report is available for review on the Web at www.co.ontario.ny.us/planning .Public hearing -What: Public hearing to discuss recommendations for Routes 5 and 20 - When: 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday - Where: East Bloomfield Town Hall, 99 Main St. (February 9, 2004)  Democrat and Chronicle
• Bird Hunt Draws Protest - A crow hunt in Cayuga County has put hunters in the sites of some protestors. Two hundred people took part in the second annual Crow Shoot in Auburn. (February 9, 2004) R News: Your NewsChannel
•  State puts ban on live Asian carp - Rules designed to keep voracious fish from wrecking the Great Lakes food chain - ALBANY -- New York has issued emergency regulations prohibiting most imports of live Asian carp, becoming the last of the Great Lakes states to bar the voracious eater that scientists and sportsmen fear will wreck the lakes' food chain. (February 9, 2004) Albany, N.Y. -- timesunion.com
• EPA Doubles Estimates Of Children With Mercury In Blood - New EPA research indicates that the number of babies born with elevated mercury levels in their blood is more than double what government scientists previously estimated. The research was presented just days before EPA Jan. 30 published controversial cap-and-trade proposals to reduce mercury emissions from power plants that environmentalists and public health advocates are challenging as being insufficiently protective of children's health. According to new data, 630,000 infants are born in the United States each year with blood mercury levels higher than 5.8 parts per billion, which is EPA's level of potential concern and the level at which the risk of poor brain development is doubled, EPA's Kathryn Mahaffey told a scientific forum on contaminants in fish in San Diego earlier this week. Previous studies had put the number of such children at roughly 300,000. Environmental Working Group | Public Interest Watchdog
• Democrat & Chronicle: Monroe 'burbs battle intersection woes The state Department of Transportation receives about 400 requests like Kaiser’s every year. As more and more people made their way into the suburbs in the 1990s, town roads near newly built housing complexes became overcrowded. That led to busier roadways and intersections and about 10 percent more requests over the past five years, said Larry Sherman, regional traffic engineer for the DOT. (February 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Waste removed in Greece - The accidental dumping is still being disputed - (February 10, 2004) — The city of Rochester has removed the 13,000 cubic yards of waste it accidentally dumped into a Greece neighborhood seven months ago. Dump trucks holding the last of the dirt and co-mingled waste rolled out of the Autumn Heights subdivision off Janes Road the week of Jan. 19, and testing to confirm there was no contamination at the site was recently completed. (February 10, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• ENN News Story - Republicans lay aside plan to save energy bill — U.S. Senate Republicans put aside a plan Tuesday to salvage a stalled energy bill by halving its $31 billion cost and attaching it to a massive highway and mass transit measure moving through Congress. New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, chairman of Senate Energy Committee, indicated he will look for other ways to pass the energy package. (February 11, 2004) Environmental News Network - ENN.com
• Democrat & Chronicle: Lead poisoning appeal argued — ALBANY — The attorney for a woman whose twin sons were poisoned by lead in their Brewster apartment told the state’s highest court Tuesday that Putnam County should be held responsible.County health officials failed to warn Maria Nancy Pelaez of the dangers of remaining in the apartment after inspecting the unit in 1995, Manhattan attorney Nancy Fairchild Sachs told the Court of Appeals. The two boys, now 10, suffered lead poisoning and are in special education because of learning problems, Sachs said. (February 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• TheStar.com - Lake Ontario's disappearing eels -Decline linked to climate change - The eel fishery in Lake Ontario is dead as a commercial resource — and eels elsewhere are in such trouble that emergency steps need to be taken to protect them. That's the message from a symposium of experts held in Quebec city last August. "If we're not careful, we may lose the species from fresh water completely," says John Casselman, a leading authority on the American eel and the senior research scientist at Ontario's Glenora Fishing Station near Picton. Casselman and a colleague from Prince Edward Island convened the symposium in an effort to get a clearer global picture of what is happening to eel stocks. The symposium attracted 75 scientists from 18 countries, and when they had finished comparing notes, they found a worldwide pattern of decline that was so precipitous they issued a Quebec Declaration of Concern, later published by the American Fisheries Society in its magazine. "We unanimously agree that we must raise an urgent alarm," it said.
• $70 billion worth of freshwater resources at risk annually - Gland, Switzerland – According to a new WWF report, US$70 billion worth of goods and services from freshwater resources could be at risk annually if governments fail to manage their wetlands sustainably. The report, The Economic Values of the World’s Wetlands, is the first comprehensive overview of the economic values of the world’s wetlands. It analyzes the 89 existing valuation studies and uses a database covering a wetland area of 630,000 km², putting the annual value of wetlands at a very conservative US$3.4 billion. But extending this figure using the Ramsar Convention's global wetland area estimate of 12.8 million km², the WWF report concludes that the annual global value of wetlands is US$70 billion. It shows that amenity and recreation, flood control, recreational fishing, and water filtration are the most valued functions of wetlands. WWF - The Conservation Organization
• Phelps board discusses water district PHELPS — The Town Board discussed several topics at a workshop Monday afternoon, including extending the Orleans Water District to serve Melvin Hill Road residents, taking over the village transfer station and ambulance service, and the proposed Phelps Community Center. (February 11, 2004) Finger Lakes Times Geneva, NY
• MSNBC - Millions available for home heating assistance Applications and eligibility requirements are available for downloading at www.otda.state.ny.us  or by calling the HEAP Hotline at 1-800-342-3009. (February 11, 2004) MSNBC - News Front Page
•  Developers lose DEC wetlands case, vow appeal State environmental regulators have ruled that the owners of Bradley Industrial Park illegally built on protected wetlands nearby and will be required to tear down a 30,000-square-foot building shell, repair the area and pay $120,000 in fines. Dennis Lynch, the lawyer for John and Patrick Magee, said yesterday that the developers plan to appeal the decision. (February 11, 2004) THE JOURNAL NEWS: A Gannett Suburban Webpaper
• WXXI: Poll Finds Support for Expanded Bottle Law (2004-02-12) ALBANY, NEW YORK (2004-02-12) A statewide survey conducted by a non-partisan research firm finds that most New Yorkers would like to see the state's bottle bill expanded to include bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages. New York's returnable container law requires that shoppers pay a five-cent deposit on bottles and cans of carbonated beverages, primarily beer and soda pop. They get the money back when they return the bottle to an authorized redemption center. (February 12, 2004) Public NewsRoom
• Democrat & Chronicle: Soot-belching plant decried Canadians say pollutants travel to Rochester, rest of Northeast.- — A report released Thursday by a coalition of Canadian activists claims that soot and other air pollutants from an Ontario power plant blanket Toronto, Rochester and cities in most of the U.S. Northeast. The result: more smog, acid rain, haze and negative health effects. Based on Canadian federal pollution data, the report points a finger at a government-owned coal-fired energy plant in Nanticoke, Ontario, on Lake Erie, 30 miles south of Hamilton. (February 13, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• ENN News Story - U.S. Senate passes $318 billion transportation bill WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a $318 billion transportation bill Thursday, defying President Bush, who has threatened to veto the spending package because of its large price tag and funding strategies. Senators approved the bill, which will pay for road construction and mass transit programs over the next six years, by a vote of 76-21 after defeating an attempt by some Republicans to pare it back to Bush's $256 billion request. (February 14, 2004) Environmental News Network - ENN.com
• London Free Press: News Section - Great Lakes states join in seeking end to cattle embargo TORONTO -- Great Lakes states and provinces are urging Canada and the U.S. to quickly reopen their borders to live cattle to help restore public confidence in food safety, and say BSE-related restrictions must be based on science, not emotions. "We need to ensure that a science-based approach is taken on this issue," Ontario Agriculture Minister Steve Peters said yesterday as he wrapped up a meeting with his counterparts from Quebec and several U.S. states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. (February 14, 2004)  London Free Press: Home Page
• Democrat & Chronicle: Toronto hustling ferry terminal — The Toronto Port Authority is “pulling out all the stops” to have a ferry terminal constructed as soon as possible for a new high-speed ferry on Lake Ontario, the agency said Wednesday. While the $8 million Canadian terminal won’t be ready for the ship’s inaugural voyage from Rochester to Toronto on April 30, it will be under construction, authority CEO Lisa Raitt said. The process is taking time because of customs, immigration and security issues, she said. (February 12, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Meatless Nuggets At KFC Protest Animal Abuse - (Henrietta, NY) 02/3/04 - Local vegetarians and an animal rights group are taking on Kentucky Fried Chicken. They handed out meatless nuggets in front of a Henrietta KFC Friday. (February 14, 2004) WOKR-TV 13 || ROCHESTER
• Neighbors fuming over road project in Brighton - Brighton residents aired their frustrations with transportation officials at a public hearing.
  Brighton resident Judy Schwartz is hopping mad, and she let the Monroe County Department of Transportation know it.(February 14, 2004)  Brighton-Pittsford Post
• MSNBC - Clean up continues in Brighton gas leak Clean up continues in a Brighton neighborhood from a gas leak News 10 NBC was first to report on in November. 8,000 gallons of gas leaked from underground storage tanks at the old Citgo gas station on Monroe Avenue, seeping into sewers and under homes on Torrington Avenue. (February 12, 2004) MSNBC - News Front Page
• Buffalo News - Incineration as energy source blasted Environmentalists Thursday asked Gov. George E. Pataki not to include incineration as a renewable energy technology when the state draws up a new energy plan. "Contrary to what industry lobbyists say, burning trash is neither renewable nor a clean energy source and must not be allowed to be considered as such," said Mary Carney, Western New York coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group. (February 12, 2004) The Buffalo News
• Democrat & Chronicle: Ginna plant has 'unusual event'  — Rochester Gas & Electric Corp. reported an “unusual event” this morning at its Robert E. Ginna Nuclear Power Station in Ontario, Wayne County. The 1:48 a.m. incident, reported to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, did not affect or disrupt plant operations, company officials said. An electrical arc shorted out a compressor that supplies pressurized air. Reserve compressors automatically activated. (February 16, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Internet site tracks ferry's voyage here — Wondering where in the world the Spirit of Ontario is?
  Or perhaps how fast the high-speed ferry is traveling on its trip from Australia to Lake Ontario? Or what type of weather the ship is facing? Wonder no longer. The ship’s progress can now be tracked via www.PurpleFinder.com , an Internet site that uses satellite global positioning technology. The site, created by London-based Pole Star Applications Ltd., lists not only the ship’s most current location on a world map but also displays its average speed, the wind direction and other issues affecting the voyage. (February 18, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Mendon plan to control development faltering — MENDON — The town’s open space program has lost its first and, so far, only participant because of funding problems. Earl DeRue of Cheese Factory Road, a farmer who played a key role in initiating the program to purchase development rights, has pulled out because the town hasn’t been able to obtain enough money to pay him. The program, which is aimed at preserving open space and slowing down development, apparently is not dead, though. (February 17, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Lecture to feature land trusts  — Some environmental activists hit the streets with placards. Others keep a lower profile. They negotiate conservation easements, nature preserves, municipal partnerships and other arcane strategies to help save farmland, scenic vistas, fragile woodlands and other at-risk natural resources. Two regional land trusts, both nonprofit groups, will be in the spotlight Wednesday in a public lecture titled “The Quiet Environmentalists.” (February 17, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• City Newspaper: For the birds Members of UR Veg, the University of Rochester's Vegetarian Education Group, know that activism is a tough job with little instant gratification. That's why public relations manager and UR sophomore Ryan Merkley isn't crushed that more crows were killed this year in Auburn's crow shoot than ever before. "When I heard that 1,000 crows had been shot [compared with approximately 700 last year], it really got me down," Merkley says. Merkley and two other members of UR Veg drove around rural Cayuga County for five hours recently, searching for crow-hunters to deter. They were armed with an audiotape looped with a distressed crow's call. (February 19, 2004) City Newspaper
• Wayne County Farmers Get Grant - Tuesday, Senator Charles Schumer met with many of those cherry farmers at the East Williamson Fire Hall.He announced the allocation of $5 million in federal aid to help buy more trees. (February 19, 2004) R News: Your NewsChannel
• Hunters push forward with rights amendment - — Long one of the most powerful voting blocks in the state, hunters in Pennsylvania are moving forward with a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would guarantee the "right of the people to hunt and fish." Hunters say the amendment, which is similar to laws and constitutional amendments enacted in 11 other states in recent years, would protect their sport from what they say are attacks by animal-rights advocates and other groups that advocate hunting restrictions. Welcome to GoErie.com
• Buffalo News - Plan to leave N-wastes draws fire WEST VALLEY - A new deactivation plan that calls for the Energy Department to leave the West Valley Demonstration Project by 2008 is unacceptable to the West Valley Citizen Task Force, which, with the State Energy Research and Development Authority, is pushing for a more extensive cleanup of radioactive wastes. The Citizen Task Force meets monthly to review technical information used to prepare for decontamination of the former commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing center and shutting down the site. The Energy Department, meanwhile, has released a draft of proposed work for the next contract project, which will remove most buildings, ship out low-level radioactive waste and some more dangerous wastes, and store canisters of high-level vitrified waste until the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada or some other long-term storage facility is approved. The main process building will be gutted, and the remote-handled waste facility now nearing completion will remain for the time being.  (February 19, 2004) The Buffalo News
• Buffalo News - Bush is accused of misusing science - - A group of more than 60 top U.S. scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates and several science advisers to past Republican presidents, on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of manipulating and censoring science for political purposes.
  In a 46-page report and an open letter, the scientists accused the administration of "suppressing, distorting or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal agencies" in several cases. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a liberal advocacy group based in Cambridge, Mass., organized the effort, but many of the critics who signed the letter aren't associated with the organization. (February 19, 2004) The Buffalo News
• Lack of Safety Is Charged in Nuclear Site Cleanup — For almost half a century, the hulking factories across a vast nuclear reservation here churned out the plutonium for most of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, including the bomb used on Nagasaki. But in the last several years, with the cold war long over, the shuttered silence of the nine nuclear reactors on this 586-square-mile site has been followed by one of the world's largest cleanups, costing $2 billion a year. (February 19, 2004) The New York Times on the Web
• Democrat & Chronicle: Lakeshore wetlands, woods in Wayne given to N.Y. — The state on Thursday announced its latest acquisition of ecologically valuable Rochester-area land: 40 acres of wetlands and upland hardwoods in Huron, Wayne County. The donated property, whose value was not disclosed, includes a rare 1,400 feet of undeveloped shoreline along Lake Ontario. It borders the 6,130-acre Lake Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area, managed by New York as a birding area. (February 20, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Unique anti-lead plan starts The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last year awarded a $930,789 grant to the National Center for Healthy Housing to eliminate lead hazards in more than 25 home-based child care programs in Syracuse and Rochester. NHCC and its parent organization, The Enterprise Foundation, have so far leveraged an additional $349,000 using the grant. (February 21, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Webster to let residents vote on open-space plan (February 20, 2004) — WEBSTER — After a two-week delay, the Webster Town Board has collectively decided to let residents make the final decision on the open-space proposal. The Town Board unanimously approved a resolution that enables the town to bond $5.9 million for the project and lets residents approve or deny the restructured proposal. (February 21, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Survey: Hospitals overuse pesticides— Eight years after the first survey, a local advocacy group says local hospitals are still using too many pesticides inside and outside their buildings.“We are not accusing anyone of doing anything illegal,” said Judy Braiman, co-founder of Rochesterians against the Misuse of Pesticides. “But there are safer alternatives.” Those include ant traps, sealing cracks, low toxicity applications like boric acid and better housekeeping.  (February 24, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Group decries pesticide use — Area hospitals use too many pesticides, increasing risk to staff, visitors and patients, a local advocacy group said Tuesday. “There are safer alternatives,” said Judy Braiman, co-founder of Rochesterians against the Misuse of Pesticides, which surveyed hospital pesticide use this year and in 1996.
• Democrat & Chronicle: Ferry fuel tanks to be underground — Two large underground fuel storage tanks will be installed at the Port of Rochester to service a new high-speed ferry. The construction, expected to cost $421,000, will be paid for with a federal Transportation Security Administration grant. The city originally had expected that the ferry would be refueled directly from tanker trucks, but officials were worried about the safety and efficiency of that plan, said Edward Doherty, the city’s commissioner of environmental services. Instead, two 20,000-gallon tanks will be installed. (February 25, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• ENN News Story - Pentagon downplays report identifying climate change as national security threat WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon prides itself on preparing for the worst, be it war, famine or other calamity. So it may not seem surprising that the Pentagon last year asked two private consultants to consider the potential global impacts of an abrupt and severe change in the world's climate. Which regions might be hurt the worst, they asked, and what would that mean for U.S. national security? The scenario sketched out in the report, "Imagining the Unthinkable," may surprise some, though it seems to have been largely discounted by the official who ordered the report. (February 25, 2004) Environmental News Network - ENN.com
• Democrat & Chronicle: City plans riverfront makeover — The Genesee River will undergo some major changes this year in Charlotte — and not just because of a new high-speed ferry service to and from Toronto. The city will embark this spring on a long-discussed, oft-delayed project to rebuild and beautify a half-mile stretch of riverfront just south of Lake Ontario. The effort includes building a promenade along the water, constructing a boaters’ services facility, renovating a vacant railroad station, relocating the Monroe County boat launch and replacing the public boat docks. (February 27, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: $300,000 offered to cut lead hazard — Grants of $1,000 will be available to 300 property owners in Rochester to reduce lead hazards. For additional information about the program and an application form, go to the public health section of the county Web site at www.monroecounty.gov or call (585) 274-8026. (February 27, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• WXXI: DEC To Show Brockport Cleanup Plans (2004-02-25) The State Department of Environmental Conservation says bacteria can help clean up toxic contamination left behind by the former 3M/Dynacolor plant in the Village of Brockport. The D-E-C will hold a public meeting Tuesday evening in Brockport to discuss its investigation of the toxic site and its proposal for dealing with it. (February 27, 2004) Public NewsRoom
• MSNBC - Canadian government to spend $1.5 billion to revitalize Toronto’s waterfront NEWS 10NBC has found signs that Toronto is finally preparing for the arrival of the fast ferry. NEWS 10NBC traveled to Toronto Friday to learn about the Canadian government's $1.5 billion waterfront revitalization project. (February 29, 2004) MSNBC - News Front Page
• The Sky is Falling! Say Hollywood and, Yes, the Pentagon AFTER nearly two decades in which global warming seemed about as exciting as the national debt, the subject is getting noticed again - even by Hollywood and the Pentagon. Since the late 1990's, there has been growing interest in one particularly catastrophic climatic event. It envisions an abrupt fall in global temperatures, caused by incremental warming from rising emissions of heat-trapping gases. What better fodder for movie makers or military strategists? (February 29, 2004) The New York Times on the Web