NEWS ROUNDUP

Bush wants global meeting on climate change U.S. President George W. Bush, under fire for resisting tough action on global warming, on Thursday called on 15 influential countries to agree by the end of 2008 on a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The proposals, announced before a summit of major powers that will consider the issue, stressed new technologies to make energy use more efficient and restated Bush's rejection of firm caps on carbon dioxide emissions that many of his allies want. Critics dismissed the strategy as a diversion and a delaying tactic, but some European leaders and a U.N official expressed hope that it might be a first step to more action. It was the strongest statement yet from the United States about curbing climate-warming emissions after the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. "The United States takes this issue seriously," Bush said in a speech on his agenda for the summit. "My proposal is this: by the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases." "To help develop this goal, the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China," he added. Bush's proposals included cuts in tariff barriers to encourage sharing environmental technology. In an interview with Reuters, U.N. climate change chief Yvo de Boer said White House staff had indicated that this could be the start of a policy shift....
G8 emissions rise Greenhouse gas emissions by leading industrialised nations have accelerated since 2000 and several countries are performing worse than the United States which opposes a U.N. pact for curbing global warming, U.N. data shows. Leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations meet in Germany next week with President George W. Bush resisting pressure by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to cap emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels. But Bush is not alone in presiding over rising emissions. "Growth rates ... of emissions in the U.S. are slowing," said Michael Raupach, of the Earth Observation Centre in Canberra, Australia, of overall greenhouse gas trends. "European emissions are creeping up in the post-2000 years." National data submitted to the U.N.'s Climate Change Secretariat show that overall emissions by G8 nations rose 2.0 percent from 2000 to 14.3 billion tonnes in 2005 and were up 0.7 percent since 1990, the base year for the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol. Among G8 nations, Russia, Italy and Canada have all had bigger rises than the 1.6 percent U.S. gain since 2000, when Bush won election to the White House. The revival of the Russian economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union is a main spur. Only Britain, Germany and France have cut back since 2000....
Bison slaughter postponed The Montana Department of Livestock decided Wednesday to make a final attempt to haze as many as 300 bison back into Yellowstone National Park from the West Yellowstone area instead of immediately rounding up the wild animals and shipping them to slaughter. The decision postponed Tuesday's announcement at an emergency meeting of the Livestock Board by acting State Veterinarian Jeanne Rankin to start capturing and sending bison - including 100 calves that have wandered from park lands into Montana - to packing plants. Brucellosis, a contagious disease, was found earlier this month in seven cows from a Bridger-area herd. Another positive test from an unrelated herd would cost the state its brucellosis-free status. "We are going to put off capture and lethal measures until about Monday," Livestock spokeswoman Lisa Schmidt said. "They may resume hazing as soon as (Thursday)."....
Gray Wolf Found Dead The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information about the shooting death of a Mexican gray wolf whose carcass was found about 20 miles east of Reserve. The remains were found May 9 in the Gila National Forest. Tests at Fish and Wildlife's national forensics laboratory in Oregon determined the animal was an endangered Mexican gray wolf and that it had been shot. Fish and Wildlife offers a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the conviction of anyone responsible for the shooting deaths of Mexican gray wolves. Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. That's punishable by criminal fines of up to $50,000 and-or up to a year in jail.
State halts key water pumps to protect endangered delta smelt State officials stopped the massive pumps that send water to some 25 million Californians and thousands of acres of crop land, a move aimed at protecting an endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Harvey O. Banks pumping station outside Tracy was shut down Thursday to protect the delta smelt, a small, silvery fish that's considered a key indicator of the delta's health. The voluntary measure was scheduled to last seven to 10 days. "We're calling on other agencies, other entities to take similar action," said Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources. The pump shutdown will not leave customers without water. Urban and rural water districts will get deliveries from the San Luis Reservoir and other sources, Snow said. "It was a difficult decision," said Department of Fish and Game Director Ryan Broddrick, who asked the state to stop the pumps. "There are trade-offs from an economic and even an environmental standpoint." The move comes less than two weeks after officials reported the smelt population at an all-time low, raising questions about the species' ability to survive. The three-inch long fish are protected under the California Endangered Species Act....
Freudenthal calls for summit on sage grouse Gov. Dave Freudenthal has announced plans for a meeting on how to protect sage grouse in Wyoming and prevent the bird from being listed as an endangered species. The Sage Grouse Summit will be June 27-28 at Casper College. C. Stephen Allred, assistant secretary of the interior, is scheduled to attend, along with Freudenthal. In a news release Wednesday, Freudenthal said that the consequences of ignoring sage grouse would be “dire for both the bird and all interested parties,” including the agriculture and oil and gas industries. “My hope is we can formulate a more unified plan that will balance protection with reasonable energy exploration, grazing and other activities that have and will continue to take place in sage grouse habitat,” Freudenthal said. The announcement follows a pair of reports that paint a gloomier picture of Wyoming’s sage grouse habitat than some experts had predicted. It also comes as efforts are being made in federal court in Idaho to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend Endangered Species Act protection to the grouse, an action that could cripple energy development in Wyoming and the West....
Condors 'trash' already burglarized southern Utah cabin It was bad enough that their vacation cabin was burglarized. But it was insult to injury when a family of California Condors crashed there, tearing the place apart. "The burglars came and trashed the place a little, but nothing like the birds did," Washington County Sheriff's spokeswoman Stephanie Coots said Thursday. "The birds came and wreaked havoc. They tore the couch apart, tore the place apart, bird droppings everywhere." Washington County Sheriff's deputies are investigating the burglary of a cabin in southern Utah's picturesque Kolob Mountain area. The break-in is believed to have happened at least a month ago, but was discovered by the cabin's owners over the Memorial Day weekend. The doors of the cabin were pried open and equipment was reported stolen from a shed. The cabin doors were left open after the burglars split and that's when the condors moved in. "There were feathers and bird droppings," Coots said. The California Condor is the largest land bird in North America, with a wingspan of up to 9 1/2 feet. The endangered species is being reintroduced in areas around the Grand Canyon. Captive-bred birds have been released in areas around southern Utah....
Parks initiative may total $3B in spending A National Park Service initiative will ensure the “greening’’ of a new Yellowstone visitor center and allow the park a new Web-based program, more cataloguing of its collections, enhanced trout habitat and a kids’ initiative, officials said Thursday. The Centennial Initiative, which will boost the Park Service’s budget leading up to its 100th anniversary in 2016, will benefit every park, officials said. It calls for $100 million in extra funding for the agency each year for the next 10 years. Another $100 million would be provided if matched by the same amount of private donations, for a potential total of $3 billion over the decade. For Yellowstone, the funding will allow the construction of a new Old Faithful visitor center to meet higher environmental standards, Park Service Director Mary Bomar said in a conference call with reporters. Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder agreed that the money will allow the visitor center construction to move forward. But he added that the Centennial Challenge money, matched by donations, will do a lot more for Yellowstone besides new buildings and infrastructure. “It goes a really long ways,’’ he said. They plan to have a Web-based interpretive program about Yellowstone for those who can’t make it there in person, he said. Other plans include stepping up the cataloguing and conservation of their extensive artifact collection and enhancing the habitat of native trout. “We have plans to look at a ‘no child left inside’ initiative using Yellowstone as a foundation to excite parents and let them feel free to have their kids experience the out-of-doors without fear,’’ he added. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said that children’s initiative would be a model for other parks around the country. He said the corporate community wants to join the effort and is willing to put resources into it....Oh, what a wonderful program. My grandchildren live in such fear of the outdoors. And for only $3 billion no less. Finally they will be able to overcome their fears with the help of the friendly Park Service. I shall return in a moment, once I'm done puking.
Delegation not rushing to back brucellosis 'buffer zone' Montana's congressional delegation has yet to endorse Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plan to create a brucellosis "buffer zone" around Yellowstone National Park, even as livestock officials struggled Thursday to push a renegade group of bison back into the park. Schweitzer proposes that any outbreaks of the disease on ranches in an area that extends about 50 miles from the park would not count against the state's brucellosis-free status. The issue has taken higher profile since the state's first outbreak of the disease, which causes cattle to abort. That problem has been compounded by roughly 300 bison that are refusing to leave summertime cattle range and return to the park. The renegade bison, including nearly 100 calves born this spring, were being hazed back into the park Thursday and Friday with uncertain results....
Ex-US Senator Leaders Propose Eliminating Direct Farmer Payments Former Senate leaders Tom Daschle and Bob Dole suggested Wednesday that the nation's agricultural policy should be reformed, saying farmers should become more dependent on the marketplace. Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, and Dole, a Republican from Kansas, proposed eliminating direct payments to farmers but retaining countercyclical payments, which pay farmers only when prices are low. They also suggested that farmers be encouraged to take part in emerging markets such as renewable fuels to help them stay afloat. The former senators said their proposals could mean a net savings of $4.68 billion to the U.S. Treasury. "If we're going to have a farm bill this year, we have to demonstrate that the farm bill can be written at a reduced cost to taxpayers," said Daschle, the Senate's top Democrat when Republican John Thune defeated him in 2004. Daschle was a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and played a major role in writing the last six-year farm bill, passed in 2002. Congress is beginning work on that law's renewal this year. Dole also was on the committee before he left the Senate in 1996. Lawmakers need to broaden their perspectives when crafting farm policy, he said. "Enabling farmers to access new markets will increase farm incomes while lowering our existing commodity subsidies," Dole said....
Beef Imports From Australia Down According to the most recent data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as of May 22, 2007, U.S. beef imports subject to a tariff rate quota (TRQ) equaled 281,224 MT. This was 3.3 percent lower than the same period a year ago. U.S. beef imports from Canada totaled 104,189 MT, nearly unchanged from last year. Imports from Canada do not fall under a TRQ. Through May 22,beef imports from Australia fell 11.5 percent from a year ago to 83,553 MT. This filled 22.1 percent of Australia’s TRQ, compared to 24.9 percent a year ago. Beef imports from Australia are expected to remain lower due to a drought-induced decrease in Australia’s beef production. U.S. imports of beef from New Zealand equaled 67,478 MT, which was 7.5 percent less than last year. This filled 31.6 percent of the TRQ, compared to 34.2 percent last year. Through May 22, the U.S. imported 6,707 MT of beef from Uruguay. This was 57.4 percent more than last year and filled 33.5 percent of the country’s TRQ. A year ago, only 21.3 percent of Uruguay’s TRQ had been filled. Beef imports from Japan totaled 49 MT, compared to 3 MT last year. Of Japan’s total TRQ, 24.5 percent had been filled. Argentina beef remains banned in the U.S....
S. Korea's quarantine service finds ribs in U.S. beef shipment South Korea's quarantine service said Wednesday it has found in a shipment of American beef two boxes of U.S. beef ribs, which cannot be brought into the country under current import rules. The boxes containing 53 kilograms of ribs were part of a 15.2 ton shipment that arrived in Busan on May 25, the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said. "The two boxes were packed full of chuck short ribs so they were easily noticed by our inspectors," said Kang Mun-il, head of the state-run service under the Agriculture Ministry. He said Seoul immediately ordered a suspension of all imports from the meat processing company that shipped the rib-filled boxes. Notice of the decision to halt imports from the meat processing company has been forwarded to the U.S. government. The NVRQS chief said the entire shipment has been put on hold pending an investigation into the matter by South Korean and U.S. authorities....
Researchers Find ‘Skim Milk Cows’ In a few years, skim milk may come straight from the cow, it was reported this week. Skim milk is usually produced by taking all of the fat out of regular milk, but in 2001, researchers found a cow that skipped that step. While screening a herd of cows, they found one with a natural gene mutation that makes her produce lower-fat milk than a normal cow. Marge, as researchers later named her, makes milk that has 1 percent fat (as compared to 3.5 percent in whole milk) and is high in omega-3 fatty acids. And remarkably, Marge’s low-fat milk still has the same delicious taste as conventionally produced low-fat milk, according to the report in Chemistry & Industry magazine. The low saturated fat content of Marge’s milk also means that butter made from it is spreadable right out of the fridge, while most butter has to come to room temperature before it can be spread on toast. After researchers found that Marge’s daughters also produced low-fat milk, they surmised that the genetic trait was dominant and planned to breed herds of skim milk-producing cows. (Marge and her offspring live in New Zealand.) ViaLactia, the company that owns Marge, expects the first commercial herd of cows supplying natural low-fat milk and spreadable butter for the market by 2011....
'Fighting for survival' Bruce Pheasant has been raising sheep and lambs since 1985 -- part of a family tradition that goes back to his grandfather’s sheep operation in 1890. “This is what I love to do,” Pheasant said, referring to the positive side of raising sheep -- watching them graze on green grass, warming up a newborn lamb by the stove in the kitchen, bottle-feeding a hungry “bum” lamb and seeing it grow and thrive. “It gets in your blood,” he said. But the Kaycee-area rancher also knows plenty about the down side of sheep ranching, a business and a lifestyle that is slowly vanishing in the American West and here in Wyoming. Coyotes and other predators are a constant problem. International competition weighs on the industry's profitability. Mother Nature can also take a toll: This year, Pheasant lost a third of his flock to a March snowstorm....
Imports hurt Wyo sheep producers Wyoming sheep growers are threatened by imports from Australia and New Zealand, people in the industry say. “Those imports really kill us,” said Kaycee-area rancher Bruce Pheasant. Lamb and mutton imports, which currently account for nearly half of U.S. consumption, are mainly from Australia (about 68 percent) and New Zealand (about 32 percent), according to USDA statistics. Nevertheless, Pheasant said demand for his feeder lambs and prices are up. Ethnic restaurants and immigrants are proving to be a growing customer base for feeder lambs -- those raised to 85 pounds before heading for feedlots and packing houses. Lamb consumption is not only associated with Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions; it is also a staple food among people from specific parts of the world, especially those of Middle Eastern, African, Latin American or Caribbean origin. With per capita lamb and mutton consumption fairly stable, imports have offset the decline in domestic production. In addition to importing meat products, the United States also trades live animals with its North American trading partners. Live imports are primarily from Canada, while exports go primarily to Mexico. The United States has a greater demand for lamb than for mutton and thus imports Canadian lambs. Mexico has a greater demand for mutton and thus imports U.S. cull ewes (older, less productive females)....
A Hawaii Rancher's Fly Way of Herding Cattle An old time Hawaii tradition gets a technological boost. Paniolo (a Hawaiian word for cowboys) have herded cattle on our islands for more than a century. Now, an Oahu rancher shares how he's made his life a bit easier. This is ranch country. Bob Cherry's been herding cattle here for decades. "I've been a rancher here in Hawaii since 1975," he said. Over the years, he's learned shortcuts to save him time and money. The typical way of herding cattle is with horses. Then came motorcycles. But this ranch takes a non-traditional approach. Yup, he uses a helicopter to herd cattle. This method saves him hours a day. Plus, it's easier to go after wayward cattle. "They try to run away but the helicopter is right there," said Cherry. "And they're looking up, 'Where did you come from?' It takes care of the wild ones pretty good."...
World's richest tombstone race to be run in Fort Sumner The world's richest tombstone race, The Billy the Kid Tombstone Race, with more than $4,000 in cash prizes, will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at the Fort Sumner High School Football Field. The Tombstone Race draws more that 900 people from all over New Mexico as well as Utah, Texas and Colorado. It is estimated the economic impact of this one-day event is more than $250,000 for the local economy. The race has gained national recognition, with features in the Wall Street Journal, People magazine and on the Today Show. The tombstone, which marks Billy the Kid's grave at Fort Sumner, has almost as much history as the famous outlaw himself. The stone has been stolen three times since placement by a historical society in the 1940s, and once spent 27 years under a boxcar in Texas following a theft. After its most recent disappearance, the tombstone's recovery in California was shown on national television. The race is run over a simple, but grueling, 25-yard course. In the open division, two hurdles of four and five feet must be scaled while carrying an 80-pound stone during two laps of the four-lap race. In the women's and the over-age-35 divisions, contestants carry a 20-pound stone and women have a step at the 5-foot barrier. Fort Sumner has successfully combined the legends of the late 19th century with the vision of the 21st century. The legendary outlaw Billy the Kid sought refuge from the long arm of the law in Old Fort Sumner, only to meet his demise there at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett....
Larry McMurtry and the American West Entering his eighth decade, Larry McMurtry has under his belt 29 novels, five collections of essays, several screenplays, and, recently, a few short histories, not to mention his vast journalistic output. Raised up in a ranching family near Archer City, Texas, he has become one of his generation's more prolific men of letters. A bibliophile at his core and a rare book dealer on the side, his knowledge, interests, and the topics and settings of his books range widely. But from the beginning of his career, the American West has been the theme and the place to which he has most often repaired. And he is of two minds about it. In Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Beyond (1999), McMurtry lamented that his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Lonesome Dove (1985), a saga of two legendary retired Texas Rangers, had failed in its purpose. He had intended the book to "demythicize" the West. "[I]nstead," he complained, it "became a kind of American Arthuriad." In later (and lesser) novels, McMurtry tells us, he "tried to subvert the Western myth with irony and parody with no better results." He persists in this quest down to his latest novel, Telegraph Days (2006) and his latest history, Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West, 1846-1890 (2005). Yet somehow his writings on the West nearly always subvert his subversive intentions. Telegraph Days is the story of a bright and sassy woman with the Dickensian name of Nellie Courtright (she finds herself courted by, among others, George Armstrong Custer, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Virgil Earp), narrated in the first person. It opens in the Oklahoma territory, in and around a desolate town called Rita Blanca, and ends on a Hollywood movie set that perfectly reproduces the town (though appearing now more charming than desolate) from old photographs. The disjunction between town and movie set, and between Nellie's life and the plot of the film—in which she will be played by Lillian Gish—is the novel's theme, and this disjunction between the reality of the past and how it is remembered, artistically and popularly, is the theme of most of McMurtry's recent books....