“Colony collapse disorder,” the mysterious and extremely worrisome disappearance of bees from their hives, was one of the top “green” stories of 2007 listed by the online journal Grist. Above, Mark Robar, left, and Ed Lafferty examine hives in Richmond last spring.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

Rhode Island’s historic lawsuit against three companies that manufactured lead-based paints generations ago has kept plenty of lawyers busy in recent days. But it will be some time before anyone knows whether the state will succeed in its effort to have the companies spend $2.4 billion removing paints from 240,000 houses.

On Friday, lawyers for three companies found to have created a public nuisance with their paints called on Judge Michael Silverstein to set aside the cleanup plan recommended by the state.

Lawyers for the Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries and Millennium Holdings LLC argued that there are legal flaws in the cleanup plan and they shouldn’t be required to clean up individual houses when the state presented no evidence identifying which properties were contaminated.

Silverstein rejected two motions, held one as premature and agreed to take a fourth under advisement, according to a company spokesman.

Meanwhile, after meeting with lawyers in the case, the Rhode Island Supreme Court announced last week its schedule for briefs and oral arguments for the various appeals that have been filed as a result of the jury verdict against the companies.

Final oral arguments before the court are scheduled for May 15.

But those arguments will be preceded by a schedule for briefs and arguments focusing on five separate issues, or tracks. The tracks include the paint companies’ individual liability appeals, the state’s cross appeal on compensatory damages, the state’s appeal from the judgment in favor of the Atlantic Richfield Co., the attorney general’s appeals of contempt orders entered on Dec. 2, 2005, and June 2, 2006, and a writ of certiorari to review the attorney general’s use of a contingency fee agreement to hire private counsel to help present its case.

In a related matter, Republicans at the State House recently called for hearings on Attorney General Patrick Lynch’s agreement to pay contingency fees to Motley Rice and Decof & Decof for their work in the case.

Based on an abatement plan amounting to $2.4 billion, the Republicans said the contingency fee could total nearly $400 million. House Minority Leader Robert A. Watson, Minority Whip Nicholas Graham and Senior Deputy Leader Carol A. Mumford argued that Lynch needs legislative approval to spend the money.

But House Speaker William J. Murphy said their request was premature because the attorney general would only ask the state for legal fees if they couldn’t be secured from other sources, such as the defendants.

“The Republican leaders are simply playing politics,” Murphy said in a statement. “I don’t recall them making an issue when the administration earlier this year agreed to make legal payments of $1 million to a Washington, D.C., law firm in a Tiverton pollution case that was not budgeted.”

Interfaith group targets climate

Rhode Island’s first interfaith conference devoted to developing a response by the religious community to climate change is scheduled for 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Bishop Hendricken high school in Warwick.

The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, an Episcopal priest and principal author of a passionate environmental essay called “To Serve Christ in All Creation: A Pastoral Letter from the Episcopal Bishops of New England.”

The following workshops will begin at 8:30 p.m.:

• Cool congregations — Presenters from St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church at the University of Rhode Island campus in Kingston, Channing Church in Newport and Temple Emanu-El in Providence will talk about the efforts to become more energy efficient.

• Social justice and climate change — Liz Marsis of the Rhode Island Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice and Steve MacAusland, founder of the Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light chapter, will talk about solving climate change issues without worsening the plight of the poor.

• Sister Denise Turcotte, director of the New Dawn Earth Center in Cumberland, will offer activities and resources to help parents and teachers educate children about the interdependence of life on earth.

• Steven P. Hamburg, director of the Global Environmental Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, will give a talk on climate-change mitigation called “How to Do More Good with Less Effort.”

The conference is sponsored by Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light. For more information and to register, go to www.riipl.org/.

URI grad to help lead federal office

The new deputy regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast regional office is a University of Rhode Island graduate.

Wendi Weber, a native of Rochester, N.Y., earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from URI and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia.

She worked as a field biologist in Florida and Georgia before going to work for the Fish and Wildlife’s endangered species programs in Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore.

She was an assistant regional director for ecological services in the agency’s Minneapolis office before being promoted to deputy regional director for the Northeast, based in Hadley, Mass.

The Northeast office has about 900 employees, with 200 based in Hadley and the rest in 100 field offices, fish hatcheries and wildlife refuges such as those along Rhode Island’s south shore.

From missing bees to wacky weather

Grist, the online environmental news and commentary publication founded by Brown University graduate Chip Giller, recently published its list of the top “green” stories of 2007.

For the full story, go to www.grist.org and check out the Dec. 20 edition.

Here’s an abbreviated version:

15. “Bees buzz off” — the so-called “colony collapse disorder” that is wiping out bees across the country.

14. “Climate skeptics step on rakes” — skeptics, led by U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, are being increasingly challenged for promoting long discredited scientific theories and non-peer reviewed studies.

13. “Lead-tainted toys scare parents.”

12. “Ethanol bubbles with contradictions” — ethanol hype increases, along with backlash concerned about unintended consequences.

11. “Courts thwart Bush” — courts overrule the Bush administration on greenhouse gases, power plant pollution controls, endangered fish, hydroelectric dams, forest management, “healthy forests” and Navy sonar.

10. “CFLs are all the rage” — replacing old-fashioned incandescents.

9. “Local food gets hip” — a movement that has grown in Rhode Island as well as more “green” locales.

8. “The year of Gore” — an Oscar, a bestseller and a Nobel prize.

7. “Scientists speak loud and clear” — climate scientists go public.

6. “Green is the new green” — billions of dollars are invested in renewable energy projects.

5. “Weather gets wacky” — Southeast drought, Californian wildfires, Northwest floods.

4. “Media goes green” — networks, magazines and books focus on green issues.

3. “A movement gets moving” — new environmental groups arise around the country.

2. “U.S. politicians wake up” — all major presidential candidates announce environmental plans.

1. “A backlash against coal” — despite increased industry lobbying efforts, coal grows into increasing disfavor, even in industry.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by e-mail at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.