The average fuel efficiency of new vehicles has hit a two-decade low of 20.4 miles per gallon, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. EPA. The report attributed the decline in fuel economy largely to the popularity of sports utility vehicles, which get notoriously poor fuel economy and are regulated by laxer rules than other passenger vehicles. The report will add fuel to the debate over whether the government should impose stricter fuel-economy standards on automakers. This summer, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report that found that higher standards could be implemented at a relatively low …

Canadian Minister of Health Allan Rock said yesterday that labels on genetically modified food should be mandatory in the country. In August, a national task force recommended a voluntary labeling system in Canada, but Rock said the country should instead follow the lead of the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and impose labeling rules on the food industry. "It is about time government caught up to the will of Canadians to be reasonably informed about what they are putting in their bodies," Rock said. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant Novartis confirmed yesterday that Greenpeace was correct in claiming that some …

Despite increased safety concerns following the terrorist attacks, Great Britain has approved the opening of a radioactive fuel reprocessing plant by the state-owned British Nuclear Fuels. Although British officials said the plant, which would convert used plutonium from a nearby facility into mixed oxide fuel, presented a "negligible" security risk, others fear the plant and its plutonium shipments could be the object of terrorist attacks. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are considering legal challenges, as is the Irish government. The plant is located in northwest England, just 150 miles from the Irish border.

In a project known as Operation Ark -- because, as one environmental official put it, "The only person that has come close to doing something like this is Mr. Noah" -- 1,000 elephants are being moved from South Africa's Kruger National Park to a neighboring protected area in Mozambique. The relocation project will ease pressure on the park's 9,000-plus elephants, as well as create ecotourism-related job opportunities in poverty-stricken Mozambique. The three-year project, which involves tranquilizing the elephants and then lifting them by crane into trucks for transport over the border, is beginning today. It is the first major initiative …

Former President Bill Clinton paid a visit to Hollywood yesterday to speak at a fundraising dinner for the American Oceans Campaign. Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Dennis Quaid, Rhea Perlman, and other stars were on hand to honor the president for his past environmental work. The event raised $600,000 for American Oceans, which was founded by the actor Ted Danson. Clinton spent most of his 45-minute speech talking about the September terrorist attacks, concluding by saying, "Don't lose heart. Just go on -- and save oceans while you're at it."

A proposal to create marine parks off the coast of California has led to shouting matches between environmentalists and scientists on the one side and the fishing industry and recreational anglers on the other. The proposal would prevent fishing and other human activities in as much as 20 percent of state waters -- a 100-fold increase over the current 0.2 percent protected by state law. Opponents, some of whom threw fish at the plan's authors when it was unveiled, question the science behind the proposal and say it would devastate angling in California. Proponents, however, argue that marine species would …

A five-year study by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission found that two chemical companies, Marathon Ashland Petroleum and BP Chemical, have been releasing unacceptable amounts of benzene into the air around Texas City, 60 miles southeast of Houston. The levels of benzene, which is a known carcinogen, were three to six times higher than those permitted by TNRCC guidelines. The companies say the study's conclusions are questionable and deny that area residents could face health complications. Environmental officials, who suffered headaches and vomiting while collecting air samples, are considering levying fines against the companies.

A sting operation by Cambodian wildlife officials uncovered 137 restaurants dishing up endangered species in the country's capital city of Phnom Penh. The officials rescued more than 1,300 critters, including wild boars, rare turtles, scaly anteaters (called pangolins by those in the know), and a sun bear. Although no one was arrested as a result of the endangered species dragnet -- Cambodian law only allows fines in such cases -- the governor of Phnom Penh said he was planning an aggressive campaign to control the mushrooming trade in wild meat.

More than 30 tons of toxic PCBs will be dredged from 19 miles of Wisconsin's Fox River if a cleanup plan announced yesterday wins public support. To atone for decades of dumping the toxins, a consortium of seven paper companies would pick up the $308 million price tag for the cleanup of the Fox, which is the leading source of PCBs flowing into the Great Lakes. Enviros said the plan would be a good first step, but they pointed out that only parts of the river would be dredged. Portions of the river and adjacent Green Bay not covered by …

Residents of Montana won't have to vote again on a 1998 ban on the use of cyanide in open-pit gold mines. The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday chose not to consider an appeals court ruling that upheld the voter-approved ban. A corporate spending cap on initiative campaigns in Montana prevented mining companies from throwing their full weight into the anti-ban effort, but right before voters okayed the ban, the spending limits were found to be unconstitutional. The companies then sued for a revote, claiming they hadn't had enough time to "counteract the effects of their prolonged, state-coerced silence." The 9th U.S. …