American Heart Association Deems Air Pollution Bad for Heart It's official: Air pollution is not only bad for your kids, your lungs, and your view -- it's bad for your heart as well. So says the American Heart Association, the authority on all matters cardiovascular. The AHA had long remained skeptical about the connection between air pollution and heart problems, but a growing body of research convinced the group to issue its first formal warning on the matter today. It cautioned that folks with preexisting heart conditions should check the U.S. EPA's Air Quality Index before exercising outside. While the …

Court Upholds EPA Snowmobile Regs, But Requests Further Info Gosh, we haven't written about snowmobiles in weeks! Yesterday a federal appeals court gave us another excuse to do so when it upheld the U.S. EPA's 2002 snowmobile emissions regulations, but ordered the agency to provide a more adequate explanation for why some 30 percent of new snowmobiles would not be required to install emission-reducing technology. The regulations require only 70 percent of new snowmobiles to be built with cleaner-burning engines by 2012. At issue in the case -- brought by enviro groups Environmental Defense and the Bluewater Network -- was …

Michael Levitin is a freelance journalist based in Barcelona. This week he is attending the World Forum of Cultures' Dialogue on Science, Knowledge, and Sustainable Development. Tuesday, 1 Jun 2004 BARCELONA, Spain. As I craned my head to read the translation screen over the stage, Mikhail Gorbachev was waving his arms wildly and bellowing in Russian about the need to pursue nuclear energy, eliminate terrorism with military force, admit Belorussia and Ukraine into the European Union, and substitute Muslim troops for the U.S. "Christian" forces currently occupying Iraq. I'd never heard a Soviet stump speech in its original form, but …

Most Oil and Gas Leases on Public Land Are Not Productive Almost 75 percent of the 40 million acres of public land leased for oil and gas development in the U.S. are not producing any oil or gas, but the Bush administration is nonetheless pushing relentlessly to open more land for leasing. Peter Morton, a resource economist with the Wilderness Society, says it's "a land grab, pure and simple." Companies count their public-land holdings -- sometimes leased for only $2 or $3 a year per acre, in 10-year increments -- as assets, which can attract investment and boost their bottom …

Renewable Energy and Green Technology Hot The renewable-energy market is entering a new era, growing independently of fluctuations in fossil-fuel energy prices. While every story on renewable energy still must include this unfortunate disclaimer -- renewable energy provides only a small percentage of the energy consumed in the U.S. (an estimated 6.7 percent this year) and remains more expensive than fossil-fuel energy -- analysts are bullish on its future prospects. Production from renewables continues to rise and prices continue to fall, and investment in solar, wind, and geothermal technologies is growing. The latter trend is apparent in California, where the …

Conservative Groups Block International Sea Treaty The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea -- a comprehensive international accord governing the use of oceans for shipping, fishing, mining, and naval operations -- has been signed by the U.S. and unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but it languishes in the Senate nonetheless, awaiting a final vote. Environmental groups have supported the treaty for years, saying it provides important tools to protect ocean ecosystems. A thwarted treaty supported by enviros is no big news -- but this treaty is also supported by oil and mining companies, as well …

New Trucking Company Touts Eco-Friendliness A new California trucking company hopes to demonstrate that progressive policies can be profitable. Long Beach-based Allied Port Transporters is founded on a set of forward-thinking environmental and labor practices. It hopes to reduce air pollution by running a fleet of clean diesel trucks, and to ease traffic congestion by operating during off-peak hours. Instead of the traditional model of paying cargo fees to truckers operating as independent contractors, it will hire a fleet of drivers and offer them salaries and benefits, thus easing the pressure on drivers to cut corners on truck maintenance and …

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  A Real Beal Feel Re: Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now Dear Editor: Deron Beal here, founder guy of the Freecycle Network. I've read a whole lot of articles about us and have been interviewed for even more. The only other article that even got close to Ms. Nijhuis' "hitting the nail on the head" in tone and content was the one in The New York Times. I just felt I needed to pass on kudos to Michelle Nijhuis, even if I can't pronounce her name ... Deron Beal Tucson, Ariz. The Freecycle Network   …