Our Haiku Hullabaloo fundraiser elicited hundreds of poems from creative Grist fans. We whittled the submissions down to a top 11 contenders, through a semi-scientific process involving repeated syllable counting, unabashed lobbying, and a measure of fisticuffs. (We kid -- no interns were harmed in the making of this contest.) Now we need your help to whittle it down to the single winningest haiku of all. Make your voice heard!

Albanian Capital Faces Air-Pollution Crisis You may never have heard of Tirana, the capital city of Albania, but it falls not far behind Beijing and New Delhi on the list of the world's most polluted cities. Hazardous emissions plague the city's air at levels 10 times higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization, causing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other ailments. Experts estimate that pollution-related deaths in the city have risen by 20 percent in the past two years, and regional officials are receiving reports of babies born with deformities -- not to mention four-legged roosters and two-headed calves. …

Massachusetts Unveils Nation's Most Stringent Mercury-Emissions Rules Today Massachusetts announced the nation's most restrictive regs on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, putting the state way ahead of the Bush administration in addressing the problem. The rules will require four big power plants to install equipment to reduce their mercury emissions 85 percent by 2008 and 95 percent by 2012. Activists have been pushing the rules for years and hailed them as a victory, though they wish the implementation date were sooner. "It's really a very strong step forward," said Cindy Luppi of Clean Water Action. Activists expressed particular pleasure …

Smart Breeding Holds Promise of Replacing GM Foods Imagine a technology that can produce all the benefits of biotech crops -- resistance to pests and pesticides, long shelf life, rapid (or delayed) ripening, etc. -- without the worries about environmental harm, corporate consolidation, and international trade wars. Some researchers believe they have discovered -- or rather, rediscovered -- just such a science. It harkens back to centuries-old methods of cross-breeding and hybridization and adds a new twist from contemporary genomics. Scientists are now able to map the genetic code of crops, analyze the gene markers for various traits, and quickly …

U.S. Nuclear Contractors Underreporting Worker Injuries Government contractors have underreported injuries and illnesses at Hanford Nuclear Reservation and other nuclear cleanup projects for years, creating a false image of safety for their own enrichment, according to a new federal audit. The Department of Energy, responsible for overseeing cleanups at the Hanford site in southern Washington state and other sites around the U.S., has used flawed data to assess safety programs, identify safety issues and trends, and determine how much to pay some large contractors, as some portion of payment can be tied to safety records. The audit, performed by the …

High Gas Prices Increase Popularity of Biofuel Many enviros have been bonkers for biofuel for years -- trust us, we have the letters to prove it. But with gas prices heading for the stratosphere, the idea of using vegetable oil to power cars is spreading. Some restaurant owners happily give their used oil away as they might otherwise have to pay to dispose of it, and the lucky recipients can then strain it and use it in retrofitted diesel engines, where it cuts down on emissions of carbon dioxide, particulates, and other pollutants. Since veggie oil must be heated before …

Monsanto Wins Landmark Biotech Case Against Canadian Farmer The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled in favor of biotech giant Monsanto in a case widely thought to be pivotal for the biotech industry. The court determined late last week that Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser had violated a Monsanto patent by growing the company's herbicide-resistant canola without paying a licensing fee. Schmeiser contended that he didn't plant the GM crop deliberately but rather that his fields were "polluted" by the crop, possibly by pollen blown in from a neighboring farm. Monsanto hailed the court for setting "a world standard in intellectual property …

What work do you do? I am an artist, art teacher, art therapist, and writer, all dealing with a concern for the fate of the earth. I am a contributing member of many national environmental organizations and an active and founding member of a local land-conservation organization. I've retired from a 40-year career as a professor of art and art education at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; I am now Chancellor Professor Emeritus. What, in a perfect world, would constitute "mission accomplished"? The best possible world would be quite a simple, interwoven world in which worth, necessity, and inherent dignity …

Walt Ratterman is program director for Green Empowerment, a nonprofit that promotes community-based renewable-energy projects internationally to generate social and environmental progress. Monday, 24 May 2004 GALAPAGOS ISLANDS Today was a day of training on Isabella Island in the Galapagos. It was also a holiday, so there was a celebration first thing in the morning at the school (where we were doing the training) to recognize the outstanding students of the year. Our class started right after the celebration, at 9:00 a.m. We had about 15 participants in the class. The class content consisted of the basics of solar-power practical …

Putin Commits Russia to Kyoto Protocol Well, we'll be damned: Kyoto might just happen. After an international courtship worthy of a Harlequin romance, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that his country "will rapidly move toward ratification of this [Kyoto] protocol," putting an end to months of teasing and contradictory signals (such a coquette!). Putin's thaw on the issue came in response to a deal with the European Union, which will now back Russia's entry into the WTO. The announcement stunned international observers, as Putin's economic advisor and a panel of top Russian scientists had recently warned the president …