New Jersey to Make Polluters Pay for Routine Contamination New Jersey is getting tough on polluters, and other states may have a lot to learn from the state's approach. New Jersey officials say they will soon begin broadly enforcing a law that requires polluting industries to pay the cost of cleaning up their messes. Sounds like a no-brainer, but critics say the move could drive businesses out of state. In the past, the state has collected damages from industries primarily when there was an environmental catastrophe, such as a big oil spill. Now, New Jersey will break new ground by …

Bill to Phase Out Grazing Gets Support from Enviros and Ranchers Environmentalists and ranchers alike are getting excited about a bill that would have the federal government pay ranchers to give up their rights to graze cattle and sheep on public lands in the West. The legislation, soon to be introduced in Congress by Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), calls for grazing allotments to be permanently retired after the feds buy them up. The idea behind the bill comes from veteran environmental activist Andy Kerr and his new project, the Oregon-based National Public Lands Grazing Campaign. Kerr wants to get cattle …

GOP Energy Bill Would Do a Big Favor for Halliburton A measure in a big Republican-backed energy bill would exempt from federal regulation a natural-gas-drilling procedure refined by Halliburton Co., the oil and gas services company previously headed by Vice President Dick Cheney. The process, called hydraulic fracturing, is used widely in Western states and involves the injection of diesel fuel, hydrochloric acid, or other substances into the ground to help increase natural gas production. Enviros argue that hydraulic fracturing has contaminated drinking water in Alabama and could put water in other areas at risk. The massive energy bill, being …

Missouri, California Clash Over Air-Quality Plan A proposal to reduce air pollution from lawn mowers and other gas-powered outdoor equipment has set the stage for a battle between the staid Midwestern state of Missouri and the kooky Californians. To help deal with the Golden State's chronic air-quality problem, the California Air Resources Board plans to require manufacturers to equip all small gasoline engines sold in the state with catalytic converters beginning in 2008. That plan isn't sitting well with Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond (R), whose state is home to two factories owned by Briggs and Stratton, the world's largest manufacturer …

Russian Industries Back Kyoto Protocol Here's an unlikely ally in the battle to combat global climate change: industrial polluters. A number of Russia's largest gas and electric companies, steel mills, and metal smelters have begun lobbying their government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty on climate change. The companies are so interested in getting their hands on what could amount to billions of dollars in foreign investment and emissions credits that they are even offering to help pay to administer Kyoto-related programs if the government ratifies the treaty. One expert estimates that Russian businesses could attract $1.2 billion …

Just after George W. Bush took office, two memos circulated among his top administrators that set the stage for what the president, during his campaign, promoted as a new era of environmental policy. On Bush's first day in office, January 20, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card sent a memo to all cabinet members directing them to ice more than 50 regulations (many of them several years in the making) that had been approved toward the end of the Clinton administration. The rules were not to be enacted unless the White House Office of Management and Budget could …

Central Europe's Largest Lake Is Shrinking According to legend, Hungary's Lake Balaton is constantly replenished by a young girl weeping in a church in the middle of its waters. Now, though, Central Europe's largest lake is shrinking, and experts say the problem isn't a happier lake lady; it's global warming. Following four hot summers in a row and lower-than-average annual rainfalls, millions of gallons of lakewater have disappeared, exposing mudflats and forcing visitors to the 231-square-mile lake -- one of Hungary's most popular tourist attractions -- to walk far out from the original water's edge for a swim. Environmentalists, climate …

Controversial Logging Company Tries to Green Its Image Pacific Lumber, one of the most reviled logging companies in the U.S., is trying to give itself a green makeover. The Northern California logging giant, recently renamed Palco, has a new logo featuring a recycling symbol shaped like a tree, a new mission statement in which it commits to being "a leader in environmental stewardship," and new newspaper ads featuring workers planting trees. The company earned the ire of environmentalists over the past 15 years by threatening to cut down ancient redwoods in the famous Headwaters Forest and clashing with tree-sitting protestors, …

Wind Power on the Rise in Lone Star State Texas is probably not the first place that comes to mind when the topic turns to clean energy -- but the land of fossil fuels is looking to become a leader in renewable power by investing heavily in wind energy. The state is already the second-largest wind-energy producer in the country, trailing only California. In the last three years, Texas has upped its wind-power capacity from under 200 to over 900 megawatts, or enough to power about a half-million homes. The state wants to see that number climb to 2,000 MW …

Prestige Disaster Likely Worse Than Exxon Valdez Spill, Report Says The leak from the oil tanker Prestige off the coast of Spain last year probably caused more environmental damage than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, according to a new report by a private Spanish economic institute. Some 78,000 metric tons of fuel have been cleansed from beaches since the November sinking, and the Prestige continues to leak at the rate of roughly one metric ton per day. The estimated cost of cleaning up the Galician coastline is $2.8 billion dollars, about $800 million * more than the Exxon Valdez cleanup …