An automobile company lobbying for stricter emissions standards? It might sound like an unlikely tale, but not when the bottom line is at stake. General Motors is pressuring the South Korean government to impose tougher standards for diesel emissions than it is currently considering. Here's why: The automaker is trying to increase the competitiveness of its Korean affiliate, GM Daewoo. GM Daewoo won't have any diesel cars ready by 2005, when Seoul plans to impose moderate emissions standards, but by 2006, it will be ready to sell cars that meet far stricter standards. If the company can convince the government …

Toyota last week unveiled a spiffy new version of its hybrid gas-electric Prius, which will get better gas mileage (55 miles to the gallon), emit fewer air pollutants, and give passengers more room than previous Prius models. The car will hit showrooms late this year as a 2004 model. Toyota also said it plans to eventually spread its hybrid technology throughout its fleet. But sales of Priuses are dwarfed by those of Toyota SUVs and trucks, which the company is aggressively promoting in the U.S. market. A recent report by Environmental Defense found that carbon dioxide emissions from Toyota's fleet …

Maria Elena Foronda Farro was born to be an activist. Her father, a union lawyer in Chimbote, Peru, taught her -- through words and by example -- about the importance of social justice. Foronda, who grew up in Chimbote and earned a master's degree in sociology in Mexico, is now applying her father's lessons to her hometown. Maria Elena Foronda Farro. Photo: Richard Goldgewicht. Peru is the world's largest producer of fishmeal, a substance used in fertilizers and animal feed, and the industry dominates Chimbote and other coastal towns. Many of the factories are located in the middle of residential …

Ford Motor Company backpedaled yesterday on its promise to increase the fuel economy of sport utility vehicles 25 percent by 2020. It now says it will continue to try to improve gas mileage but will not set a fixed deadline for reaching the 25-percent goal. The company chalked up the change in plan to technological difficulties and the lack of federal tax credits for improved efficiency. The decision is likely to have ramifications throughout the industry, as the initial Ford pledge spurred General Motors and the Chrysler Group to follow suit. Environmentalists reacted with confusion and dismay to the news: …

Pollution in North America decreased by 5 percent between 1995 and 2000, according to a report released today by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established under the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 2000, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico released 3.6 million tons of pollution. Of that, 1.5 million tons went directly into the air, water, or ground, while the remainder was sent to recycling operations (1 million) or for treatment, energy recovery, or disposal. The worst offenders were industries located in just three states (Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) and one province (Ontario, Canada), which together accounted for as much …

If economics is a religion, the World Bank is perhaps its grandest church. For the last half century, the venerable institution at 1818 H Street in Washington, D.C., has been dispatching its missionaries around the globe, spreading the theology of the free market to the heathens. And if economics is a religion, Herman Daly is its arch-heretic, a member of the high priesthood turned renegade. From 1988 to 1994, Daly was the World Bank's senior environmental economist, a lonely voice of dissent in an organization that frowns on unbelievers. During his six-year tenure, Daly, the economist-turned-ecovisionary whose works established ecological …

Joshua Farley, a researcher at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, didn't get into economics to make money. In fact, he tells me, he almost quit the academy altogether to go back to carpentry -- a far more lucrative career prospect. "When I graduated, there were virtually no jobs in ecological economics. I applied to the only job I saw. Three years later, I saw three jobs in ecological economics, one of which was the one I already had," he grins. "Now, if you look under ecological economics, there are a lot of jobs -- mostly at liberal arts colleges, …

Two of the nation's corporate giants, Alcoa and Archer Daniels Midland, have agreed to settle charges of violating the New Source Review rules of the federal Clean Air Act by making upgrades ballparked at some $700 million, according to people familiar with the settlements. Alcoa, the world's largest producer of aluminum, has 12 months to cut sulfur dioxide emissions at a plant in Rockdale, Tex., by 95 percent (or over 52,000 tons per year) and nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent (or 17,000 tons per year). In addition, the company will pony up $1.5 million in fines and $2.5 million …

The idea of slapping a dollar value on to an alpine meadow or the dappled green shade of a forest strikes a chill into the very bones of most environmentalists. Like love, nature is the kind of thing that money just can't buy. Or is it? A small but growing chorus of ecological economists are saying that perhaps the best way to protect nature is to figure out just how much it's worth -- in cold, hard cash. In their quest to integrate Adam Smith with Rachel Carson, these proponents of "ecosystem valuation" are infuriating many of their colleagues: both …

While sales of many big SUVs are dipping, Hummers are rumbling out of showrooms at a rate of 3,000 per month, topping the list of best-selling large luxury SUVs in the U.S., despite a starting price of $50,000. Some buyers say they feel patriotic in a massive Hummer H2, the civilian sibling of the military Humvees now doing active duty in Iraq, and Hummer dealers report that sales have risen with the war. "When I turn on the TV, I see wall-to-wall Humvees, and I'm proud," said H2 owner Sam Bernstein. "They're not out there in Audi A4's." The Sierra …