Bush Administration Opens Alaskan Land to Drilling Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge isn't on the oil-and-gas chopping block under the terms of the current behemoth energy bill, but the rest of the state isn't quite as lucky: The Bush administration will announce today that it plans to open 8.8 million acres of Alaska's North Slope to oil and gas development. The Interior Department says drilling in the area represents a sound compromise between energy needs and environmental protection, but environmentalists counter that the region includes ecologically sensitive areas that are important to migratory birds, whales, and other wildlife, and should …

Once Seen as Ally, Brazilian President Draws Fire From Enviros It's been a roller coaster year for environmentalists in Brazil. Last October, with the election to the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula, for short), they were elated, because he was seen as one of their own. Now, though, enviros say they have been betrayed on virtually every front, from protection for the Amazon basin to prohibitions on genetically modified foods. Lula's government claims it is trying to address the country's woes through large-scale paradigm shifts, which it says will require more time than piecemeal solutions. But critics …

Bush Met in London by Environmental Protestors Protesting the U.S. government's refusal to address the problem of global warming, environmental demonstrators gave President Bush a less-than-warm welcome yesterday as he arrived in London for a state visit. Up to 600 people noisily marched to the U.S. embassy to criticize Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, carrying banners with such messages as, "Wanted for crimes against the planet" and "Bush go home." Tony Juniper, head of Friends of the Earth, told the crowd that Bush was "one of the world's arch environmental villains." And that's just the tip …

Bush Administration Admits Role in Klamath Fish Die-Off The Bush administration has finally admitted to its role in last year's die-off of more than 34,000 chinook and coho salmon in the Klamath River basin, which straddles the Oregon-California border: The massive fish kill was caused at least in part by the government's diversion of water for agriculture, which led to unusually low water levels in the river, according to an analysis released yesterday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal scientists reached this conclusion six months ago (and California state scientists found much the same thing even earlier), but …

Final Version of Energy Bill Is Bad News for the Environment After many weeks of pork-barrel politics conducted behind closed doors, Republican negotiators yesterday released a final version of the first big energy bill to emerge from Congress in more than a decade -- and it's a doozy. The package, which contains loads of subsidies for industry and loads of bad news for the environment, now goes back to the House and Senate for a vote; if the two chambers okay it, President Bush will enthusiastically sign it into law. Among other things, the bill would: give $14.5 billion in …

MTBE Producers Would Get Relief from Lawsuits Under Energy Bill Of all the anti-environmental provisions in the energy bill, the one raising perhaps the most ire would limit the liability of companies that produce the fuel additive MTBE, which has been found to contaminate water supplies across the country. Not only would the measure shield the companies from future lawsuits related to water pollution; it would be retroactive to Sept. 5, thereby undermining a number of cases that have been filed in the last month and a half. To top it all off, the bill would give MTBE manufacturers $2 …

Dear Umbra, We recently bought a new (to us) house and acquired a microwave oven. Having gotten this far in life without one, we figured we wouldn't use it all that much. Ha. We use it all the time. It's just so much faster than heating things on the stove. I do wonder, though, which is more energy-efficient. Is it more eco-friendly to heat milk for a minute in the microwave, or five minutes on the gas stove? And is there anything to the persistent rumors of stray radiation from microwaves? Z.B.Pittsburgh, Penn. Dearest Z.B., Microwaves and their ovens remind …

Dear Umbra, Every time I go to the grocery store and see meats, dairy products, and other products displayed in open-air refrigerators, I get a little miffed and wonder if this isn't a huge waste of energy and a tremendous cost to the supermarket as well. Do supermarkets make more money having their products in open-air rather than closed-door displays? DelosChapel Hill, N.C. Dearest Delos, If you've ever made an impulse purchase, you can answer that question for yourself with a resounding "yes." And the friendly co-operative grocery store designer with whom I spoke will confirm it. Anything that stands …

U.S. Loses Bid for Increased Use of Ozone-Depleting Pesticide A U.S. request for permission to up use of an ozone-depleting fungicide was snubbed last week by representatives from the European Union and developing nations at an international meeting on ozone-layer protection in Nairobi, Kenya. The Montreal Protocol, a 1989 treaty that aims to halt destruction of the ozone layer, calls for developed countries to phase out use of methyl bromide, an ozone-damaging fumigant, by 2005, but American negotiators were pushing for an exemption that would let the U.S. increase production and use of the chemical. That request was denied for …

Climate Change Could Wipe Out Monarch Butterflies Monarch butterflies could find themselves in serious trouble within 50 years because of climate change, according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Monarchs make an annual migration of more than 2,000 miles from spots as far north as the U.S.-Canada border to wintering grounds in Mexican fir forests; climatic shifts predicted for those forests could make them too wet for the colorful butterflies, causing a massive die-off of the species. "The conditions that monarchs need to survive the winter are not predicted to exist anywhere …