New Zealand is one of the last countries in the world to have a food-production system entirely free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But that could change when nearly 4 million voters go to the polls this Saturday to decide whether to lift a moratorium on the use of GMOs next year. In fact, the vote will decide more than that; it will also shape national politics in the country for years to come. The debate has split the ruling leftist coalition, with the Labor Party in favor of lifting the moratorium and the Green Party bitterly opposed. The divisions …

The Bush administration said yesterday that it would withdraw $34 million in international family planning funds from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), arguing that the organization supports programs in China that force women to have abortions, in direct violation of U.S. law. U.N. officials denied promoting abortions in China (or anywhere else, for that matter), saying that on the contrary, their work has reduced the number of abortions in the country by providing education and health services to poor woman. "Women and children will die because of this decision," said Thoraya Obaid, executive director of UNFPA. In May, a …

  Re: Alternative Energy Crisis Dear Editor: The author takes the position that the Bush Energy Plan is solely focused on "Big Oil" and "King Coal," particularly with respect to tax breaks lavished on various forms of energy. Here are the facts: Value of the tax incentives for oil and gas proposed in the Bush Energy Plan: $0 Value of the tax incentives for renewable and alternative energy in the Bush Energy Plan: $5.3 billion Value of having an administration with an Energy Plan: Priceless.   David Garman Assistant Secretary Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy U.S. Department of Energy Washington, …

On July 17, 2002, 11 state attorneys general (all of them Democrats) sent the following letter to President Bush, criticizing him for failing to impose strong federal measures to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and control global warming. (You may also download a PDF copy of the letter by clicking here.) The Honorable George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20500 Re: Climate Change Dear President Bush: Climate change presents the most pressing environmental challenge of the 21st century. We applaud the efforts of your Administration in the release this May of a formal, comprehensive report …

In a letter being sent today to President Bush, 11 state attorneys general criticize the president for his failure to impose strong federal measures to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and control global warming. In addition to condemning the "regulatory void" created by the absence of federal action, the letter contends that environmental policies proposed by the Bush administration would worsen climate change and harm the economy. The letter was spearheaded by Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly, and signed by his colleagues from Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- all …

The Bush administration could slash a key program of the Clean Water Act requiring federal oversight of states' efforts to restore polluted bodies of water. About 300,000 miles of rivers and shorelines and 5 million acres of lakes in the U.S. are categorized as "impaired water bodies" in need of remediation, but for decades, some states neglected their cleanup. That began to shift in July 2000, when the Clinton administration took steps to beef up federal enforcement of the cleanups, in response to lawsuits from environmentalists. But farm groups, timber companies, and others who feared tight restrictions on pollution runoff …

A plan by the Bush administration to speed cleanups of highly radioactive military waste is provoking the ire of some powerful foes. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said the plan -- which offers an extra $800 million in cleanup funds for the next fiscal year to states that can decide by Aug. 1 how to spend the money -- could give states an incentive to lower their environmental standards. Cantwell and Washington state Attorney General Christine Gregoire aired their concerns yesterday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, whose chair, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), agreed that the money could be …

Apparently inspired by the 2000 Gore-Nader brouhaha, the head of New Mexico's GOP tried to bribe Green Party leaders to field candidates in upcoming elections in order to drain votes away from Democrats. The state's Republican Party chair, John Dendahl, spoke with Green leaders about the possibility of making a six-figure contribution to their party in exchange for running candidates in two New Mexico congressional districts. Dendahl said the contribution offer came not from himself but from a Republican in Washington, D.C., whom he refused to identify, saying only that the person was not an elected official or party officer. …

Despite mounting evidence that global warming has already begun to exact steep tolls on the environment, the Bush administration told Congress yesterday that it needs up to five years of additional scientific research before it will be ready to formulate a plan to address climate change. Speaking in front of the House Science Committee, Commerce Assistant Secretary James Mahoney said the administration was ready to "move into a new time of differentiation and strategy evaluation" extending for the next two to five years. Some committee members responded by expressing frustration about the White House's lack of a coherent climate change …

It seems the General Accounting Office has been busy of late; in a report completed in May that surfaced yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the congressional auditors found little evidence to support the Bush administration's claims that environmental regulations are interfering with military training. The administration has asked Congress to exempt the military from some major environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but the GAO rejected the assertion that environmental "encroachment" on military bases had hampered training efforts. In response to the report, Gen. John Keane, …