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Water Racket!

Noise in the ocean is killing sea creatures The world’s oceans are getting noisier and it’s killing the creatures that live there, scientists say. One major culprit is oil and gas drilling, which involves low-frequency seismic pulses used to survey geologic strata; military sonar and large shipping vessels also generate their share of racket. The […]

States of Grace

States take the lead on renewable energy With the climate for renewable energy rather inhospitable at the federal level, states are taking the initiative. For example, a proposal before the New York Public Service Commission would require utilities to get 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2013; if it passes, New York […]

Hugh and Cry

Questions raised about influential conservation software In recent years, many large conservation plans — including the biggie that led Australia to ban fishing on a third of the Great Barrier Reef — were produced using a computer program called Marxan. Now, Australian professor Hugh P. Possingham, who helped develop the program in 1998, is raising […]

Assault and Pepper

Trial of “Pepper Spray 8” may deadlock again In 1997, protesters locked themselves together with metal sleeves to protest Pacific Lumber Co.’s plans to log old-growth forests in California’s Humboldt County. Although the protests were nonviolent, Humboldt police swabbed pepper spray in the eyes of eight protestors at three separate protests. Footage of the protestors […]

Ghostwriter in the Machine

More language in proposed mercury regs found to echo industry memos Language in the Bush administration’s proposed mercury regulations has been found to almost precisely mirror passages in memos written by a law firm representing coal-fired power plants. No, we’re not rerunning a story from months ago — it’s happened again. For those of you […]

And You Thought the Food Was Bad

Water on many airplanes is contaminated Happy National Clean Hands Week! While more than 90 percent of folks say they wash their hands after using the bathroom, researchers have discovered that many of them are, well, lying. So wash those hands, people. Except, uh, don’t wash them on airplanes. A new U.S. EPA study just […]

Ocean’s 212

Government ocean commission calls for sweeping reforms The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, concluding two and a half years of studying oceans, coastal areas, and the Great Lakes, delivered its final report to the political types in Congress and the White House yesterday, where it will be waved around for a day or two and […]

Gridding Our Loins

New energy sources await a smarter energy grid Newsweek has a dandy package of stories on the future of energy. Aside from an interview with ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond, in which he says, more or less, “screw everything else, oil is the thing,” the stories present a relatively hopeful picture. There are bits on getting […]

Have Modified Genes, Will Travel

Genetically modified plants spreading hither and thither Genes from genetically modified grass can spread much farther than previously believed, according to a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study focused on a new strain of creeping bentgrass — commonly used on golf courses for its resilience — developed […]

Big Trouble in Big China

News flash: China’s environment is bad and getting worse A Washington Post exploration of China’s environmental problems confirms all the sorry tales you’ve been hearing. The country contains at least six of the world’s 10 most polluted cities, experts say, leading to respiratory problems for millions of citizens. Deforestation in north and central China means […]