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This Exstinks

Number of Threatened Species May Be Drastically Underestimated The number of species in danger of extinction may be some 50 percent higher than currently estimated, according to a new study in the journal Science. The International Conservation Union’s Red List cites 12,200 species teetering on the brink, but researchers say at least 6,300 may be […]

18 and Life

Air Pollution Does Long-Term Damage to Kids’ Lungs Regular exposure to air pollution can stunt the growth of children’s lungs, leading to a lifetime of reduced respiratory capacity, health problems, and even early death, according to a landmark study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, the longest and most comprehensive […]

Comment on the CPR

Manhattan Transference

Feds Have Not Fully Studied Twin Tower Air Pollution or Treated Victims As the third anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaches, the federal government has still not comprehensively studied the health effects of the dust and debris that filled the air around Ground Zero in the days following the attacks, and there is still […]

Mine Kampf

Newmont Mining Corp. Blamed for Sickness and Fish Kills in Indonesia For nearly a decade, Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., the world’s biggest gold producer, has dumped treated mine waste directly into Bayat Bay in Indonesia. Fish populations, upon which locals depend economically, have been decimated, and villagers around the bay have suffered a panoply of […]

Taint Misbehavin’

Pollution Causes Animals to Act All Freaky It seems to some folks that humans behave in more and more bizarre fashion these days, but animals have tended to go about their animal business in a generally ordinary fashion. No more: Ubiquitous chemical pollutants known as endocrine disruptors — everything from heavy metals to PCBs — […]

Vengeance Is Mine

Mining Company Funds Campaign to Repeal Cyanide-Mining Ban in Montana In 1998, Montana voters approved a ban on cyanide open-pit gold mining, which for years had defaced the state’s landscape and polluted its groundwater. That ban could be repealed by an initiative set to appear on the November ballot, funded almost exclusively by Canyon Resources […]

Luisa Colasimone, wind power advocate, answers questions

Luisa Colasimone. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m communications director for the European Wind Energy Association. What does your organization do? What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? EWEA is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting wind power in Europe and worldwide. Our members include 200 companies, organizations, and […]

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

The Wilderness Act Turns 40 Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Some 9 million acres were designated wilderness upon passage; 106 million acres are protected under the act today. Jimmy Carter signed the most land into wilderness, with 66.3 million […]

Pebbles: Bam, Bam!

China Gears Up to Build New, Smaller Nuke Plants China’s economy is expanding faster than Bruce Banner with road rage, straining against the limits of its current capacity for creating or importing energy — and pumping out some of the world’s worst air pollution. The plan? Go nuclear. This year China announced its intention to […]