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Batting Cleanup

Fed Audit Finds Hanford Cleanup Not Working According to a federal audit released yesterday, efforts to clean up the contaminated groundwater around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southern Washington state have basically sucked — “largely ineffective” was the report’s more delicate phrase. Thus far the Department of Energy has spent $85 million attempting to clean […]

I’m Gonna Git You, Succor

Panel Report Recommends Monitoring of GM Foods A new report from a 13-member panel of the influential National Academy of Sciences is serving as a bit of a Rorschach test in the debate over genetically modified foods. GM opponents found succor in the panel’s warning that modifying the genetic structure of foods could “create unintended […]

Species Freezies

Scientists Preserve DNA of Endangered Species A consortium of U.K. research centers and scientists has launched an ambitious project to preserve the DNA of thousands of endangered species. The Frozen Ark Project will start with creatures expected to disappear within five years — like North Africa’s scimitar-horned oryx and Mexico’s Socorro dove — and then […]

Wet Suit

Northeast States Sue EPA Over Power-Plant Water Rules Attorneys general from Northeast states seem to have taken it upon themselves to lead the battle against Bush administration environmental rollbacks. Last week they filed suit against power companies for fouling the air; this week, six states are filing suit against the U.S. EPA over proposed new […]

Criticize It, Don’t Legalize It

Groups Take EPA to Task Over Pesticide Evaluation The U.S. EPA is under fire from several directions over its procedures for approving pesticides. A report released today by the Center for Biological Diversity claims that the EPA “has shown reckless disregard for the impact of its pesticide regulation program on wildlife, and most importantly, endangered […]

Shrub Reduction

Bush Fuel-Reduction Plan Shortchanges Rural Communities Many small, rural Western communities have been devastated by the decline of the logging industry, with unemployment high, poverty rampant, and drug use (particularly of methamphetamine) rising. Some of those communities found hope in the Economic Action Program, created by the first Bush administration, which offered money for retraining […]

I Shot the Sheriff (but I Did Not Pollute the Groundwater)

Leadless Bullets Are All the Rage There are several bad things about bullets. First on the list: When they enter the human body at a high velocity, they have deleterious health consequences. Somewhere down on the list is that they typically contain lead, and while one bullet won’t stunt your kid’s mental growth (unless she’s […]

Andrew Light, an enviro-academic, answers questions

Andrew Light. What work do you do? I’m a philosopher specializing mostly in environmental ethics and am currently Assistant Professor of Environmental Philosophy and director of the graduate program in Environmental Conservation Education at New York University in Manhattan. How does it relate to the environment? Let me give you some background on the field […]

Busting Their Assets

Analysts Warn Automakers of Coming Climate-Change Risks If one thing catches the attention of a large corporation — actually, strike the “if” — it is the risk of declining profits. So it may be that U.S. automakers will have to take global warming seriously after all. A recent report from financial analysts at the investment […]

Let My People Cool

Global Warming Disproportionately Affects African-Americans, Says Report According to a new study, the adverse effects of global warming in the U.S. fall disproportionately on black communities. Commissioned by the policy arm of the Congressional Black Caucus and conducted by research firm Redefining Progress, the study claims that blacks are more likely to live in areas […]