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Not Corn Yesterday

U.K. Ministers Green-Light Genetically Modified Corn In the U.K., they fight over genetically modified foods the way folks in the U.S. fight over “America’s Next Top Model.” The daily drip of accusations and counter-accusations can blur the eyes, but today brought a bona fide significant development: U.K. ministers officially announced that they would allow commercial […]

Sore Eyes for Sites

Eleven New Sites Proposed for Superfund The U.S. EPA yesterday proposed adding 11 new sites to its Superfund toxic-site cleanup program, but critics say the number is too small and the program woefully underfunded. The new sites represent the biggest, dirtiest, most complex cleanups in the country, the “real turkeys that the states don’t want […]

Readers sound off on immigration, racial prejudice, Nader, and more

  Cred Ability Re: Que Sierra, Sierra   Dear Editor: To preserve the beauty and health of the environment for all the world’s populations, environmentalists can only educate, inspire, and lead. What little power we may wield stems from our ideas, and perhaps also from our love of nature and of humanity. Yes, the number […]

Not OK Computer

U.N. Study Highlights Computers’ Environmental Hazards A U.N. study released today highlights the environmental hazards posed by the worldwide popularity of personal computers. Manufacturing the average PC requires 10 times the product’s weight in fossil fuels, says the study — compared to twice the product’s weight for cars and refrigerators. Computer manufacturing also entails heavy […]

Sea Whirled

Gene Study of Sargasso Sea Sample Yields Surprising Results Gene sequencing conducted on a small sample of water from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda has revealed some 1,800 new species and led to questions about our basic knowledge of ocean biology. A group of scientists led by Craig Venter — the famed gene researcher and […]

Nothing but a GE Thing

Federal Court Gives GE Go-Ahead for Suit Against Superfund The constitutionality of the Superfund toxic-site cleanup law is once again an open question. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., this week instructed a lower court to reconsider General Electric’s suit challenging the 1980 law, overturning a year-old district court decision dismissing the case. […]

Eek-otourism

Ecotourism May Be Harming Wildlife Ecotourism — and tourism erroneously billed as eco — may be harming the very animals and ecosystems it claims to venerate. As many as one in five tourists are “ecotourists” under some definition, and those numbers are expected to continue their dramatic rise in coming years. It’s a booming business […]

Plumbing New Depths

D.C. Lead Contamination Casts Doubt on EPA Testing Methods The ongoing drama over lead contamination in Washington, D.C., tap water promises to spill over (ahem) to the rest of the country, as a hearing on Capitol Hill today examines how federal agencies handle local drinking-water safety. Extensive testing of residential tap water by the D.C. […]

Asbestos Times, the Worst of Times

U.S. Faces Coming Asbestos Health Crisis, Group Says Despite the common public perception that asbestos went out with bell bottoms and disco, the fact is that asbestos — like, uh, bell bottoms and disco — is still with us. In fact, claims a report released today by the Environmental Working Group, we are poised to […]

Hey Hey, Ho Ho, GMO Has Got to Go

Northern California County Passes Anti-GM Initiative Northern California’s Mendocino County yesterday passed a voter initiative that bans the growing of genetically modified (GM) crops. The surprising 56-44 percent victory capped the county’s most contentious and high-profile election ever, in which the initiative’s backers were outspent by a whopping 6-1 margin. Supporters of Measure H raised […]