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Going South
The search for Antarctic organisms that can be used for pharmaceutical and other commercial purposes — called “extremophiles” for their ability to thrive in harshly cold, dry, and salty conditions — is pushing international patent law to the breaking point and threatening the fragile Antarctic environment, concludes a United Nations study released on Sunday. The […]
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Meghan Houlihan, Greenpeace
Meghan Houlihan is the renewable energy program director for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, based in Greenfield, Mass. She periodically abandons her desk job to work as a web editor aboard Greenpeace vessels. Monday, 2 Feb 2004 PUERTO AISEN, Chile Back in bucolic little Vermont — my homeland — I wouldn’t need an alarm clock […]
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Transportation guru Hank Dittmar answers questions
What environmental organization are you affiliated with? What does it do? I work at Reconnecting America, a national organization focused on connecting transportation and communities to improve environmental and economic performance and create economic security for families and communities. We promote an interconnected national transport system, relying more on rail and bus for intercity travel; […]
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Wet’s It to You?
Goods and services provided by wetlands across the globe are worth some $70 billion, claims a new study released by the World Wildlife Fund, but those wetlands are in danger of being destroyed. Valuable wetland functions range from recreation to water filtration and flood control; however, insufficient knowledge about wetlands leads policy-makers to sanction their […]
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How to find cleaner, greener beef and fix our broken food-safety system
In December, the vision of a “downer” cow stricken with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) caused indigestion in more than a few Americans, especially those who’d eaten beef in one of the six Western states in which the “mad” cow’s meat might have been sold. The potential hazards of this disease have been apparent since Britain’s […]
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Vultural Phenomenon
Indian Vultures Near Extinction Due to Cattle Painkiller Three vulture species in India are nearing extinction at an unprecedented rate due to a common painkiller used on cattle in the region. The drug, diclofenac, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in the same class as ibuprofen. It has been widely used on humans for decades; it was […]
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Semper Filthy
Controversy Grows Over Contaminated Water on Marine Base In what could be one of the largest contaminated water cases in U.S. history, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the U.S. military over dirty water at Camp Lejeune, a North Carolina Marine Corps base. In 1980, tests of drinking water wells at the base revealed […]
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20,000 Toxins Under the Sea
Ocean Mammals Getting Pummeled by Pollution New research indicates that human-made toxins have infiltrated deep and remote parts of the ocean. The Ocean Alliance, a Massachusetts-based research organization, has found troubling levels of DDT, PCBs, and other contaminants in the blubber of sperm whales. Scientists were surprised at their initial findings, as the deep-water whales […]
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Survey Says: Don’t Survey!
Bush Admin. to Ease Rare Species Restrictions on Old-Growth Logging Timber companies hoping to log on federal land in the Northwest will no longer be responsible for surveying and protecting some 300 rare plant and animal species, the Bush administration announced on Friday. (Yes, it’s yet another Friday rollback; they were hoping you wouldn’t notice.) […]
