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My Old Kentucky Sewage

Kentucky Sewage System Worst in Nation Poor Kentucky. Not only does the state often find itself near the bottom of national rankings on education and income; now, it’s dead last in plumbing. Fully 40 percent of Kentucky homes are not connected to sewage treatment plants, instead relying on failing septic tanks or “straight pipes” that […]

Not Just a Day in the Park

More than 11 percent of Earth is Protected, But Species Still Suffer There’s good news and bad news from the fifth World Parks Congress, being held this week in Durban, South Africa. The good news: There are now more than 100, 000 protected natural areas on the planet, including large stretches of the Amazon rainforest […]

Thai One on

Thailand Introduces Rules to Limit Pesticides In an effort to become a major international food exporter, Thailand has introduced rules that would dramatically reduce the use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture. The proposed rules come on the heels of reports that villagers living near tangerine orchards were suffering from dizziness, rashes, and respiratory […]

Burned

192 million — number of acres in the U.S. National Forest System1 6.9 million — number of acres of private and federal land burned by wildfires in 2002 2 2.4 million — number of acres of national forest land burned by wildfires in 20023 980,000 — average number of acres of national forest land burned […]

Caveat Caviar

Enviros Object to Renewed Trade in Caspian Sea Caviar Controversy is brewing over a plan to allow the resumption of beluga caviar exports from the Caspian Sea. Concerned about declining numbers of beluga sturgeon, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned caviar trade in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan in 2001, but now […]

Miner Threat

Mine in Montana Could Finish Off a Grizzly Population A copper and silver mine planned for the edge of a wilderness area in Montana could push a small, local population of grizzly bears toward extinction, environmentalists are warning. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the green light for the mine to be built on […]

Tom Turner, Earthjustice

Tom Turner is senior editor at Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm based in Oakland, Calif. He edited daily newspapers at the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. He is the author of many books and articles on environmental subjects, most recently Justice on […]

Poor Power to You

African Leaders Call for Conservation That Benefits the Poor Former South African President Nelson Mandela, current President Thabo Mbeki, Queen Noor of Jordan, and a host of other luminaries today called on conservationists to ensure that their efforts benefit the world’s poor. Speaking at the opening of the 10-day World Parks Congress in Durban, South […]

The Crime of the Ancient Mariner

Albatrosses Pushed Toward Peril by Fishing Fleets Albatrosses are in trouble. All 21 species of the seabird are at some risk of extinction, and six of the species have suffered notable declines in the last few years, according to a report from the conservation group BirdLife International. The blame goes primarily to longline fishing boats, […]

To Summit All Up

South Africa Assesses World Summit Outcomes, One Year Later The first World Summit on Sustainable Development was held one year ago this week in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now, on the anniversary of that event, the South African government is assessing how much progress has been made in the interim. With respect to one of the […]