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Is That Your Final Answer?

The Bush administration surprised clean-air advocates and polluting industries alike on Friday when it announced that the U.S. EPA would reconsider parts of a decision to significantly relax air-pollution rules. In December, the EPA announced “final” revisions to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review rule — changes that would have allowed tens of thousands […]

So Much for “Go West, Young Man”

The U.S. has long imported French cuisine, Italian fashion, and German cars; now, California wants to import Old World environmental regulations. The Golden State has historically been on the cutting edge of environmental politics here in the U.S., but the European Union, with its strict controls on food, water, and chemicals, boasts even more eco-friendly […]

The Maine Dish

After years of legal wrangling, Maine is finally ending its opposition to the federal government’s decision to list the wild Atlantic salmon as endangered in several of the state’s rivers. Gov. John Baldacci (D) announced yesterday that the state had come to an agreement with the feds and would not appeal a recent court decision […]

Logbook Rolling

Prior to commercial whaling, far more whales thrived in the North Atlantic than previously thought, according to a study published in today’s issue of Science. Earlier studies estimated historical whale populations by combing through logbooks from old whaling ships; the current study was the first to look instead at telltale genetic variations that increase as […]

States of Grace

With federal action against climate change stagnating, some state leaders are taking matters into their own hands. Ten Northeastern states agreed yesterday to begin discussing the creation of the nation’s first market-based plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Under the plan, plants would be able to buy or sell CO2 credits in […]

A-lohas

Chances are you’ve never heard of “Lohas” — which is funny, because if you’re a regular reader of Grist, the odds are pretty decent that the word applies to you. Don’t worry, we’re not calling you a bad name; the term stands for “lifestyles of health and sustainability” and was coined a few years back […]

Malaise-ia

As many as two-fifths of Southeast Asia’s species — at least half of which are found nowhere else in the world — could go extinct over the course of this century, according to a study appearing in today’s edition of the journal Nature. The vast majority of those extinctions will stem from deforestation, which is […]

Eerie Canal

A quarter-century after becoming the nation’s most infamous toxic dump, upstate New York’s Love Canal is gradually being repopulated. Used for years as a dumping grounds for Hooker Chemical (later Occidental Chemical), Love Canal was eventually sold to the city of Niagara Falls, which built a school on top of it. Residents began reporting high […]

Crop Circles

A much-anticipated review by the British government of genetically modified (GM) crops has found that they are safe to consume but pose a serious threat to the environment. The 300-page report, produced by a panel of 24 scientists and policy advisors, is by far the most exhaustive study of GM crops to date. To the […]

Contempt of Corps

A federal judge held the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in contempt of court yesterday for failing to lower water levels in the Missouri River to protect endangered species. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the Corps and the secretary of the Army to reduce water levels in the river as part […]