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Ceci N’est Pas Une Citizens Group

U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has nixed the idea of a citizens panel to oversee the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, to the dismay of many environmentalists. Green groups and oil company watchdogs have called for the creation of such a group, similar to the citizens councils mandated by Congress after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, […]

Industry, Agency Say Nuke Plants Are Safe From Terrorism

One year after the tragedies of Sept. 11, how safe is the U.S. from terrorist strikes against its water supply and nuclear power facilities? Quite safe, according to industry and government studies commissioned in the wake of last year’s attacks. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, found that a Boeing 757 would not be […]

Haze Reaches Record Level in Hong Kong

While a metaphorical cloud shrouds New York City today, an all-too-real one is suffocating the city of Hong Kong, where pollution levels have set record highs this week, obscuring skyscrapers and prompting officials to warn people to stay indoors. Earlier this week, smog levels reached a record 185 on an air pollution index where any […]

U.N. Creates Watchdog Effort in Lieu of Future Summits

In what seemed like a tacit acknowledgment of the failure of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which ended last week, the United Nations has announced that it will not plan any more summits on the environment and development until governments have taken serious steps toward meeting the goals for progress established at Johannesburg and […]

Scientists Discuss How to Reduce Mercury Use Around Globe

Scientists from around the world are meeting this week in Geneva, Switzerland, at a conference sponsored by the U.N. Environment Programme, to discuss ways to cut back on global mercury use. For decades, the toxic substance has been used in lamps, batteries, electrical equipment, thermometers, dental fillings, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and even beauty products. Gulp! Mercury […]

The Minnow Would Be Lost

The fate of the silvery minnow remains up in the air after a federal judge postponed a decision yesterday in a controversial water-rights case, saying he wanted to review information about the endangered species’ habitat. For those of you who haven’t been following the story, a coalition of environmental groups has asked the judge to […]

Not Breathing Easy

As the one-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon nears, some people are trying to assess the impact of the tragedy on the environment. In New York Harbor, biologists are studying the effects on aquatic life of the smoke and building fragments that drifted into the Hudson River. The […]

Just Say Nano?

Nanotechnology — the rapidly evolving science of manipulating materials at the molecular level — holds the promise of tiny computers, super-strong bridges, ultra-light airplanes, and cures for cancer. But will it be an environmental boon or bane? Some fear that nanotechnology could create contaminants whose tiny size would make them nearly impossible to cleanse from […]

Another Nile in the Coffin

West Nile virus has been making headlines all summer, but the human toll of the disease is far smaller than its impact on bird species. Since West Nile was first spotted in a crow three years ago, at least 111 species have been hit, including the bald eagle and the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane. The […]

Umbra on forest fires

Dear Umbra, My husband says that Rush is blaming the Sierra Club for the huge forest fires raging in Colorado and Arizona. He says that because environmentalists oppose logging, the forest is too full of fuel. I told him that as far as I know, the Sierra Club is really trying to prevent logging in […]