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A Pain in the Anniston
The number of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against pesticide and food giant Monsanto will dwindle following an Alabama county court ruling that only people who have actually become sick, allegedly from PCB poisoning, have standing in the trial. The plaintiffs contend that Monsanto and its spin-off company, Solutia Inc., were cognizant of the health hazards […]
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Meredith Hall reviews Tinkering with Eden and Nature Out of Place
I love my hometown, but I have a bone to pick with a few of its inhabitants -- especially the green ones. It's not the lively Nader supporters of Portland, Ore., that I have hard feelings for, but rather the guileful botanic creepers that go by the common name English ivy. Botanic enemy number one is a luscious green forest dweller, a lazy gardener's groundcover, a symbol of old-world garden sophistication -- and, in Portland, an insidious invasive species. English ivy (Hedera helix, for the botanically savvy) infests more than half of the city's forests, choking out trees, ferns, and any other struggling forest undergrowth.
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Lord of the Wrings
Lord Peter Melchett, the former head of Greenpeace U.K., has accepted a position with the public relations company Burson-Marsteller, which numbers among its clients the pesticide and food company Monsanto. Long a leading target for green groups, Monsanto is currently drawing fire for its production and promotion of genetically modified (GM) foods. Melchett, who led […]
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Taps
Drinking chlorinated tap water puts pregnant women at a higher risk for miscarrying or bearing children with birth defects, according to a new study by two environmental organizations. The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group and U.S. Public Interest Research Group studied water quality data from thousands of water utilities before publishing their findings yesterday. Chlorine […]
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Freedom Riders
In a new partnership to be announced tomorrow at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, the U.S. government will work with the nation’s top automakers to replace internal combustion engines with fuel cells. Dubbed Freedom CAR, the partnership replaces former Vice President Al Gore’s Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. By focusing specifically […]
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Take Me to the River, Don’t Drop Me in the Water
The City of Brotherly Love is also the City of Terrible Water, according to a U.S. EPA analysis of the nation’s watersheds. Four of Philadelphia’s watersheds earned a six, the worst score doled out by the EPA, a distinction shared with just 28 other watersheds nationwide out of more than 2,200. The ratings reflect the […]
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Airing Their Grievances
Nine attorneys general from Northeastern states are holding a press conference today in Washington, D.C., to warn the Bush administration not to weaken the Clean Air Act. Last week, the administration suggested that it would not adhere to strict Clinton-era standards for New Source Review rules, which require energy companies to install pollution controls when […]
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The Season of Giving
Re: What Now? Dear Editor: The U.S. response to the Red Cross was wonderful, and that’s great. But many, many other do-good organizations are on such a starvation diet they’re in imminent danger of expiring. Please tell everyone asking for more donations to the Red Cross to think twice about the homeless and needy […]
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Go Fish!
Maine’s wild Atlantic salmon remain genetically distinct despite more than a century of fish-stocking, aquaculture escapes, and other threats to the species, according to an independent report prepared by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The report undermines the claim by Maine Gov. Angus King (I) and others that Maine salmon were genetically diluted and […]
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Montreal Expose
For the first time, a government-sponsored snapshot of the environmental health of North America is available, thanks to a study released today by the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The study, which was mandated by an environmental accord affiliated with the North American Free Trade Agreement and was submitted to the top environmental authorities of […]
