Uncategorized

Better, Safe Safari

“The future of Kenyan tourism is green,” says Judy Gona, executive director of the Ecotourism Society of Kenya, which is working to create a low-impact, more environmentally friendly tourism industry in the second-most visited country in Africa. ESOK’s 80 members are mostly small, secluded camps and lodges that are built with local materials. They use […]

Reef Riff

Despite objections from environmental groups and local governments, the California state legislature passed a bill on Friday that would allow abandoned offshore oilrigs to be converted to underwater reefs. If Gov. Gray Davis (D) signs the bill, oil companies will save millions of dollars; currently, they must dismantle and take away the rigs when drilling […]

Derailed

As a consequence of last week’s terrorist attacks, the U.S. Energy Department has cancelled a shipment of high-level nuclear waste that was scheduled to be transported from New York state to Idaho by train this summer. Anti-nuke activists had dubbed the shipment a “mobile Chernobyl” and were planning to raise a ruckus when the freight […]

Hanoi-ance

There are nine times more endangered species of sea life in Vietnam than there were in 1989, according to statistics from the country’s Ministry of Fisheries reported in the New Hanoi newspaper. The number of species at risk has grown from 15 to 135. In 1989, 35 percent of Vietnam’s coral reefs were healthy; that […]

Maple Leaf Rag

New England could lose many of its trademark sugar maples, and the region’s cross-country skiing and snowmobile industries could take a big hit, if steps aren’t taken soon to fend off climate change, according to a new study produced by the U.S. EPA, environmental groups, and others. If no steps are taken, Boston’s climate by […]

Tell a Commuter

Once touted as a solution to traffic congestion problems in the U.S., telecommuting has largely been a no-show. A decade ago, the federal government predicted that as much as 10.4 percent of the population would be telecommuting several days a week by 2000. But telecommuting hasn’t even topped 1 percent in some of the country’s […]

Hard of Huron

Michigan natural resources officials voted on Friday to lift a four-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling beneath Lakes Huron and Michigan. Supporters said the lake-bottom deposits would boost energy supplies in the U.S. while bringing the state royalty money that could be used to purchase public land. Critics said the risks of the drilling […]

Trevor Hare, Sky Island Alliance

Trevor Hare is the field coordinator for Sky Island Alliance, a group dedicated to protecting biodiversity in the sky island mountain ranges of the southwestern United States. Monday, 17 Sep 2001 TUSCON, Ariz. It’s hard going back into the office after spending a gorgeous Sunday wildlife tracking in the southeastern Arizona desert grasslands of the […]

Foes of Globalization in Europe Vow to Press Ahead

Anti-globalization activists in Europe say they will press forward with their protests. Some of them argue that the tragedy on Tuesday came about as a direct result of U.S. foreign policy and that capitalism is to blame for the lack of security in the world. Anti-globalization types in the U.S., however, voiced concerns that authorities […]

EPA Says Air in NYC Poses Only Small Risk

The smoke and grit in the air in New York City that came from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers pose only a small health risk, U.S. EPA officials and some doctors said yesterday. They equated the danger to a smoggy day in the city, when people with already-weakened immune systems should be […]