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Goldy Lax

Nevada’s gold-mining industry is eagerly awaiting the Bush administration’s expected decision to scrap Clinton-era rules designed to reduce the environmental impact of mining on public lands. One of the rules gives the federal government the right to block mining that is likely to cause “substantial irreparable harm” to public lands. The mining industry and enviros […]

Snow Shoos

A top official in Yellowstone National Park says the snowmobile industry has failed to provide useful information about new technologies that would justify overturning a ban on snowmobiling in the park. The Clinton administration made the decision to impose the ban by 2004, but snowmobile manufacturers later convinced the Bush administration to reconsider the move, […]

On De Loose

Greenpeace U.K. is in a tizzy because of mysterious DNA found in Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans, the world’s most widely grown genetically engineered crop. The unexpected string of DNA, which was found by Belgian government and university scientists, is located next to the corn’s inserted gene, provoking the enviro group to accuse Monsanto of not […]

Going With the Wind

“The Pacific Northwest is well on its way to becoming the wind capital of the U.S.,” says Tom Gray of the American Wind Energy Association. For example, the new Stateline Wind Energy Project on the Washington-Oregon border will begin operations this fall with 396, 242-foot turbines, together capable of powering 60,000 homes. Wind power generates […]

World Bunker

Citing the disruptiveness of protests and a fear of violence, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have decided to cram their annual meetings into two days next month in Washington, D.C., instead of a week. When the meetings last occurred, in April 2000, police arrested more than 600 protesters. Just to make sure […]

Bug Bang Boom

A California appeals court ruled yesterday that pesticide companies can be sued over concerns that home bug sprays are making people sick. The court in Los Angeles rejected arguments by Dow Chemical and other chemical manufacturers that they were protected from suits covering chemicals approved by the U.S. EPA for residential use. It said the […]

Spell 'Pig' Backwards and Say 'Funny'

In a pioneering study examining the exposure of urban and suburban children to household pesticides, all but one of 96 Seattle-area preschool children were found to have trace levels of pesticide in their urine, according to researchers at the University of Washington. The study found that "children whose families reported pesticide use in their gardens […]

Green Lantern

Thanks to new LED lamps, thousands of green traffic lights in the Los Angeles area have been retrofitted to use 80 percent less electricity than in the past. The old green lights used 135-watt incandescent bulbs that lasted about a year; the new LEDs require only 17 watts and last from 10 to 15 years […]

Edward Sullivan, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Edward Sullivan is the director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, a grassroots force for wilderness in New Mexico. He previously worked for the Sierra Club in Washington, D.C. Monday, 13 Aug 2001 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. At 8:00 a.m. on Monday, my legs still burn from this weekend’s jaunt into the high country of northern New […]

Oil Is Thicker Than Blood

Police in Nigeria this weekend shot and killed a demonstrator who was protesting against an oil spill at a Royal Dutch/Shell field, reports the independent newspaper ThisDay. Gabriel Ayoko, a 23-year-old student, died accusing Shell of stalling efforts to clean up the spill, which occurred months ago. Protesters said the police, who were escorting a […]