Uncategorized
All Stories
-
Peking Our Interest
U.S. President Bush has often pointed fingers at China’s greenhouse gas emissions problems when explaining why he rejected the Kyoto treaty on climate change. Kyoto would require the U.S. to cap its carbon dioxide emissions, but places no such constraints on developing countries like China. However, China’s CO2 emissions have actually dropped in the last […]
-
Long Divisions
The wide divide between the U.S. and the European Union on climate change was clear yesterday, even though U.S. President Bush claimed to reporters that there was a “spirit of cooperation” on the issue. After Bush and the 15 leaders of E.U. nations met behind closed doors, European Commission President Romano Prodi emerged to announce […]
-
Oink, Oink, Oink, Oink. Who Let the Hogs Out?
The Quebec government said yesterday that it would limit hog production to protect the environment in the province, which is one of the world’s largest producers of pork. Hog production will be capped in 165 rural towns throughout Quebec — an area four times the size of France. The government said it would also clamp […]
-
Hitting Hard-rock Bottom
In a small victory for environmentalists, the Bush administration is expected today to endorse tougher environmental rules for hard-rock mining on federal land. The rules, which were finalized at the end of the Clinton administration, set new groundwater and surface-water standards, and allow the feds to turn down a mining permit if the mining would […]
-
Beyond the Call
Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker, said yesterday that it hoped to develop a phone with biodegradable parts within a few years. Nokia’s Salla Ahonen said that cell phone waste is increasing, with many people changing cell phones every two years and throwing out their old ones. The company has already tested biodegradable clip-on […]
-
A Mindo Their Own
The Ecuadorian government earlier this month approved the construction of a billion-dollar oil pipeline project that will go straight through the Mindo ecological reserve, a cloudforest 16 miles northwest of Quito that provides important habitat for more than 400 orchid species and 300 bird species. President Gustavo Noboa celebrated the decision as a great step […]
-
Send Us the Bill
Former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson was elected late last week to serve on the board of trustees of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Karen Golembeski, Richardson’s spokesperson, said he was drawn to the group “primarily for its work on global climate change.” Some folks in the know expect Richardson to run for governor of New […]
-
Sweden Lowdown
Police estimate that between 10,000 and 25,000 demonstrators will gather today in Gothenburg, Sweden, where U.S. President Bush will be called upon by European Union leaders to defend his rejection of the Kyoto treaty on climate change. The 15 E.U. leaders are kicking off a two-day summit, with the environment at the top of the […]
-
Grain of Truth
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that it had found no evidence that genetically engineered StarLink corn causes allergic reactions in humans. Blood tests of 17 people who had complained of reactions after eating corn taco shells and tortillas last fall failed to turn up any signs of antibodies to the […]
-
Lakes Inferior
The governors of the eight Great Lakes states are meeting next week with the premiers of Ontario and Quebec to consider ways to make sure that water from the lakes stays in the region. All is not hunky-dory in the five lakes, which contain 20 percent of the world’s freshwater. The lakes are at their […]
