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Heart and Souls
An individual’s risk of heart attack is 62 percent greater on days with the worst air pollution, according to a study of 772 heart attack victims in Greater Boston published today in the journal of the American Hearth Association. The study by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess, the Harvard School of Public Health, and […]
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No Sale
Environmentalists agree with the U.S. Forest Service that four timber sales planned along Eagle Creek in the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon are some of the best sales ever designed — they target no old-growth timber, avoid clear-cutting, and require little road-building. So why have enviros staged two years of protests against the sales? […]
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Condor Gnashed
In an effort to boost her green credentials, U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton is fond of talking about the success of the program to reintroduce captive-bred California condors into the wild. But scientists aren’t so sure the program is a success. Reintroduced birds are being threatened by their old nemesis: lead from bullets. Four birds […]
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Everybody Expects the Spanish Inquisition
In anticipation of U.S. President Bush’s visit to Madrid tomorrow, thousands of Spaniards marched through the city yesterday to protest Bush’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto treaty on climate change and numerous other White House policies. Greenpeace activists boarded an oil tanker off the coast of France yesterday and hung a huge banner on […]
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Deutsch Treat
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and representatives from leading utilities are expected to sign an agreement today to phase out nuclear power within 25 years. The government has taken steps to ensure that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions decline, even as nuclear power is taken away from the electricity grid. It wants renewable energy to account […]
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Soy Triste
Despite consumer concerns about genetically engineered food, especially in Europe and Japan, the biotech industry believes it has nearly won the battle to make the foods ubiquitous. The U.S., Brazil, and Argentina account for about 90 percent of the world’s corn and soybean exports, and the U.S. and Argentina now ship mostly genetically engineered varieties. […]
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Pink Flawed
Scores of flamingos have been found dead in western Kenya, reviving concerns that pollution is killing off the birds. The numbers of dead birds aren’t as high as in some past years — 40,000 flamingos died over three months in 1993 and 20,000 died in 1995 — but researchers say many of the remaining birds […]
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Blue Light Special: $14 Dollar Apes!
Despite laws against eating endangered species like bonobo apes, meat from half an ape goes for $7 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, far less expensive than the price for beef and easier to get than chicken. Bonobos are on the brink of extinction due to war, habitat loss, and a big-time bush-meat industry. Fewer […]
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Modified in China
The Chinese government unveiled new regulations yesterday for genetically engineered foods that they hope will make the use of the technology more widespread. Genetically engineered cotton, soybeans, rice, potatoes, and other crops are already commonly planted in the country. Among other things, the rules require that genetically engineered foods be clearly labeled on packages. Chinese […]
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Rainforest Action and Highway-building Network
Preserving the rainforest is the top priority for the 20 million people living in Brazil’s Amazon, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund. The study, which the group said was the first of its kind in the region, found that 34 percent of respondents ranked preservation as their No. 1 concern. However, 27.8 […]
