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The Engine of Progress?

One-third of all new cars sold in Europe are diesel-powered, and analysts think the number will rise to at least 40 percent by 2005. Diesel engines can use 30 percent less fuel than gasoline ones, and they emit far less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In the U.S., meanwhile, less than 1 percent of […]

China's dust bowl is growing at an alarming rate

Last month, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratory in Boulder, Colo., reported that a huge dust storm from northern China had reached the U.S. “blanketing areas from Canada to Arizona with a layer of dust.” They reported that along the foothills of the Rockies, the mountains were obscured by the dust from […]

The Food Alliance, Portland staff

Deborah Kane, Jonathan Moscatello, Scott Exo, and Cindy Hayford all for The Food Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally and socially responsible agriculture. Tuesday, 29 May 2001 PORTLAND, Ore. Deborah Kane, Food Alliance executive director. First, let me introduce myself. I’m Deborah Kane, and I play the role of executive director here at […]

I Saw the Signs

Twelve percent of bird species in the world may go the way of the dodo, meat consumption is five times higher today than it was in 1950, and coral reefs are bleaching at a quick clip, according to the Worldwatch Institute. In its annual Vital Signs book, the group says things are looking pretty grim […]

The Wisdom of Chairman Wow

A Democratic U.S. Senate will pose a big challenge to President Bush’s energy plan. When Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.) formally leaves the GOP in a week or so, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and wants more money spent on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, […]

Peru-stroika

Peru this week created a national park that will protect one of its last big tracts of undeveloped rainforest, an area that loggers had hoped to open up soon. The 5,225-square-mile park is larger than the state of Connecticut, and scientists from Peru and the U.S. said they had already identified at least 28 previously […]

The Hunger Strikes Back

Canada’s Health Minister Allan Rock last week said the country would take a closer look at hazardous-waste concerns in Sydney, Canada, 17 days after the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, Elizabeth May, went on a hunger strike to call attention to the problem. May, who ended her strike by taking a bite […]

Trees Don't Suck

After all that talk, it seems that forests might not do such a great job sucking carbon dioxide emissions out of the air, according to two studies published today in the journal Nature. During negotiations over a climate change treaty, the U.S. and Canada have made a big to-do about the potential for forests to […]

Greased Lightning

The first gas station in a major city to sell vegetable fuel for diesel cars and trucks opened yesterday in San Francisco. A similar station also opened in Sparks, Nev. The biodiesel fuel is made from recycled vegetable oil from restaurants or from soybean oil. The fuel doesn’t cut back on nitrogen oxide emissions, but […]

Giving Climate Change the Byrd

Very rarely do the words “climate change” or “greenhouse gases” appear in President Bush’s energy plan. A group of 250 scientists is circulating a letter to the public arguing that it is wrong to shape an energy policy around coal, oil, and nuclear energy and that “conservation must be front and center in our energy […]