Uncategorized

Dust in the Wind

Particulate pollution quadrupled across a quarter of the U.S. last weekend because of a dust storm from Mongolia that picked up industrial pollution in China. Some scientists have claimed for years that pollution can spread from China to the U.S., causing air quality to plummet. Russ Schnell of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said […]

Marsh Mellow

In a defeat for developers, the Bush administration said yesterday it wouldn’t try to weaken a rule approved by former President Clinton to expand protections to tens of thousands of acres of wetlands. The rule requires developers to obtain permits under the Clean Water Act for many basic activities such as digging artificial lakes, constructing […]

Slope a Dope

In what may be one of the largest oil spills ever on Alaska’s North Slope — and a poorly timed one for the oil industry — 92,400 gallons of saltwater and crude oil leaked from a pipeline on the Kuparuk oil field Sunday night. Phillips, which operates the field, said yesterday it had cleaned up […]

Massive Transit

The number of folks riding buses, subways, and trains in the U.S. last year rose to the highest level since 1959, while the number of miles driven on roads remained constant between 1999 and 2000. The American Public Transportation Association said yesterday that riders across the country took 9.4 billion rides on mass transit in […]

The Horror, the Horror

The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has devastated wildlife, killing off thousands of elephants, gorillas, and other endangered species, according to a report commissioned by the U.N. Security Council. The report said that soldiers have slaughtered elephants for their meat, as well as their tusks. In Garamba Park in northeastern Congo, nearly […]

Nyetskis

Personal watercraft will be banned in national parks and recreation areas by September 2002 except in special cases where the National Park Service can prove the machines won’t harm the environment, according to a court settlement approved by a federal judge last week. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler dismissed a challenge from watercraft manufacturers to […]

And other words from readers

  Re: Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association Dear Editor: After reading through your website, I’ve decided to give up my favorite ice cream, Starbucks Coffee Almond Fudge. I cannot, in good conscience, eat it and continue to nurse my baby, knowing that the list of ingredients is withholding information from me — doesn’t let me […]

Ranch Undressing

This isn’t a joke. The White House is touting President Bush’s just-completed home on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, as an eco-friendly haven. The house has geothermal heating and cooling. Rainwater and household wastewater are reused for irrigation, and First Lady Laura Bush says she is restoring native wildflowers and grasses on the ranch property. […]

Twenty-first-century Fox

Mexico’s national water commissioner, Cristobal Jaime Jaquez, says 73 percent of the country’s water, whether underground or on the surface, is a danger to public health and Mexican President Vicente Fox describes the problem as a "national security issue." Mexico has less drinking water per capita than Egypt, and 93 percent of the country’s rivers […]

Grand: Funked Railroad

In a surprising defeat of a government-owned rail company, environmental officials in the heavily polluted destination spot known as Hong Kong refused a permit request last fall to build a passenger line across Hong Kong’s largest freshwater wetland. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp. has mounted an unprecedented appeal and spent loads of money to come up […]