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Not-So-Safeway
A variety of genetically modified corn not approved for human consumption has been found in Safeway brand taco shells, just weeks after a similar finding in Taco Bell brand taco shells, says the Genetically Engineered Food Alert, a coalition of consumer and enviro groups. Like Kraft Foods, maker of the Taco Bell shells, Safeway has […]
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Iron Lung
Preliminary research published today in the journal Nature suggests that iron could be dispersed in cold, biologically barren seas near Antarctica to feed large algae blooms that would sop up carbon dioxide from the air and in so doing help fend off global warming. Theoretically, the plants would sink to the ocean bottom, removing CO2 […]
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Buying the Farm
California lost almost 70,000 acres to sprawl between 1996 and 1998, fueled by the state’s yearly influx of 700,000 people, according to a biennial report released yesterday by the state Department of Conservation. About two-thirds of the land lost to development was formerly farmland. One citrus farmer, John Gless, said that rising water bills, restrictions […]
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Blood Sugar, Sick Tragic
Exposure to herbicides, particularly Agent Orange, a dioxin-containing defoliant used during the Vietnam War, may be associated with the development of diabetes, according to a new report from a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. The link is “limited and suggestive,” say the scientists, but it’s strong enough that diabetes […]
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Thrown for a Loophole
Some enviros say the Clinton administration is proposing “loopholes” in the Kyoto climate change treaty so big that they would let the U.S. get away with doing almost nothing to curb its emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Many crucial decisions on how to implement the treaty will be made next month at an international negotiating […]
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Auto-neurotic
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader returned to his roots yesterday by launching into a harsh critique of the auto industry, accusing American car manufacturers of blocking advances in fuel efficiency and safety. Speaking to the Economic Club of Detroit, Nader asked, “What is it about this industry, which has such talent and such an […]
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Snow News Is Good News
In a heartening development for enviros, the National Park Service yesterday recommended banning snowmobiles from Yellowstone National Park by late 2003. The proposal, likely to be made into a final policy next month, would end the estimated 75,000 snowmobile trips that visitors take through the park each winter, spewing air pollution and making loud noise […]
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Maine Drag
Hundreds of Maine residents have signed up for a new state program that pays motorists to junk old cars and buy newer models that pollute less, but regulators have no money to implement the program. The state legislature approved a bill last spring to give vouchers worth $1,000 to $2,000 to drivers who bring in […]
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Take It Away
The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a property rights case that could reopen the question of when land-use regulations become so burdensome as to constitute a takings of private property that must be compensated by taxpayers. In the case, a developer from Westerly, R.I., Anthony Palazzolo, was prevented from building 74 houses on an […]
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Safety Dunce
The U.S. House rejected a pipeline safety bill yesterday as too weak, even though it had been unanimously approved last month by the Senate. The bill by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), which had the backing of the oil and natural gas industry, gained momentum after a gasoline pipeline blast killed three people in Bellingham, Wash., […]
