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That's Hard Corps
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has the conflicting responsibilities of protecting the country’s wetlands and developing taxpayer-funded water projects, often justifies such projects with questionable technical studies and proceeds with them despite significant environmental costs, concludes the Washington Post in an exhaustive five-day series on the agency. Because of its past record and […]
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A Worm Welcome for Olympic Athletes
The Olympic Games about to kick off in Sydney will be the greenest ever. Many of the facilities are solar-powered, a water-recycling system is in place, the torch is energy-efficient, the plates and eating utensils are biodegradable, and 80 percent of the waste generated during the games is expected to be recycled or composted by […]
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Great, Britain!
Sales of organic food in Britain could increase tenfold within the next 10 years, from 1 percent of all food eaten in the country to 10 percent, Carlo Leifert, director of the Organic Support Centre at Aberdeen University, said yesterday. His prediction comes as British supermarkets are starting a price war aimed at lowering the […]
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From Russia With Love
Russia’s Supreme Court today acquitted environmental activist Alexander Nikitin of all espionage charges, rejecting a bid by prosecutors to reopen the case against him. Nikitin, a former officer of the Russian Navy, was arrested in 1996 on espionage charges after writing a report for a Norwegian environmental group about radioactive pollution in the Arctic seas […]
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A Bunch of Moby Dicks
Saying that Japan has violated international rules by expanding its whale hunt, the White House plans to announce today that it is starting a process that could lead to economic sanctions against Japanese imports within two months. Earlier this summer, Japan began hunting Bryde’s whales and sperm whales for the first time in years, claiming […]
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Mighty Morphin' Power Arrangers
Alternative energy sources in Europe may get a boost as protests against high oil prices spread across the continent. A summit this week in Munich, Germany, pushing hydrogen as an eco-friendly power source for the future, is attracting more attention than expected because it is set against the backdrop of anger over soaring gasoline prices. […]
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Of Chinooks and Schnooks
Environmentalists are suing the feds over new salmon rules that give local and state governments more leeway in deciding how to protect the fish in the Northwest and California. The National Marine Fisheries Service in June released rules that offer exemptions from federal regulations to state and local governments that adopt their own, NMFS-approved salmon […]
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How Interest-ing
The U.S. is canceling part of Bangladesh’s debt and allowing future interest payments to go toward paying for forest protection in the tropical country, the first such agreement under a U.S. debt-for-nature law passed in 1998. The shift will free up about $8.5 million over 18 years for conservation of Bangladeshi forests. U.S. Treasury Deputy […]
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And other words from readers
Dear Editor: I’m a little concerned with the pressure environmental groups are putting on less developed countries (whose standards of living are below those of the U.S.) to halt what many in these countries might see as improvements in their daily lives. I say this mainly because many people living in these areas look to […]
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The Price Is Wrong
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced yesterday that his nation will launch a sweeping plan to conserve energy by the end of the year. As France emerged from a week of disruptive protests by truckers and others over high gasoline prices, Jospin said soaring fuel costs should be an incentive to conserve energy and promote […]
