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Mr. Not-Green Jean

Canadian enviros on Monday blasted federal endangered species legislation introduced in April as far too weak, and criticized Prime Minister Jean Chretien for a lack of leadership on the issue. The bill would set fines for individuals of up to $168,000 and for companies of up to $670,000 for deliberately killing an endangered animal or […]

If It Weren't for Those Medaling Kids …

Next month’s Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, have been billed as the “Green Games,” but Greenpeace says Olympic organizers deserve only a bronze medal for their efforts to make the games eco-friendly. Organizers pledged to make this Olympics the greenest ever, and Greenpeace acknowledges that they have. The group praised the use of renewable power; […]

Gore in the Stocks

As President Clinton sang Al Gore’s praises yesterday to kick off the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, a few thousand protestors raised their voices outside the convention hall, many of them calling on Gore to divest his family of shares in Occidental Petroleum Corp. Environmental and human rights activists are criticizing L.A.-based Occidental for […]

Who Were Those Masked Men?

Hundreds of NATO peacekeepers wearing surgical masks shut down a lead smelter in Kosovo yesterday, citing environmental dangers caused by its emissions, which have been measured at levels 200 times those accepted by the World Health Organization. A number of outraged local residents threw rocks and sticks at the troops to protest the closing of […]

Road Warriors

Environmentalists in Vietnam are battling a national highway project which they say threatens endangered wildlife. Construction began in April on the Ho Chi Minh Highway, which is planned to run for more than 1,000 miles from near Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south, following parts of the legendary Ho […]

O Solar Mio

Events like the current heat wave in California, which is stressing the state’s electricity system and pushing energy prices up, are leading a growing number of businesses and homeowners to look into solar panels and other alternative energy technologies. Kyocera Solar Inc. has signed deals with three San Diego companies to install large-scale solar systems. […]

Shalini Ramanathan, Global Village of Beijing

Shalini Ramanathan works with Global Village of Beijing, a Chinese environmental group. Previously, she was international coordinator of the Earth Day 2000 campaign, based in Seattle, Wash. Monday, 14 Aug 2000 BEIJING, China Today, I sent two faxes to a UN office in Washington, D.C. If that doesn’t sound like a major accomplishment to you, […]

Pulling Another Babbitt Out of the Hat

U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on Friday recommended the creation of a new national monument near the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona and the expansion of an existing monument in Idaho. The proposed Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona would protect 293,000 acres, including a number of scenic cliffs and canyons; the expansion in Idaho […]

Fit to Be Thai-ed

Environmentalists and other concerned citizens in Thailand are waging a fierce fight against a proposed coal-fired power plant along the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, a project that they say could harm a coral reef and the fishing grounds that provide livelihoods for many of the 10,000 locals. They also worry that the plant’s […]

Yelling Fire in a Crowded Political Theater

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, campaigning in the Northwest over the weekend, defended himself against accusations that his state is an environmental mess. He claimed that Texas’s air and water have become cleaner since he took office and that his administration has overseen the cleanup of more than 400 contaminated industrial sites. Bush said the […]