Uncategorized
All Stories
-
A Little Crab'll Do Ya
Virginia officials have taken the unprecedented step of declaring a 665-square-mile area of the Chesapeake Bay off-limits to fishers in order to protect the area’s beleaguered population of blue crabs. Blue crabs have also been suffering in the estuary of the Altamaha River in Georgia. Long-time Georgia crabber James Holland, tired of seeing his livelihood […]
-
Bad News Bears
Recovery has been slow for the grizzly bear, which 25 years ago today was protected under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states. About 1,200 grizzlies roam the continental U.S. today, up from 600 in 1975 but far below the 50,000 estimated to have been living west of the Mississippi 200 years ago. […]
-
Raking in the Greens
Ralph Nader’s presidential run is giving a big boost to efforts to establish the Green Party around the nation. With Nader’s campaign getting national news coverage, and pundits publicly speculating about whether he may draw votes away from Al Gore, the Green Party now has a higher profile than ever before. More than 300 Green […]
-
Koala-ty Is Job One
Today is Save the Koala Day in Australia, and activists hope to use the occasion to raise awareness of the animal’s plight. The nation’s koala population is falling by about 1,000 a year, with fewer than 100,000 in the wild, says Deborah Tabart, director of the Australian Koala Foundation. Much of the decline is due […]
-
The Five-to-Eight Year Itch
The feds yesterday released their long-awaited plan for saving salmon in the Northwest, spinning it as the most ambitious conservation effort ever undertaken. As expected, they took a pass on the decision of whether to breach four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington, electing to focus instead on habitat restoration, increased water releases […]
-
This Georgia riverkeeper has a red neck and a green heart
James Holland was a crabber for more than 30 years. Now he’s the president and full-time field director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper, an activist group he founded to clean up Georgia’s biggest river basin. James Holland — he doesn’t wear fleece. The rough-hewn Holland — with his missing front teeth, ninth-grade education, and fierce determination […]
-
Shell Game
Some 50 multinational corporations and 12 labor and watchdog groups signed a U.N.-sponsored “Global Compact” yesterday intended to promote labor, human rights, and environmental standards. The companies — which include Royal Dutch/Shell, Nike, and DaimlerChrysler — agreed to incorporate nine loosely worded principles into their missions and each year note progress toward meeting the principles […]
-
Polyvinyl Wants a Crackdown
The European Union opened debate yesterday on more restrictions for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, a commonly used but controversial material. The EU has already banned some baby toys made with PVC because the chemicals used to soften the plastic may pose health problems for children. Now the EU is considering cracking down on PVC products […]
-
Ford Fiesta!
Ford Motor Co. hopes to green its image today by announcing plans to increase the fuel economy of its SUV fleet by 25 percent, or about 5 miles per gallon, over the next five years. Ford now sells about 800,000 SUVs a year, and its 3.5-ton Excursion, the world’s biggest SUV, averages just 12 mpg. […]
