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Tanning Their Hides

For the first time, a Mexican factory yesterday was fined for violating a U.S. environmental law. Maquiladora Chambers de Mexico, a leather belt manufacturer south of the Arizona border, consented to pay a $3,164 penalty for improperly disposing of hazardous waste in the U.S. and agreed to train its personnel in waste disposal laws. Two […]

Beyond Belief

BP Amoco unveiled a plan yesterday to spiff up its image and portray itself as a progressive, eco-friendly energy company. A new motto, “Beyond Petroleum,” is accompanied by a new sunburst logo designed to evoke thoughts of the company’s investments in solar energy. The company will open up a line of new gas stations that […]

A Case of Bad Judgment

Federal judges who have accepted all-expenses-paid trips to seminars that tout “free market” solutions to environmental problems have also struck down protections in some of the most notable environmental court cases of the last decade, according to a new report by the Community Rights Counsel (CRC), a public interest law firm. Last year, nearly 100 […]

Hell Freezes Over?

In a recent preliminary ruling, the World Trade Organization upheld France’s ban on asbestos imports from Canada, a decision that has some enviros and labor rights activists wondering whether the global trade group is becoming a little more sensitive to their issues. The ruling is expected to be made final by September. This is the […]

No-look Passes

One-third of major air polluters in the U.S. have not been inspected in the last three years, according to a new study by the Environmental Working Group, which found that officials in many states are not enforcing federal clean air and water laws. Ohio, Michigan, and Texas lead the nation in failure to inspect factories […]

Labor's Love Lost?

Vice President Al Gore made efforts yesterday to unite environmentalists and labor unions, two crucial Democratic constituencies. Speaking in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he accepted the endorsement of the Sierra Club, Gore made a point of assuring union members in the audience that strong environmental protections go hand-in-hand with a good economy. Gore: “We’re here […]

Kira Schmidt, Bluewater Network

Kira Schmidt is campaign director of the Bluewater Network‘s Cruise Ship Campaign. Before joining Bluewater Network last year, Kira worked for three years as a team leader and writer/editor for the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Kira likes to spend her free time playing in the great outdoors — skiing, scuba diving, […]

Welcome to the Club

The Sierra Club gave its formal endorsement to Al Gore today, with the group’s president, Robert Cox, saying that if Gore were elected, he would be “the most pro-environment president in our history.” Gore accepted the endorsement by saying, “It is an honor that I will seek to live up to every day.” The Gore […]

Hey, Hey, Where're the Monkeys?

Machine-gun-toting commercial poachers in Africa are killing apes and monkeys at such high rates that some scientists fear a number of primate species could be exterminated from central Africa’s jungles within 10 years. Biologists from several enviro groups, including Conservation International, estimate that African poachers kill some 1 million metric tons of game every year. […]

Han, Seoul, Oh!

The U.S. military offered an official apology to South Koreans today for dumping formaldehyde, a toxic chemical and suspected carcinogen, into the Han River, a main source of drinking water for Seoul’s 12 million citizens. The apology came after some 250 South Koreans held an anti-America protest in Seoul on Saturday, pelting an effigy of […]