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Spent Fuel for the Fire
Japan, which gets about a third of its electricity from nuclear plants, is having big problems trying to dispose of its nuclear waste. Public opposition to the nuclear industry in Japan is growing, fueled by an accident last year at a uranium processing plant that killed two people and exposed hundreds to radiation, and citizens […]
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Interior Designs
Speculation is mounting that Montana Gov. Marc Racicot (R) would be a likely candidate for Interior secretary should George W. Bush win the presidency. Racicot yesterday joined other Western governors, including Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) and John Kitzhaber (D-Ore.), in calling on the next president to give more weight to state and local governments in deciding […]
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Old-growth Me Out
Sixteen major Canadian companies — including Bell Canada, Nike Canada, Kinko’s, and Citizens Bank — announced yesterday that they will stop purchasing all paper products made from old-growth forests within three years. The agreement stems from a campaign organized by the Markets Initiative, a coalition of environmental groups that includes Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. […]
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Hanford and Sons
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt recommended yesterday that President Clinton declare four new national monuments that would protect more than 500,000 acres of federal land in the West, and Clinton is expected to heed his advice. The proposed monuments include the Hanford Reach along the Columbia River in Washington; the Soda Mountain area of Oregon; canyons […]
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Methane in Their Madness
Far from being eco-friendly, hydroelectric power can actually cause more greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere than coal-fired power plants, according to a report by the World Commission on Dams, a group of scientists, engineers, and enviros supported by the World Conservation Union and the World Bank. The reservoirs created by dams trap […]
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Hell-bent for Leatherbacks
Leatherback turtles in the Pacific Ocean are in a serious decline that may lead to their extinction within a decade unless commercial fishing practices are changed, according to a new study in today’s issue of the journal Nature. The giant turtles, which weigh an average of 1,000 pounds and travel thousands of miles through the […]
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Set This Insecticide Aside
The EPA plans to effectively remove from the market all over-the-counter products containing chlorpyrifos, one of the most commonly used pesticides in the U.S., often sold under the brand name Dursban. The pesticide, made by Dow Chemical, is contained in some 800 consumer products, everything from lawn spray to flea collars. The EPA is expected […]
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Please Don't Squeeze the Chairman
Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who became chair of the Senate Environment Committee six months ago following the death of pro-conservation Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), has been a not-entirely-unpleasant surprise for enviros. Many had feared that the conservative Smith would use his new position to lead a no-holds-barred assault on environmental protection. Instead, Smith has shown […]
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Not Appealing
Enviros were unhappy yesterday at the news that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the EPA should have taken into account costs to industry when it issued tougher clean-air standards in 1997. Last week, the court agreed to hear the federal government’s challenge to a lower court ruling that invalidated those tougher air-quality […]
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In Big With the League
Al Gore picked up the backing of the League of Conservation Voters yesterday, his first endorsement from a national environmental group. LCV President Deb Callahan: “His environmental achievements are the most extensive of any public official in high office.” Gore used the occasion to tout his green credentials and proclaim the launch of an “environmental […]
