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Seedy Dealings
Tempers are flaring in Europe this week as hundreds of farmers in England, France, Germany, and Sweden have found out that they unwittingly planted genetically modified (GM) rapeseed oil crops, after a seed company accidentally included a small amount of GM seeds in bags sold to the farmers over the past two years. Many Europeans […]
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Ford Better or Ford Worse?
Ford Motor Co. announced yesterday that it would make a 25 percent cut in production of its gas-guzzling Ford Excursion for the 2001 model year, but pinned the decision to poor consumer demand for the vehicle, not the company’s concerns about its environmental and safety problems. In a “corporate citizenship report” released last Thursday, Ford […]
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There Was Something in the Air That Night, the Stars Were Bright, Fernando
In a victory for enviros, leaders in the Brazilian Congress yesterday dropped a bill that would have cut the protected portion of the nation’s Amazon region from 80 percent down to 50 percent. The move came after Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso pledged to fight the bill, which enviros had warned would dramatically escalate destruction […]
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Dear John
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) signed an executive order yesterday that calls on the state government to work toward environmental sustainability by making more efficient use of materials and emphasizing reuse and recycling. The order gives the Oregon Department of Administration six months to develop guidelines to help the state construct buildings and roads using […]
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Globalization in Over Drive
One outcome of China’s expected entry into the World Trade Organization is likely to be a dramatic rise in car ownership among the nation’s 1.3 billion citizens, a possibility that alarms some American enviros who worry about increased pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases. Under the WTO, China’s import tariffs on cars will drop to […]
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Helter Smelter
Enviros are cheering a decision by an international environmental panel to investigate Mexico’s handling of an abandoned lead smelter in Tijuana that has become a symbol of pollution problems along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established by a side accord of the North American Free Trade Agreement, agreed to compile a report […]
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Can You Hear the Drums, Fernando?
A controversial bill due to be debated in the Brazilian Congress next week would cut the legally protected portion of the nation’s Amazon region from 80 percent to 50 percent. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso promised yesterday to fight the measure. Enviros warn that the bill would dramatically increase destruction of the Amazon rainforest, the […]
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A 3M-tive Strike
3M Co. announced yesterday that it will stop producing many of its well-known Scotchgard oil- and water-repellant products after finding that one of the chemical compounds they contain lingers in the environment for years and is found widely in the bloodstreams of people around the world. 3M says that the substance, perfluorooctanyl, has not been […]
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Bad News for Dr. Atkins
A draft of a much-delayed report from the U.S. EPA concludes for the first time that at least one form of dioxin is a “human carcinogen,” while other dioxins are “likely” carcinogens. The chance of developing cancer for those who eat large amounts of fatty foods and dairy products, which are relatively high in dioxins, […]
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This Leaves a Lott to Be Desired
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and nine other GOP senators introduced a bill yesterday that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. The measure, which is aimed at decreasing American dependency on foreign oil, would also establish tax incentives for some low-producing oil wells, lower royalties for some oil exploration, […]
