Uncategorized
All Stories
-
La Resistance
Europeans are becoming increasingly passionate in their resistance to genetically modified (GM) foods, staging colorful protests and destroying test fields of plants in addition to refusing to buy the foods. Pollsters say that only 1 percent of Britons think there is any value to genetically modifying plants, and British supermarket chains have been among the […]
-
Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent
The winter of 1999-2000 was the warmest winter in the U.S. since the government began keeping records 105 years ago, marking the third year in a row of record warm winters, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. From December 1999 through February 2000, every state in the contiguous U.S. was warmer than its long-term […]
-
Saline Solution?
Facing a severe shortage of fresh water, the sprawling Tampa Bay area is planning to build the largest desalination plant this side of Saudi Arabia by the end of 2002. If the plan is approved by state environmental officials, Tampa Bay envisions desalted sea water providing about 10 percent of the drinking water for the […]
-
The Horror, the Horror
Poachers are wiping out endangered gorillas in the war-ravaged eastern section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Only 70 gorillas remain in the highlands of Kahuzi-Biega National Park, compared with 258 several years ago. Kahuzi-Biega has been officially closed to tourists since August 1998, when military conflict in the region escalated. Unarmed park guards […]
-
Dan Brister, Buffalo Field Campaign
Dan Brister has been working with the Buffalo Field Campaign since December of 1997. He alternates winters on the Yellowstone boundary with falls in Missoula, Mont., where he is earning an MS in environmental studies. Dan can be contacted at dan@wildrockies.org. Monday, 13 Mar 2000 WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. Our patrols are on their way into […]
-
When We Said Breach the Dams, We Didn't Mean This One!
A dam break at a mine in northwestern Romania on Friday dumped 20,000 tons of lead, zinc, and other metals, contaminating three rivers, including the Tisza, which was severely polluted by a deadly cyanide spill from another Romanian mine accident six weeks ago. The pollution from the latest spill traveled downstream and hit Hungary on […]
-
Turning Over a Nuke Leak
Within three years, dangerous tritium contamination from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state could leach into the Columbia River, Hanford officials say. Last year, surveys found tritium, known to cause birth defects, at concentrations 90 times above the federal drinking water standard in a nearby well that lies 3.5 miles from the Columbia. By […]
-
This Idea Should Be Banished to Siberia
Russian enviros are alarmed by a government proposal to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from European and Asian countries for storage and eventual reprocessing in Siberia. The Russian Atomic Energy Ministry hopes that the scheme will earn it $21 billion over the next 10 years, as countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and […]
-
They Couldn't Car Less
A community of residents Freiburg, Germany, has launched the nation’s biggest experiment in car-free living. The Vauban development — which includes 280 new homes on 94 acres — bans cars within its limits, so people happily get around by bike and on foot. About half of the residents have given up their cars completely, while […]
-
Rain Drops Stopped Falling on My Head
Pollution from coal-burning power plants and other sources may prevent snow and rainfall in downwind areas, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem studied satellite data and found that pollution particles cause water in clouds to spread out thinly, preventing it from forming into […]
