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Please, Mrs. Paul, Stop the Madness!

Stocks of cod in the North Sea are in serious danger of collapsing because of the twin threats of overfishing and rising sea temperatures, according to a new study published in today’s issue of the journal Nature. Over-exploitation of cod stocks over the past four decades means that most of the fish caught in the […]

The Not-So-Great Migration?

The migration of tens of thousands of Brazilians from the Amazon rainforest to cities has lessened one environmental crisis but created other serious problems. Now fewer farmers are tearing down swathes of forest to open up new agricultural land, but cities in the Amazon region have been overwhelmed by the influx of new people. A […]

Tannen-bomb

Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) has launched “Project Evergreen,” an effort to assemble a list of anti-environmental initiatives that a new Republican president could undertake without congressional approval. Last week he wrote to conservative think tankers, industry folks, and others, asking for help in thinking up “executive orders and rule changes that a new president […]

Hungary Thirsty for Clean Water

More than a month after a disastrous cyanide spill at a gold mine in Romania killed hundreds of tons of fish in the Tisza and Danube rivers and polluted the drinking water of millions of Eastern Europeans, the affected ecosystems are only now beginning to show signs of recovery. In Hungary, which was most hard-hit […]

A River Runs — Sue It!

The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out an appeal by four conservative Western lawmakers who had challenged President Clinton’s authority to designate “American Heritage Rivers” for special federal assistance and funding. After Clinton created the Heritage Rivers program with an executive order in 1997, four members of Congress filed suit, contending that the initiative violated […]

Hold Your Fire!

Hundreds of forest fires are spreading out of control in the Indonesian regions of Sumatra and West Kalimantan, sending up huge clouds of smoke and threatening air quality across Southeast Asia. The fires are blamed primarily on large plantation owners and small farmers who illegally set blazes to clear forest land. Air pollution from such […]

Thank You Very Little

The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously struck down the tough oil-spill prevention rules that Washington state enacted after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. The justices said that in most situations, federal laws preempt states from setting their own standards to prevent oil spills from tankers. In 1991, Washington state adopted rules that were stricter […]

Doin' It Dogging Style

Environmental demonstrators are dogging Al Gore on the campaign trail, demanding that he act on behalf of the U’wa indigenous tribe in Colombia, whose ancestral rainforest lands are threatened by Occidental Petroleum’s plans to drill for oil. Protestors say the U’was’ rights are being violated, and point to a violent confrontation last month between U’wa […]

Party On, Ralph

Ralph Nader plans to mount an aggressive campaign for president as a Green Party candidate, spreading the party’s message of environmental protection, an end to corporate welfare, and health care and social justice for all, he said yesterday at a rally of the California Green Party. In contrast to his half-hearted run four years ago, […]

You've Got to Fight For the Right Whales

Alarmed at the increasing number of Northern right whales being injured or killed by fishing gear, one of New England’s top environmental groups announced plans yesterday to sue the federal government for failing to protect the species. Only some 300 right whales remain, and many of them are in Cape Cod Bay this time of […]