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Farmageddon
Farmers in the U.S., Canada, and Argentina are expected to slash their plantings of genetically modified (GM) crops by 20 to 25 percent this year because of growing uncertainty in the market, the Worldwatch Institute said yesterday. A growing number of food manufacturers and retailers have said they will stop selling foods containing GM ingredients. […]
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Why Frogs Croak
After more than a decade of puzzling over what is killing off frog species around the world, scientists are now postulating that there is no one factor to blame but rather a combination of factors. Contributing problems include pollution, habitat destruction, the introduction of non-native species, crop fertilizers that cause high concentrations of toxic nitrates, […]
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Now We're Really Fed Up
The federal government is polluting the nation’s waterways at a record rate, violating the Clean Water Act six times as often as it did in 1993, and at a higher rate than private companies, according to a new report by the EPA. Nearly four of every 10 federal facilities, primarily those operated by the Defense […]
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Air and Space Museums
The Clinton administration is planning to protect up to 4 million acres of open space in the West by creating a new class of protected public lands, tentatively called national landscape monuments, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said yesterday. Babbitt said he hoped Congress would act to protect the areas under consideration, but if it does […]
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Sher and Sher, I Like
In another sign that anti-dam sentiment is spreading across the U.S., a bill introduced in the California legislature yesterday would require the state to draw up a list of dams that could be demolished to help the recovery of endangered salmon and steelhead trout. The bill — drafted by state Sen. Byron Sher (D), chair […]
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And You Can Start By Not Buying This Magazine
Time Inc., the folks who bring you People and Entertainment Weekly magazines, are jumping on the voluntary simplicity bandwagon — sort of. Next month, the company will launch a new magazine, Real Simple, that is aimed at women who want to simplify their overextended lives. The magazine’s founders have changed the familiar mantra of “less […]
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But, Hey, the Home of Baywatch Can't Be All Bad
Water and air pollution and increasing pesticide use are raising the rates of cancer, asthma, and other health problems in California, particularly among children, poor city dwellers, and farm workers, according to a report released yesterday by an environmental health advocates group. The Environmental Health Policy Alliance, formed last year to advise California Gov. Gray […]
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Assault With Batteries
Russia is building floating nuclear stations to bring cheap power to remote locations, but Russian enviros say the units will be accident-prone, waterborne “Chernobyls” that will make easy targets for terrorists. The stations will serve as huge atomic batteries moored off coastlines, each providing enough power for a town of 50,000. Construction has begun on […]
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Nader's Zenith
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader on Monday will announce his candidacy for president under the banner of the Green Party, which has a progressive, anti-corporate agenda in addition to an emphasis on environmental issues. Nader ran as the Green nominee in 1996 and got 684,902 votes, including 2 percent of the vote in California. Some lefties […]
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Concession Stand
Vice President Al Gore has privately assured organized labor that as president he would seek additional environmental and labor concessions before moving ahead on a trade deal with China, if President Clinton loses his fight this year for a China deal, according to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Gore campaign spokesperson Chris Lehane affirmed that Gore […]
