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The Answer Is Blowin' in the Wind

The U.S. wind power industry got a boost last week from news that congressional negotiators agreed to extend a tax credit for electricity produced from wind and some other renewable sources. The credit, which had expired on June 30, is estimated to reduce the cost of wind power by 1.3 to 2.0 cents per kilowatt […]

Old McDonald Had an Image Makeover

Sales of organic food in Britain rose 40 percent in the last year, driven by consumer concern about genetically modified food and mad cow disease, according to a report by market research firm Mintel. More than 70 percent of Britons have purchased organic products, reflecting the fact that the organic industry has shed its “beard […]

God Love 'Em

Ministers, rabbis, and other religious leaders in Oregon are kicking off a campaign to combat global warming, the first of 17 statewide efforts across the nation that aim to wed religion and environmental protection. The campaign urges churches to install more energy-efficient lighting and heating systems and encourages congregations to lobby politicians to support efforts […]

Still One Wild and Crazy President

As one of his last major public land initiatives, Pres. Clinton is preparing to designate up to a dozen areas in the West as national monuments, with the aim of protecting the wild lands from commercial development and recreational overuse. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said the administration has decided to act because Congress has failed […]

Green Houses Are a Gas

Developers have built 3,500 “green” homes in Colorado during the past two years, more than $1 billion worth, making Colorado the top green building state. Colorado kicked off the nation’s only statewide green building program in March 1997 and has assembled a task force that is raising money for public education and hopes to launch […]

J. Crud

The U.S. catalog industry last year produced 17 billion catalogs, or 64 for each American, and used 3.35 million tons of paper, more than 12 percent of all the printing and writing paper produced in the country, according to a study by the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, an initiative of the Environmental Defense Fund and […]

Tibet-er Late Than Never

After years of clashes between poor Tibetans trying to make a living from the land and foreign environmentalists trying to save forests, conservation groups and agencies like the U.N. Development Program have begun working with local Tibetan authorities to wipe out poverty in an ecologically sound manner. Future Generations, a U.S. conservation group, has entered […]

They're Going Through a Phase — You Know, Hormones

Biotechnology advocates and opponents squared off yesterday in Chicago at the first of three public debates on genetically modified foods being hosted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The hearing was highly structured, and most of the daylong session was devoted to discussions by panels that appeared heavily weighted with members who favor the […]

Brooking No Damage to Blue Lagoon

A U.N. report made public yesterday warned of potential environmental harm from a salt plant that Mitsubishi and the Mexican government want to build on a lagoon in Baja California, near a U.N. World Heritage site, the biggest wildlife sanctuary in Latin America. The report is slated to be presented to the U.N. World Heritage […]

Looking for Rare Plants in All the Wrong Places

Federal officials agreed yesterday to settle a lawsuit with enviros that has halted timber sales on 24.5 million acres of federal forests in Washington, Oregon, and California. The agreement would lift an injunction against 34 timber sales, which was imposed by U.S. District Judge William Dwyer, and open up other sales that the U.S. Forest […]