Uncategorized

The Japan Syndrome

Fifteen of 17 large nuclear facilities in Japan have inadequate health and safety measures, according to a report released yesterday by the nation’s Labor Ministry. The report found 25 violations of health and safety law, most related to inadequate checks on radiation exposure. The ministry issued instructions to nuclear facilities to improve their records, and […]

Another Rainy Day for Microsoft

Climate change is likely to bring wetter weather to the Pacific Northwest, according to researchers at the University of Washington. The scientists, who make up a federally sponsored research team known as the Northwest Climate Impacts Group, today will describe what Northwesterners should expect to see over the next 50 years as climate patterns shift. […]

Deb Jensen, Santa Catalina Island Conservancy

Deb Jensen is director of education at the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. Monday, 8 Nov 1999 CATALINA ISLAND, Calif. Waking up to the sound and smell of rain this morning was, well … refreshing. It has been months since any precipitation has fallen as rain here. Conversations have been punctuated by fears about drought, global […]

A Tree Grows in Pyongyang

Troubled by North Korea’s deforestation problem, the nation’s leader, Kim Jong Il, is launching an effort to plant millions of trees. Most of the country’s forests, except those in tourist areas, have been chopped down by people desperate for fuel, and with trees no longer holding soil in place, rain is washing topsoil away and […]

The Empire State Strikes Back

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) plans to impose new state vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than federal requirements, adopting the set of standards that is now in place only in California. Massachusetts has signaled its intention to follow suit, a development that is expected to help push the entire auto industry to develop […]

Wired, Wild West

Wilderness movements in the U.S. are gathering steam and pushing for protection of ever-larger areas, even as the Republican-controlled Congress thwarts most wilderness bills. An extensive citizen-led survey of Utah lands has lead to a campaign for 9.1 million acres of federally protected wilderness in the state, and has inspired other efforts throughout the West […]

Putting Hanford Out of Reach

Pres. Clinton gave federal protection on Friday to the area around the last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River, called the Hanford Reach, a move aimed at helping recovery of the Pacific salmon. Some 57,000 acres of land along the 47-mile stretch of river will be added to a national wildlife refuge in southern Washington […]

Wigging Out

Breach of Trust

In a shift that could transform a fierce environmental debate in the Northwest, federal officials are now saying that endangered salmon could be saved even if four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington state remain in place. Seven months ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service, which directs salmon recovery, said breaching the dams […]

Ranch Undressing

More than $100 million in federal taxpayer subsidies were given last year to ranching operations, many of them run by wealthy hobby ranchers, agribusiness giants, and corporations, according to a nine-month investigation by the San Jose Mercury News. In 17 Western states, livestock grazing is allowed on a total of 254 million acres of national […]