Uncategorized

Phew, I Feel Safer Already

The U.S. Army plans to manufacture and use eco-friendly bullets that will still kill people but won’t be quite so deadly to the environment. New tungsten-based bullets will be phased in as replacements for traditional lead bullets, which can cause lead buildup in the environment and contaminate sediments, surface water, and groundwater. Some 1 million […]

A Chicken-S**t Tax Cut

Tax credits would go to companies that convert chicken droppings into electricity under a provision tucked into a giant Senate tax-cut bill by Sen. William Roth (R-Del.). Chicken farming is the largest agricultural enterprise in Delaware, and chicken manure has become a major source of pollution. Technology for burning the manure to produce electricity has […]

Himalayan Low

Global warming could melt Himalayan glaciers within 40 years, according to new research to be presented this week at a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization. The Gangotri glacier at the head of the Ganges River is receding at a rate of about 90 feet per year. The melting of glaciers could increase the risk […]

Seeds of Change

Scientists have learned how to manipulate genes within a plant, a technique the biotechnology industry hopes environmentalists will like more than current genetic modification methods, which involve transplanting foreign genes into crops. The new method, made public today in two articles in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences, could let scientists tinker with […]

A Grand Stand

Environmentalists are speculating that Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will try to protect 650,000 acres on Arizona’s Shivwets Plateau north of the Grand Canyon during his last 18 months in office. If Arizona’s congressional delegation can’t agree on legislation to do the job, Babbitt is expected to push Pres. Clinton to designate the area as a […]

Post-Mitch Hitch

In the wake of Hurricane Mitch, new interest is growing in Central America in environmentally sound land-management practices. Some farmers took note of the fact that communities with protected forest areas held up much better during the hurricane than communities where most trees had been felled. Still, development workers say it’s a tough challenge to […]

NAFTA-Shock

The U.S.-Mexico border remains heavily polluted, despite claims that NAFTA’s environmental side accord would alleviate many problems in the area. Some progress has been made: the Tijuana River has been cleaned up noticeably, thanks to new sewage treatment plants, though much work still needs to be done. The North American Development Bank, an environmental fund […]

Rain, Rain, Come and Stay

TreePeople, a Los Angeles nonprofit organization that has planted more than 1.5 million trees over the last 26 years, is now aiming to create a “sustainable watershed” in the city, dramatically reducing flooding, drought, and pollution. TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis has built a demonstration house in South Central L.A. that has a lowered lawn and […]

Six Billion Served

World population may hit 6 billion today, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, meaning human numbers have doubled in less than 40 years. The United Nations predicts the 6 billion mark will be hit on October 12. Either way, humanity is increasing by 78 million people a year, despite a decelerating growth rate, and scientists […]

Hot and Bothered

The warming of ocean waters seems to be an early warning sign that humans may be threatened by an epidemic, a team of earth scientists and infectious disease experts reported last week in the journal Science. The researchers found that higher temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans increased rain in parts of Africa, and […]