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Pop, the Question

A U.N. conference on Friday agreed to a plan to curb world population growth, including controversial recommendations for sex education at all school levels, confidential contraceptive advice for teenagers, and safer abortions in countries where they are legal. The plan also asks governments to help curb the spread of the AIDS virus, which now infects […]

Greens See Red

A leader of Germany’s Green Party warned German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday that the Greens may desert his coalition if it does not honor a pledge to phase out nuclear power. “This is perhaps the Greens’ main reason for being in the coalition,” said party co-leader Antje Radcke. The Greens rejected proposals to spread a […]

Orrin't You Angry about This?

Pres. Clinton plans to nominate as a federal judge a Utah Republican who is bitterly opposed by environmental groups, administration sources said last week. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been pushing the nomination, and Clinton agreed to it so that Hatch would end his months-long blockade of the president’s […]

Bloomin' Hell!

In the worst fish kill in Maryland in more than a decade, at least 200,000 fish have died in the past week along two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Officials blamed the fish deaths on buildups of phosphorus and nitrogen, which create algae blooms that deplete oxygen in water. A drought in the area has […]

Run, Salmon, Run!

Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers

Rebecca Wodder is president of American Rivers in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at the Wilderness Society and as the legislative assistant for then-Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.). Her career in conservation started with the first Earth Day in 1970. Monday, 5 Jul 1999 WASHINGTON, D.C. I’ve just returned from witnessing the rebirth of a river. […]

Incensed at the Vatican

Upset at attempts by the Vatican to disrupt progress on limiting world population growth, 126 women’s organizations from around the globe yesterday sent an open letter to the Roman Catholic Church protesting its efforts. The letter asked how a church that holds life as “a fundamental value” could watch thousands of women die because they […]

A Tree Grows in Berlin

The fall of the Berlin Wall 10 years ago has meant hard times for many of the city’s old trees, some of which had been fenced off from public contact by Cold War barriers until 1989. Now, massive reconstruction in Berlin has caused fluctuations in the water table, drowning the roots of many trees. Exhaust […]

Stuck a Feather in His Cap

Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, Pres. Clinton today will announce that the feds want to take the bald eagle off the endangered species list. The eagle has made a strong recovery since 1963, when only 417 pairs were found in the 48 contiguous states. Last year, biologists counted some 5,748 pairs, […]

So That Means Everyone Should Drive Semis?

USA Today reports that 46,000 people have died because of a 1970s-era push for greater fuel efficiency that has lead to smaller cars, but the article gives short shrift to environmental benefits of fuel efficiency, such as less air pollution and lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The article reports that corporate average fuel economy standards, which have […]