Uncategorized

Owl's Fair in Love and War

The federal government yesterday decided to protect 731,000 acres near Tucson, Ariz., as critical habitat for the endangered pygmy owl, a major shift that will limit future development in the area. The feds were forced into the move by a lawsuit filed by the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity. Last week, Arizona Gov. Jane Hull […]

Fees Take a Hike

A new system of higher fees in national parks is starting to pay off for visitors and park administrators alike. The system allows parks to keep 80 percent of the fees they collect, and parks are using the funds to build trails, control erosion, fix water and sewer lines, restore historic buildings, extend handicap access, […]

Escargot Cargo Embargo

In an effort to curb the environmental degradation caused by exotic species, the U.S. government today will begin regulating the water that cargo ships dump when they enter U.S. ports. Ships will be asked to empty out their ballast water at least 200 miles off the U.S. coast to prevent invasive animals, microorganisms, and bacteria […]

Torpedo the Dams — Full Speed Ahead!

The Edwards Dam in Augusta, Maine, will be breached on Thursday in an effort to restore fish populations in the Kennebec River, as debates rage across the U.S. over proposals to knock down dams for the sake of fish. About 75,000 large dams block American rivers, and small dams block thousands more. Proposals to breach […]

Snap, Crackle over Population

A U.N. population conference of 180 nations is running into problems as a small group of conservative Catholic and Muslim developing countries is splitting from the majority on family planning, abortion, and sex education in schools. The conference, a follow-up to the 1994 Cairo population meeting, today is supposed to present an updated action plan […]

Keep on Pushing My Dove over the Borderline

The Mexican and U.S. governments are combining forces for the first time to try to save a watershed, the Upper San Pedro River Basin in northern Mexico and southwestern Arizona. The area, the last aviary migration zone in the southwestern U.S., is a stopping point each year for 4 million migratory birds, representing 400 bird […]

Wind Picking up Speed

Wind power is undergoing an explosive growth spurt, with wind-energy capacity growing an average of 26 percent annually during the 1990s and 35 percent last year. Most of the growth has taken place in Europe, where governments have encouraged wind-power development with research investments and other incentives. In the U.S., a federal tax credit for […]

Sulfuring Succotash!

The rate of global warming and sea level rise may be slightly higher in the next century than previously predicted, particularly in the U.S., according to a peer-reviewed analysis released yesterday by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The U.S. and other nations have been working to cut sulfur-dioxide pollution in the air, which […]

GOP Ever-Glad to Block Gore

House Republicans are trying to withhold millions of dollars for a Florida Everglades restoration project backed by Vice Pres. Al Gore unless the Clinton administration can “ensure a restored ecosystem.” The Republicans also want to give the Interior Department a greater voice in the restoration project; now the Army Corps of Engineers has most of […]

What Price No Success?

The public in 2000 will spend nearly $1 billion to save salmon in the Northwest. That according to a tabulation by the Portland Oregonian, with input from the six federal agencies and four states most involved in the restoration effort. Previously, nobody had attempted to track overall spending on the fish. Not surprisingly, right-leaning members […]