Uncategorized
All Stories
-
I Could Have Had a Hormone-Free G8!
The U.S. and Canada blocked efforts this weekend at a G8 summit to create an international body that would have policed global food standards and instituted a ban on genetically modified crops and hormone-treated meat until a scientific panel assessed the safety of the foods. French Pres. Jacques Chirac pressed for the new measures, but […]
-
Smokey's on Your Tailpipe
Nine northeastern states agreed on Friday to crack down on diesel pollution from big trucks and buses, launching a coordinated effort to begin roadside inspections and give tickets to heavily smoking vehicles. Meanwhile, the EPA this month is weighing a plan to require diesel fuel to be cleaner, which trucking companies complain would make the […]
-
Park and Ride
Officials in Grand Canyon National Park recently broke ground on a new light-rail system that will completely change transportation inside the park, cutting vehicle traffic by 80 percent. Once the system is completed, most visitors will be required to leave their cars in a lot well outside the park and enter by light-rail; once inside […]
-
It's for the Birds
More than 2000 acres of coastal wetlands surrounded by development in the San Diego area were designated a federal wildlife refuge last week. The new South San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge — the result of 20 years of work by enviros, community groups, and governments — will protect a critical stopping ground for migratory […]
-
Hey You, Take That Back
European automakers are up in arms over a bill that would require them to take back and recycle old cars. A draft of the bill was expected to be approved next week by environment ministers from the 15 EU countries, but lobbying by automakers may hold up the process. The measure would force car manufacturers […]
-
Tick-ing Time Bomb
Global warming could cause a big increase in insect-borne diseases in Europe, according to a new World Health Organization report published in the British Medical Journal. As temperatures rise and precipitation and humidity increase, disease-carrying pests such as ticks, mosquitoes, and rats could expand their ranges and bring malaria, lyme disease, and other illnesses.
-
We Don't Give a Jack about These Magic Beans
Scientists, consumer groups, and activists yesterday presented Congress and the Food and Drug Administration with a 500,000-signature petition calling for genetically modified foods to be labeled. The demonstration suggested that distrust of genetically altered foods is growing in the U.S.; it is already rampant in Europe. Scientists and protestors pointed out that little research has […]
-
Monumental Veto
Pres. Clinton would likely veto a bill moving through Congress that would require public input before the president can declare federal land a national monument. Some Republicans are angry that Clinton in 1996 created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, and they want to restrict the ability of the president to make […]
-
Y2-Kaboom
An error during a Y2K computer test caused a Los Angeles water treatment facility to spill about 4 million gallons of raw sewage into a city park Wednesday night, raising fears about environmental and other problems that could be in store as January 1, 2000 approaches. Maintenance workers had cleaned up most of the mess […]
-
Drawling Sprawl Brawl
Atlanta is taking a lead in the fight against sprawl as the new Georgia Regional Transit Authority, which will have unprecedented power over transportation in the region, takes shape. The new body, created by the state legislature in March, will have control over the building and widening of roads, a carpooling system, and construction of […]
