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There Is No Free Lunch

The European Union’s plan to limit carbon dioxide emissions trading as a way of meeting climate change commitments will increase the cost of fighting global warming, according to a study released yesterday by the International Energy Agency. But the EU plan would lead to more “real” cuts in emissions, the IEA said. The EU is […]

Water Over the Dam

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, in a speech yesterday in Colorado to Western water officials, proposed setting minimum water levels for rivers and signaled his intention to redirect water toward environmental uses rather than agricultural irrigation or residential growth. Babbitt said that in coming years, more dams will be breached or modified to help restore rivers, […]

Oil of No-Way

California Gov. Gray Davis (D) is pulling no punches in his fight to block new oil and gas drilling off the coast of central California. His administration yesterday unveiled a broad plan to pursue “whatever legal or regulatory action is available” to protect the coast from oil exploration. It’s likely to be a brutal battle […]

One Can's Trash Is Another Plan's Treasure

One of the nation’s largest garbage-to-energy projects got underway in central Washington last week, capturing enough methane gas from a massive landfill to power 3,000 homes. A local public utility and an aluminum company have become its first customers, and other utilities, including Seattle City Light, are eyeing deals as the project heads toward its […]

Dogs Do the Wild Thing

Africa’s wild dogs, nearly driven to extinction by hunters and dwindling habitat, are making a comeback. Nine dogs — some wild, some raised in captivity — will be released today in South Africa’s Pilanesberg Game Reserve, and if the pack survives in its new home, it will be the first time in decades that the […]

Cutthroat Competition

A coalition of enviros and fishing groups banded together yesterday in filing a lawsuit to force the feds to protect the Rio Grande cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species Act. Although 95 percent of the fish’s habitat has been lost, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last September that it would not consider adding […]

Take Those Jobs and Shove 'Em

In an unusual deal that reflects mounting concern about sprawl, computer chip-maker Intel agreed with local officials not to bring too many more jobs to the greater Portland, Ore., metropolitan area. Intel already employs 4,000 people and the deal with Washington County will let it create 1,000 new jobs, but if it exceeds that number […]

New Marine Motto: Semper Die

Marine life is severely threatened by climate change, according to a new report from the Marine Conservation Biology Institute and the World Wildlife Fund. Among other problems, warming oceans seem to be causing declines in sea critters low on the food chain, which harms fish, whales, and other animals high on the food chain. The […]

For Fish, a Key Reserve

A remarkable consensus in Florida is pushing to set aside 185 square nautical miles near the Florida Keys to create the largest marine reserve in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. A proposal for the reserve emerged last month from an advisory committee representing a broad range of interests in the […]

Crowded Today, Hot Tamale

Dramatic demographic changes are underway in Mexico, which has seen a massive reduction in fertility, from seven children per woman in 1965 to 2.5 per woman today. Still, the population is projected to reach 100 million next year and to continue to add about 1 million people a year over the next three decades. For […]