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Court: Burn, Baby, Burn

A federal appeals court ordered the EPA yesterday to put on hold a regulation that would require 22 states to reduce their production of smog-causing gases that drift into other states. The three-judge panel issuing the decision did not question the merit of the regulation, but delayed its implementation pending a lawsuit filed by a […]

Wails from Japan

Japan will seek to remove some whale species from the international endangered species list in hopes that it can resume commercial whaling, the nation said yesterday at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Grenada. The U.S., Britain, Australia, and New Zealand stand staunchly opposed to a resumption of commercial whaling. Similar requests from […]

A Bad Acid Trip

Romania is being hit with acid rain and increased water and air pollution as a direct result of NATO’s bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, the Romanian environment ministry said yesterday. Air pollution from fires following the bombings has caused acid rains in areas of Romania along the Yugoslav border. The ministry said that environmental damage has […]

Nah, Wilderness!

Rep. Jim Hansen (R-Utah) is trying to throw a wrench into the creation of new wilderness study areas in Utah. A provision Hansen has tacked onto an Armed Services authorization bill prohibits the creation of new study areas until it is determined whether such areas would create problems for an Air Force training range in […]

Canyonland crusader plays Mother Goose

Skip Edwards is in his yard in rural Crawford, Colo., doing one of his favorite things: crawling behind Chaco, the goose he lives with. This is pretty much his job these days. She waddles. He crawls. He wants to learn her habits from the ground up. Skip and Chaco — or is it Chaco and […]

Go West, Young Wolf

Wolf populations introduced into Idaho three years ago are thriving and expanding westward, with wolves expected to hit Oregon within one or two years, says Pete Frost of the National Wildlife Federation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been surprised by the quick migration. Some Oregon residents, particularly ranchers, are less than thrilled by […]

Putting in Their Two-Pence Worth

British customers are quite interested in buying their electricity from renewable sources, but they are reluctant to pay more than 10 percent over regular prices for it, according to a new Harris poll on the country’s electricity market. Britain this week completed deregulation of its market, and the poll found that the marketing pull of […]

Enforcement Like a Bump on a Log

California’s logging rules and enforcement are too weak, allowing excessive tree cutting that leads to mudslides, damaged water supplies, and endangered fish and wildlife, according to a study released yesterday by a U.S. Forest Service geologist. Meanwhile, as part of a 50-year habitat conservation plan, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell (D) yesterday proposed that logging be […]

FAO Swats Pesticides

More than 100,000 stocks of obsolete pesticides in Africa, the Middle East, Poland, and the Ukraine pose serious threats to human health and the environment, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO said funding is needed to remove the poisons. In many developing nations, metal drums filled with pesticides are corroding and […]

Canadian Commissioner's Poison Pen

The Canadian government is failing to protect its citizens from toxic chemicals and pesticides, according to a damning report released yesterday by Brian Emmett, the nation’s commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. He criticized the government for relying on an ineffective system of voluntary programs to measure and reduce toxics, and for failing to […]