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2 x CO2 = 3.5 Feet
Climate change may boost ocean levels by about 3.5 feet by 2550, according to Jerry Mahlman of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mahlman’s computer model assumes that by 2050, carbon dioxide concentrations will be double what they were in the 1700s and then stabilize at that level because of conservation measures. Mahlman stresses that […]
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Don't Worry, the Frogs Are Just Bored
An outbreak in recent years of deformities in frog legs may be caused by a simple parasite found in nature rather than by chemical pollution, according to two new studies published today in the journal Science. The new research, conducted on Pacific tree frogs in California, suggests that limb deformities are caused by a tiny […]
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New Nukes Nuked
China has squelched plans to begin any new nuclear power projects in the next three years because the Asian economic crisis has cut into electricity demand, a Chinese nuclear industry official said yesterday. But the halt is expected to be temporary. “This does not mean bleak prospects for nuclear power development in China,” the official […]
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A Grisly Bill for Grizzlies
Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho) is pushing forward with a bill that would restrict the federal government’s ability to close forest and logging roads, mandating more public participation in the process. The U.S. Forest Service has closed or plans to close hundreds of miles of road in an eastern Idaho national forest to protect grizzly bears, […]
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Doggy Don't
Mexico City’s horrendous air pollution problem is being exacerbated by dog doo. More than 2 million dogs live in Mexico City’s inner Federal District and deposit at least 353 tons of waste a day, the vast majority of which is not scooped up by pet owners. The waste dries into dust that combines with particles […]
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Greens Seeing Red over Redwoods
The war between environmentalists and the logging corporation that owned the treasured Headwaters grove of ancient redwoods in northern California has been one of the nastiest altercations in American environmental history, reports the Washington Post in a long feature story. A controversial deal was struck last month in which the government paid half a billion […]
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Cloak, Dagger, and Turtle
A shroud of secrecy surrounds information about the northern bog turtle, a threatened species that makes its home in meadows from Massachusetts to Maryland, prime suburb territory. Its presence has delayed road and water projects in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Michael Klemens, who is developing a federal plan to save the species, thinks it […]
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Flipper Flip-Flop
The Clinton administration today is expected to give tuna processors and canners the go-ahead to label their products “dolphin-safe” even if they use large, encircling nets that can snare and kill dolphins. That fishing method was once thought to have killed 100,000 dolphins a year and spurred a 1990 import ban on tuna caught by […]
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Swedish Chef, Dutch Oven Cook Up Controversy
The European Union is struggling to pull together a common climate change strategy ahead of the next round of international talks on the issue to be held in Bonn in June. The European Union’s German presidency plans to call a special meeting of EU environment ministers on May 18 to hammer out an agreement. The […]
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The Death of Frankenfood
Britain’s largest grocery store chain, Tesco, gave the boot to genetically modified foods yesterday, saying it would phase them out from its shelves. Two popular British food processors also pledged to work toward eliminating genetically modified ingredients from their products, reacting to consumer outcries against the altered foods. Modified crops are not yet licensed to […]
