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Old McDonald Had a Fit

Europeans and others around the world are burning and uprooting test plots of genetically altered plants in protests that they call “decontaminations.” More than two dozen influential British consumer groups last month called for a five-year moratorium on genetically altered crops, while everyone from top chefs to McDonald’s in Britain have promised to eliminate the […]

No Coal, No Nukes — No Profits?

Green Mountain Energy — which is racking up both customers and financial losses as it markets no-coal, no-nuclear power — is planning to make a public stock offering. The company has attracted 36,000 customers in Pennsylvania and 21,000 in California, states which have deregulated their electricity markets. In California, virtually all customers who have opted […]

Dead Zone: A Dimension Beyond That Which is Known to Fish

The EPA is seeking a way to bring life back to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, a 5,000- to 7,000-square-mile area from which fish have largely disappeared. The problem is blamed in large part on fertilizer runoff from Midwest farms. The EPA should have a plan in place by next year to […]

Quarter Quota Quibble

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) has introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from acquiring land in states where it already has title to more than 25 percent of the land. In the meantime, congressional Republicans are facing off against Democrats over the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which takes tax revenues from […]

Timber Feast, Salmon Famine?

Washington state may set a national precedent by passing a 50-year deal between the state and private forest owners that would grant tax relief to timber companies while tightening logging rules near salmon streams. The plan, being pushed through the state legislature this week, is part of Washington Gov. Gary Locke’s (D) salmon-recovery effort. The […]

A review of 'Watching, from the Edge of Extinction'

Cynthia Salley makes an unlikely hero for an environmental fable. A Hawaiian cattle rancher, Salley has tussled for years with the National Audubon Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over an endangered species on her property. Yet the authors of Watching, from the Edge of Extinction credit her with saving the 'Alala, or Hawaiian crow.

Hasta la Vista, Baby?

Monsanto has temporarily tabled its controversial new “terminator technology” while it waits for completion of studies into its potential environmental, social, and economic effects, the company announced yesterday. The gene technology, which makes seeds sterile so farmers must buy new seeds each year, has spurred an uproar of angry protests around the globe, with some […]

Congress Suffers Mass Midlife Crisis

A group of congressional members posed with their surfboards on Capitol Hill yesterday to celebrate the House’s unanimous passage of a bill setting national standards for beach water quality. The bill, now headed for the Senate, would make $150 million available to encourage state and local governments to test coastal waters and warn beach-goers when […]

Protect Your Willy

The number of orca whales along British Columbia’s coast is on the downswing, prompting Canada to place the animal on its threatened species list. The orcas are suffering from declining stocks of salmon, an important food source, and potentially from whale-watchers, who sometimes follow the whales in groups of up to 100 boats. But because […]

Damn Logjam

A plan to remove a dam from the Elwha River in Washington to help restore salmon runs seems to have hit another stalemate, even though the feuding parties agree the dam should come down. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) is insisting that a bill to fund the dam’s removal include a provision stating that no dam […]