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TRI This on for Sighs

EPA unveils mixed news on U.S. toxic emissions The U.S. EPA issued its annual Toxics Release Inventory this week, and it’s a pessimist’s dream. U.S. waterways absorbed 241 million pounds of chemicals in 2004, up 10 percent from the year before. Dioxin, mercury, and PCB releases were down, but (a fact the press failed to […]

Tropic of Answer

South American ecotourism expert Charles Munn answers readers’ questions Readers sent oodles of questions to this week’s InterActivist, Charles Munn, leader of the nonprofit Tropical Nature, which promotes ecotourism and conservation in South America. Is traveling to developing countries exploitative? What are the prospects for budget ecolodges? How does one get started working in ecotourism? […]

I’m the Train Wreck They Call the City of New Orleans

New Orleans debris heads to the landfill, isn’t reused or recycled New Orleans is taking great pains to recycle the waste left by Hurricane Katrina. Wait, you believed that? We’re totally lying. Debris from the pummeled city is being dumped in the landfill by the truckload, including heaps of potentially reusable building materials such as […]

New Jersey to California: You are #2

Like most people, I enjoy mocking New Jersey as a toxic miasmatic wasteland. Yesterday, New Jersey responded by serving me a double portion of shut-the-hell-up. By a 4-0 vote, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved one of the most robust renewable-energy standards in the country. By 2020, 20% of the electricity the state's utilities sell must come from renewable resources. And there's more: 2% must come from solar, making New Jersey, on a solar-per-capita basis, the nation's solar leader. Take that, you California hippies.

Toxic (press) releases

Good news about pollution? The U.S. EPA says so. This Washington Post story makes it seem like the U.S. made great strides in reducing toxic emissions in 2004.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that chemical pollution released into the environment fell more than 4 percent from 2003 to 2004...The agency said releases of dioxin and dioxin compounds fell 58 percent; mercury and mercury compounds were cut 16 percent; and PCBs went down 92 percent. [Emphasis added.]

Now, the fall in dioxins in particular seemed like pretty big news. But it also struck me as a bit suspicious. So I looked into the numbers a bit.

The Mass Is Always Greener on the Other Side

A green agenda on immigration should emphasize local production Regardless of their disagreements on other subjects, political elites in both major U.S. political parties believe above all in globalization — the notion that goods and capital should move freely over borders. But they believe that labor policy — i.e., the movements of people — should […]

One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Wetland restoration could help contain bird flu A recent report commissioned by the U.N. gives a unique reason to restore tens of thousands of lost or degraded wetlands: It could help keep bird flu at bay. Upon finding their regular flocking grounds drained for agriculture or hydroelectricity, some wild birds alight on still-wet rice paddies […]

Ready, Aim, Hire

Green career expert Kevin Doyle gives advice to green job-seekers Our eco-jobs columnist, Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization, is back again with wise counsel to help you get that green gig you’ve always wanted. This week he dips into his virtual mailbag and answers letters from an undergrad curious about environmental science and […]

Lung Out to Dry

Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems With all due respect to the Free-Floating Anxiety and War Fever afflicting many in the post-9/11 world (prescription: less talk radio), at least 15,000 people have actual medical complaints related to the attack. Many victims afflicted with “World Trade Center cough” assumed it would pass once the dust […]

Greenzones.org

Good lord, it looks like a whooole lotta money went into this. The "about" page goes to an error, as does the "investors" page and the "press" page. Anybody know anything about it?

(There's probably a press release about it somewhere in my inbox, but I get about 50 a day and can't really keep up with all of them.)