Latest Articles
-
Buy-O Tech
Biotech Industry Funnels Cash to Universities and Politicians The biotechnology industry is steering millions of dollars into both U.S. agricultural universities and political campaigns — and it’s getting plenty of return on its investment. At the University of California at Davis, for example, biotech companies contribute money for new buildings, laboratory studies, salaries for post-doctoral […]
-
![]()
![]()
Jonna Higgins-Freese reviews Reinventing Eden by Carolyn Merchant
In Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture, Carolyn Merchant, an environmental historian at the University of California at Berkeley, analyzes how one religious theme -- the Christian interpretation of the Genesis story -- has shaped worldviews through history, both mainstream Western views and environmental thinking. The book makes fascinating reading, and her insights might help environmentalists frame more effective messages for the public at large.
-
How Can We Sleep While the Liberals Are Winning?
Environmentalist Rock Star to Run for Australia’s Parliament Peter Garrett, former lead singer of the band Midnight Oil and a longtime environmental activist, announced yesterday that he will run for a seat in the Australian parliament as a member of the opposition Labor Party. He’s almost sure to win, as the Sydney seat he’s vying […]
-
The Drill of It All
Bush Administration Pushes to Open More Alaska Land to Drilling The Bush administration hasn’t been able to finagle its way into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but it’s pressing ahead with plans to drill for oil and gas on other remote, environmentally sensitive public lands in Alaska. The Bureau of Land Management this week proposed […]
-
Fit to Be Thai-ed
Toxic Waste Being Dumped on Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste from wealthy countries, Greenpeace warned yesterday. Large quantities of dangerous refuse — including medical and electronic waste, old tires, and used lead acid batteries — are being shipped to Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines from industrialized nations that […]
-
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Lights Out in Skyscrapers Can Save Birds Everyone knows that turning off the lights saves energy — but did you know it can save birds too? Migratory birds are drawn to lights in skyscrapers, an attraction that too often causes them to crash into the buildings’ plate-glass windows or die of exhaustion after flying confusedly […]
-
A look back at Reagan’s environmental record
Where’s the white hat? Photo: Eisenhower Library. The news of President Reagan‘s passing has sent waves of emotion and rapturous eulogizing through the Republican Party and beyond. Amidst all the heartfelt tributes, it’s clear that the 40th president of the United States is regarded as the true political father figure of George W. Bush — […]
-
Answers about thermal depolymerization
Dear Umbra, What is thermal depolymerization? AnnFreehold, N.J. Dearest Ann, A polymer is a large group of linked molecules. We’re made of polymers such as protein, eat polymers such as starch, and wear polymers such as leather and nylon. Thermal depolymerization is a heat-driven process that breaks down or transforms polymers into the shorter chains […]
-
Rue the Day
Paris May Ban SUVs From City Streets Parisian officials have determined that SUVs are no longer in vogue. The left-leaning city council yesterday passed a resolution that urges the capital’s Socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, to effectively ban the bulky four-wheel-drive vehicles from the city center during peak pollution times and deny their owners parking permits […]
-
Those Were the Lost Days of Our Lives
Bush Pollution Plan Falls Short on Saving Lives More than 90 percent of the 23,600 deaths caused in the U.S. each year by pollution from old coal-fired power plants could be prevented if the federal government adopted tough emissions regulations, according to a new study, but President Bush’s preferred pollution-control plan falls far short of […]
