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One-Track Mine

Bush Administration Packed with Coal-Friendly Bureaucrats In his 2000 campaign, George W. Bush promised to make coal central to his energy plan, and he was rewarded with millions of dollars in donations from the coal industry and the votes of coal miners in crucial swing states. Upon taking office, Bush appointed several coal executives and […]

Flagging Energy

Kerry Talks Energy on the Stump; Bush Bashes His Plan Kerry talked up his plan for energy independence over the weekend while campaigning in swing states (does he go anywhere else?), saying such swing-state-friendly things as, “You want to drive a great, big SUV? Terrific. Terrific. That’s America.” That’s America indeed. Kerry’s $30 billion energy […]

Blind Spotted

Judge Rules in Favor of Owls; Forest Service Not so Owl-Friendly Two recent developments on the spotted-owl front: On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delayed and possibly killed several planned timber sales in the Pacific Northwest by ruling that current regulations meant to protect the northern spotted owl “blatantly” contradict the Endangered […]

Finally, Pollution We Can Be Happy About

Prozac Found in U.K. Drinking Water Denizens of the British Isles have a reputation for being somewhat glum, but that may change soon: According to the U.K. Environment Agency, the antidepressant Prozac is building up in the nation’s rivers and groundwater, a situation it called a “potential concern.” In the decade leading to 2001, prescriptions […]

Bush administration proposal would give BLM more incentive to sell off public lands

Your red rocks, in Utah. Photo: BLM. The old Woody Guthrie ballad “This Land Is Your Land” has been reinterpreted in more ways than one recently. There was the hilarious campaign parody cartoon that exploded virally throughout the Internet last month, in which the “liberal wiener” (John Kerry) and “right-wing nut job” (George W. Bush) […]

Feeling Minnesota

Bush Touts Plan to Expand Farmland Conservation Program In the crucial swing state of Minnesota, which President Bush lost by a narrow margin in 2000, he pledged this week to expand the nearly 20-year-old Conservation Reserve Program, whereby farmers are paid an annual rent for setting aside environmentally sensitive land. The program pays out roughly […]

Shite!

Storms Send Tons of Sewage into London’s Thames River Up to a million tons of raw sewage were pumped into the Thames River this week as London’s aged sewer system was overcome by torrential rain. We’ll pause a moment here while you try to wipe the image of a million tons of sewage from your […]

Are You My Mother?

Scientists Enable Salmon to Birth Trout Scientists in Japan have succeeded in causing salmon to give birth to trout. Yep, you read that correctly: By transplanting the “primordial germ cells” — specialized tissue in embryonic fish that will eventually develop into sexual organs — of a North American rainbow trout into the embryos of young […]

Umbra on the most effective personal eco-actions

Dear Umbra, A lot of the questions people ask you ultimately involve pretty negligible results. When you are talking about the balance sheet of the world, does it really matter if I use a more or less environmentally responsible solution to wash my fruit? I’m wondering what three major concrete changes you’d recommend that people […]

At 70, Wendell Berry remains a champion of agrarian ideals

Wendell Berry, right at home. Wendell Berry, 70 years old today, has established himself as many things in his lifetime: a veteran sage of sustainable agriculture; a progressive defender of virtue and tradition; one of our most famous farmers to renounce the tractor; and one of our most acclaimed authors to shun the computer. To […]