Latest Articles
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Taxpayers could get stuck with tab for new diesel rules
When the Bush administration wants to gin up some environmental cred, it cites efforts underway to slash diesel emissions by requiring trucking companies to switch to cleaner engines. But the untold story is that it may be the taxpayers — not the polluters — who end up footing much of the bill. Big Mac attack. […]
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Back to the Salt Mines
Desalination Plants Cause Controversy on U.S. Coasts With water sources increasingly under pressure — running low, contaminated, or too costly to transport — some cities on the U.S. coasts are turning to desalination plants to provide their drinking water, eliciting protests from some enviros and consumer advocates. New filtering technology has made the once-prohibitive costs […]
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Bloody Mediocre
New Report Critiques U.K. Environmental Performance Efforts by the U.K. government to address environmental problems show promise, but it must try harder, says a new report entitled, um, “Shows Promise: But Must Try Harder” issued by the government’s Sustainable Development Commission. The commission was established by Prime Minister Tony Blair five years ago to assess […]
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What Are We Gonna Do, Walk?
Rising Gas Prices Don’t Keep Americans Out of Their Cars Enviros hoping that rising gas prices would change Americans’ driving behavior have been bitterly disappointed. Although gas prices have reached a national average of $1.80 per gallon, American drivers are buying more gas than ever, and big, gas-guzzling SUVs are flying off showroom floors like […]
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Caveat Pescor
In U.S., “Organic” Label on Fish Means Very Little The “organic” label on some salmon in supermarkets these days doesn’t mean much. The National Organics Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the official organic seal on produce and other foods, has not developed standards for fish. “We may someday address aquatic species. […]
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Nuclear Proliferasia
Nuclear Power on the Rise in Asia Nuclear power is booming in Asia, thanks to rapidly escalating energy needs and concerns over widespread air pollution from coal-fired plants. Eighteen of the 31 nuclear plants currently under construction in the world are being built on the continent. The boom is largely being driven by India and […]
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The Last Picture Show
Forest Service Brochure Contains Misleading Pictures Pictures used by the U.S. Forest Service in a brochure arguing for heavier logging in California’s Sierra Nevada forest are deliberately misleading — and, say critics, validate concerns about the USFS paying a public relations firm $90,000 to help push its perspective. A series of black and white pictures […]
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Farm Aid
Small Farms Turn Organic to Survive Battered by volatile markets and relentless corporate consolidation, many family farms are turning to organic cultivation — and joining organic cooperatives — to survive. According to farm advocacy group Farm Aid, the number of family farms in the U.S. has declined from 8 million to 2 million in the […]
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Superfubar
Contaminated Oklahoma Site Highlights Superfund Problems The Superfund site at the former Tar Creek mine, located near the rural northeast Oklahoma communities of Cardin, Picher, and Hockerville, is a sobering demonstration of the U.S. government’s limited ability to clean up industrial pollution. The mine, which produced lead ore to make the bullets fired in two […]
