Latest Articles

What “Hard Work” Really Looks Like

Iraqi environment minister faces armed attack, underfunding Mishkat Al Moumin, head of Iraq’s Ministry of Environment since June, has an unenviable job. In August, an attack on her convoy left four of her bodyguards dead. Security concerns lead her to avoid having her picture taken or discussing her family. In a land ravaged by wars […]

Kenyan eco-activist Wangari Maathai wins Nobel Peace Prize

Wangari Maathai with good reason to smile. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize. It is a small room for such a momentous decision. And it’s made even smaller by the impressive portraits of past winners lining the walls, listening in on the secret deliberations of the Nobel Peace Prize committee. Amidst the daily drumbeat of war stories, […]

Trees for peace

Wangari Maathai, Kenyan woman and founder of the Green Belt Movement, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In a year dominated by the grisly war in Iraq, this is a welcome reminder that disorder and destruction, not just war, are the opposite of peace. See this story for details on the awarding of the 2004 prize.

The Green Belt Movement that Maathai founded has organized rural Kenyan women to plant and maintain twenty million trees; it has also inspired similar movements in other East African countries. Maathai drew world attention to the fact that rural African women, who spend hours each day gathering fuel wood, are disproportionately affected by deforestation. Her Green Belt Movement has been credited with creating job opportunities for thousands of rural women, as well as countering Kenya's alarming rates of deforestation. For a good summary of the Green Belt Movement's work, see this article, written by a Kenyan woman.

Bush admin tries to take the whistle away from potential blowers at the EPA

Last week, when a House of Representatives committee approved new whistle-blower protection legislation, the Bush administration flew into a tizzy, saying such protections would open the door to gratuitous complaints against its officials and create needless headaches. But the House committee held strong, citing more than a dozen plights like that of Teresa Chambers as […]

What eco-questions would you pose at Friday’s debate?

The Sierra Club has crafted eight queries it would like to see Bush and Kerry hit with during Friday's town-hall-style debate, and it's asking you to vote on the best.  Currently top in the running:  "The Russian government recently announced that it will put the international global-warming treaty into effect by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. The current administration has pulled the United States out of the agreement, even though this country accounts for 25 percent of the world's global warming pollution. How will the United States do their part to curb global warming and stabilize the global climate?"

Meanwhile, a whole gaggle of earth-loving folks -- from reverends and union types to bigwig scientists and a former head of the CIA -- are petitioning [PDF] the Commission on Presidential Debates and the moderators of the two upcoming debates to "include questions about the candidates' plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy and clean vehicle technologies as urgent matters of both domestic and foreign policy."

Kyoto will shake things up in the U.S., whether Americans like it or not

Last Thursday, when the Russian cabinet moved to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, international leaders called it the dawn of a new era. Putin (left) and Bush take opposing views on Kyoto. Photo: Eric Draper, WhiteHouse.gov Top officials from Canada, Japan, the European Union, and other Kyoto-supporting countries applauded Russia’s progress toward ratification, which will be […]

Umbra on the eco-relevance of health concerns

Dear Umbra, As a practicing vegan for quite some time now, I take pride in my knowledge of nutrition and my ability to enrich my body through a varied diet with all the essentials. For the past five years or so, I have heavily relied on soy products for protein and other nutrients. Recently, however, […]

Indelicacies

Chinese appetite for exotic foods driving trade in endangered species Many Chinese believe that wild game improves health. Whether or not that’s true, the country’s enormous market for rare and exotic “delicacies” is not improving the health of endangered species. “Just in the last two years, 12 to 13 species have had to be CITES-listed […]

Poo-Poo Power

Wastewater has lots of energy potential The wastewater that courses down drains and into municipal water-treatment plants around the world contains a substantial amount of organic material, or “biosolids,” or, well, “poop” and such. When this organic matter breaks down, it generates “biogas,” a methane-rich fuel that some plants use to heat the water and […]

FUV

European SUV backlash spreads Beads of sweat are gathering on the foreheads of European automakers, as a backlash against sport utility vehicles spreads across the continent. Several countries have passed or are weighing measures that could hurt SUV sales. London Mayor Ken Livingstone displayed his usual delicacy when he referred to SUV drivers as “complete […]