Latest Articles

Phunny Pharm

Pharming Again on the Rise The practice of splicing human genes into common crops to produce proteins for use in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals — known as biopharming, or pharming — is again on the rise among biotech companies, says a new report, under the cover of an approval process that is shrouded in secrecy. […]

Kids These Daze

Kids’ Brains Harmed by Chemicals, Report Says Children’s brain development is being impaired by some of the more than 70,000 human-made chemicals on the market, says a new report from the World Wildlife Fund. The report, which surveyed current research in the field, charges chemicals with such neurological effects as poor memory, reduced visual recognition […]

Crimes of the Heart

American Heart Association Deems Air Pollution Bad for Heart It’s official: Air pollution is not only bad for your kids, your lungs, and your view — it’s bad for your heart as well. So says the American Heart Association, the authority on all matters cardiovascular. The AHA had long remained skeptical about the connection between […]

The Abominable Snowmobile

Court Upholds EPA Snowmobile Regs, But Requests Further Info Gosh, we haven’t written about snowmobiles in weeks! Yesterday a federal appeals court gave us another excuse to do so when it upheld the U.S. EPA’s 2002 snowmobile emissions regulations, but ordered the agency to provide a more adequate explanation for why some 30 percent of […]

A rabble-rousing conservationist answers questions

With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I currently spend 30 hours a week directing the National Public Lands Grazing Campaign (NPLGC), 5 hours a week advising Alternatives to Growth Oregon (AGO), and 15 hours as senior counselor for the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC). I fill the remaining 10 hours of my 60-hour workweek […]

Dispatches from an international dialogue on science and sustainability

Michael Levitin is a freelance journalist based in Barcelona. This week he is attending the World Forum of Cultures’ Dialogue on Science, Knowledge, and Sustainable Development. Tuesday, 1 Jun 2004 BARCELONA, Spain. As I craned my head to read the translation screen over the stage, Mikhail Gorbachev was waving his arms wildly and bellowing in […]

We Will, We Will Block You

Conservative Groups Block International Sea Treaty The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea — a comprehensive international accord governing the use of oceans for shipping, fishing, mining, and naval operations — has been signed by the U.S. and unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but it languishes in the Senate nonetheless, […]

Truckin’ A

New Trucking Company Touts Eco-Friendliness A new California trucking company hopes to demonstrate that progressive policies can be profitable. Long Beach-based Allied Port Transporters is founded on a set of forward-thinking environmental and labor practices. It hopes to reduce air pollution by running a fleet of clean diesel trucks, and to ease traffic congestion by […]

The Lease You Can Do

Most Oil and Gas Leases on Public Land Are Not Productive Almost 75 percent of the 40 million acres of public land leased for oil and gas development in the U.S. are not producing any oil or gas, but the Bush administration is nonetheless pushing relentlessly to open more land for leasing. Peter Morton, a […]

Red Hot and Green

Renewable Energy and Green Technology Hot The renewable-energy market is entering a new era, growing independently of fluctuations in fossil-fuel energy prices. While every story on renewable energy still must include this unfortunate disclaimer — renewable energy provides only a small percentage of the energy consumed in the U.S. (an estimated 6.7 percent this year) […]