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General Discontent

State Attorneys General Object to Environmental Exemptions for Pentagon The Department of Defense’s attempt to exempt itself from several landmark environmental laws has kicked up a storm of resistance at the state level. Yesterday, 39 state attorneys general sent a letter to the chairs of four congressional committees, protesting draft legislation submitted by the Bush […]

Oh Say, Can You Sea?

U.S. Ocean Commission Calls for Action to Save Seas Our oceans are in trouble and we need to do something about it. This was the conclusion of the first comprehensive review of U.S. ocean policy in 35 years, released today by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. The presidential commission spent 2.5 years studying coastal […]

A clean-energy advocate and former V.P. candidate answers questions

What environmental organizations are you affiliated with? Honor the Earth and White Earth Land Recovery Project. What do your organizations do? Honor the Earth’s mission is to create awareness and support for indigenous environmental issues and to leverage needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable indigenous communities. Honor the Earth develops these […]

Rashida Bee of Bhopal, India, fights against the company that devastated her community

Shukla (left) and Bee. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize On the night of December 2, 1984, in the central Indian city of Bhopal, a massive poisonous gas leak from a Union Carbide pesticide factory killed 8,000 people. Over the course of 20 years, the infamous disaster has caused an estimated 20,000 deaths, countless birth defects, and […]

Interviews with the 2004 winners of environmentalism’s top prize

The winners: (clockwise from left) Eugene-Richard, Kochladze, Goldman (cofounder of the prize), De Carvalho, Grueso, Bee, and Shukla. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize. The environmental movement often runs on the adrenaline of outrage, and the past year has provided more outrages than most. The White House has taken aim — and fired — at some of […]

Return to Sender

California Bill Aims to Curb Waste from AOL Disks If a California legislator has her way, companies that send unsolicited CDs and DVDs through the mail to state residents — we’re looking at you, AOL — will be required to include a postage-paid, pre-addressed envelope that recipients can use to send them back to the […]

Dis and Makeup

Most U.S. Cosmetic Companies Resist Calls to Phase Out Suspect Chemicals A growing controversy over phthalates — chemicals frequently used in cosmetics, including nail polish and fragrances — highlights dramatic differences in the way potential toxins are handled by U.S. and European Union regulators. Phthalates have been shown to cause adverse reproductive effects in laboratory […]

Where the Deer and the Sarin Gas Play

Rocky Mountain Arsenal Gives Birth to Wildlife Refuge Nearly 5,000 acres of the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal reopened this weekend as a national wildlife refuge. Located some 10 miles northeast of Denver, Colo., the arsenal, a 27-square-mile chemical-weapons complex that for four decades produced sarin, mustard gas, and napalm, left behind one of the nation’s […]

Readers sound off on green computing, ranching, and more

  Gotcha! Dear Editor: I wanted to commend you for making me smile today with your April Fools edition of the Daily Grist. After being outraged that the EPA would be folded into the Department of Homeland Security, I was excited about the ban on snowmobiles. I did think it was unusual that I was […]

From Worse to Bad

OMB Revises Science Peer-Review Proposal In response to a chorus of criticism, the White House Office of Management and Budget yesterday released a revised version of its proposed guidelines on the use and release of scientific information by federal agencies. The original proposal found support from such stalwart believers in pure science as the National […]