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CO2 Much

A Decade After First Climate-Change Treaty, CO2 Still on the Rise Ten years ago this week, the U.S. hopped on board the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the first international treaty on global warming, out of which grew the better-known Kyoto Protocol. President George H.W. Bush signed the treaty at the 1992 Earth Summit […]

Ingrate Britain

European Industry Protests Plans to Cut CO2 Emissions European industry groups are protesting aggressive efforts to cut carbon-dioxide emissions. In the U.K., a draft national plan targets reductions of 20 percent by 2010, almost double what’s mandated by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The country’s electricity generators, which will be particularly hard-hit by the plan, claim […]

Unencumbered Lumber

Consumers Have Eco-Friendly Wood Choices The growing trend toward eco-friendly consumer products has reached the wood flooring industry. Eco-conscious consumers, builders, and architects who want to lay or refurbish wood floors can now choose from a number of green options. Fast-growing bamboo — new plants take four to six years to reach maturity — harvested […]

Just Another Brick in the Wall

New Studies Suggest Onset of Sixth Major Mass Extinction New evidence suggests that the Earth is on the verge of its sixth major mass extinction — the last one having occurred 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs. This one is likely to be caused not by a meteorite, say researchers, but by habitat […]

Jersey Cash Cow

New Jersey Economy Would Benefit from Clean Energy, Says Study The false “environment vs. economy” dichotomy took another blow today with the release of a study showing that shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the mid-Atlantic region would promote job creation and benefit the New Jersey economy. The report, conducted by the New […]

Won’t You Clean My Neighbor?

North Carolina Petitions EPA to Force Neighboring States to Clean Up Air North Carolina can’t reach Clean Air Act targets on its own, so the feds need to force power plants in 13 neighboring states to sharply cut their emissions, state officials said yesterday in a petition filed with the U.S. EPA. North Carolina has […]

Squander-Lust

Watchdog Groups Accuse Army Corps of Promoting Boondoggles Budget hawks and enviros are teaming up to criticize $12 billion worth of Army Corps of Engineers water projects that they say both squander taxpayer money and wreak havoc on ecosystems around the U.S. A report released yesterday by Taxpayers for Common Sense and the National Wildlife […]

Rotten to the Albacore

Feds Issue New Fish Consumption Guidelines Today the U.S. EPA and the Food and Drug Administration issued an official set of guidelines on eating fish, which attempts to balance the risks of mercury to children with the broader health benefits of seafood. Mercury can adversely affect children’s mental development, so pregnant (or soon-to-be-pregnant) women and […]

What’s Love Canal Got to Do With It?

Love Canal, First Superfund Site, Declared Clean Love Canal is clean and will be removed from the Superfund list, said the U.S. EPA yesterday. Extensive pollution in the working-class area of Niagara Falls, N.Y., prompted President Carter to declare environmental emergencies in 1978 and 1980, and led Congress to pass the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, […]

Tiger, Tiger, Dying Quick

Sumatran Tigers May Face Extinction Indonesia’s Sumatran tiger may well have the dubious distinction of being the first large predator to go extinct this century, unless rampant poaching and illegal trade are sharply curtailed. This is the grim conclusion of a report released this week by TRAFFIC, a network established by the World Wildlife Fund […]