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Bush administration plans to scrap roadless-rule forest protections

Many political observers thought President Bush would lay off the environment during the election season. After all, he faces an opponent with a well-burnished rep as an environmental good boy. Seems they’ve misunderestimated Dubya yet again. Ann Veneman. Photo: USDA. On Monday, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced a Bush administration plan to scrap the hard-won […]

A debate on water privatization, part four

Everyone knows that water is the stuff of life. But is it best viewed as a commodity or as part of the commons? Should providing safe, affordable water be the role of governments, corporations, or partnerships between the two? On Tuesday, July 13 (dates may vary for local stations), the PBS show P.O.V. is airing […]

Tender Lovin’ Corps

Kerry Proposes Forest-Restoration Corps Speaking of forests: John Kerry today unveiled his own forest plan, which among other things would trim $100 million in timber-industry subsidies to fund the creation of a Forest Restoration Corps that would tend to the long-term health of America’s national forests. The corps, with its echoes of Roosevelt’s Depression-era Civilian […]

Ah, to Dell With It

Dell and HP Announce Computer Recycling Programs After years of pressure by enviro groups and shareholders, the world’s two biggest PC manufacturers Tuesday announced dueling free computer recycling programs. From July 18 to Sept. 6, Hewlett-Packard will recycle, free of charge, any computer, monitor, digital camera, fax machine, cell phone, or other gadget dropped off […]

Yucc’d Up Beyond All Recognition

Yucca Mountain Provokes Yet More Controversy The perpetually beleaguered Yucca Mountain federal nuclear-waste storage facility has become even more beleaguered. Try to stay with us: First, last week a federal appeals court ruled that the government had erred by failing to follow a National Academy of Sciences recommendation to plan for safety from radiation leaks […]

Comity Central

Fish Restoration Deal Model of Cooperation In a process marked by an eerie lack of lawsuits or public invective, a broad collection of divergent stakeholders — including state and federal agencies, local governments, more than 20 conservation groups, Portland General Electric, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (whew!) — have come to […]

An interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental advocate and Bush basher

He has the distinguished mien, the political brio, and the eloquence of his ancestors, not to mention degrees from Harvard and the University of Virginia School of Law. Yet despite Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sterling credentials, he’s never run for public office, much less held one. That’s fine with him, and with his many supporters, […]

A debate on water privatization, part three

Everyone knows that water is the stuff of life. But is it best viewed as a commodity or as part of the commons? Should providing safe, affordable water be the role of governments, corporations, or partnerships between the two? On Tuesday, July 13 (dates may vary for local stations), the PBS show P.O.V. is airing […]

The Teflon Precedent

DuPont to Be Fined for Toxic Chemical in Teflon The U.S. EPA has announced it will levy a substantial fine — perhaps the largest environmental fine in U.S. history — against chemical giant DuPont, charging the company with illegally concealing evidence that a chemical used to make Teflon endangered its employees and the public. The […]

Get Your Stinking Paws Off Me, You Damn Dirty AEP!

EPA Adds Charges to Lawsuit Against Power Company The U.S. EPA notified American Electric Power Co. today that it will be adding a new set of violations to its complaint — set to be heard in federal court in mid-2005 — that the company violated new-source review provisions of the Clean Air Act by updating […]