Latest Articles

Wanderlost

Migratory Routes Increasingly Threatened One of the significant but little-noted shortcomings of wildlife preserves is that they only protect animals that stay put. Biologists who study large-scale animal migrations worry that many of nature’s most spectacular feats of persistence and survival are threatened by habitat loss and development. For instance, each winter pronghorn antelope travel […]

Not Corn Yesterday

U.K. Ministers Green-Light Genetically Modified Corn In the U.K., they fight over genetically modified foods the way folks in the U.S. fight over “America’s Next Top Model.” The daily drip of accusations and counter-accusations can blur the eyes, but today brought a bona fide significant development: U.K. ministers officially announced that they would allow commercial […]

Sore Eyes for Sites

Eleven New Sites Proposed for Superfund The U.S. EPA yesterday proposed adding 11 new sites to its Superfund toxic-site cleanup program, but critics say the number is too small and the program woefully underfunded. The new sites represent the biggest, dirtiest, most complex cleanups in the country, the “real turkeys that the states don’t want […]

Readers sound off on immigration, racial prejudice, Nader, and more

  Cred Ability Re: Que Sierra, Sierra   Dear Editor: To preserve the beauty and health of the environment for all the world’s populations, environmentalists can only educate, inspire, and lead. What little power we may wield stems from our ideas, and perhaps also from our love of nature and of humanity. Yes, the number […]

An eco-film booster answers questions

What organization are you affiliated with? What does it do? I work with the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network. I have been on the board for three years now. Every year this organization puts on a film festival in Leavenworth, Wash. This year it is March 18-21. We are showing more than 50 films from […]

Hy Jinx

Hybrids Gaining Ground Among Celebs, But Still Pricey for the Rest of Us Thanks to lobbying by intrepid enviro group Global Green USA, several high-profile celebrities arrived at the Academy Awards this year not in stretch limos, but in diminutive hybrid Toyota Priuses. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, Charlize Theron, Robin Williams, and Sting all […]

Not OK Computer

U.N. Study Highlights Computers’ Environmental Hazards A U.N. study released today highlights the environmental hazards posed by the worldwide popularity of personal computers. Manufacturing the average PC requires 10 times the product’s weight in fossil fuels, says the study — compared to twice the product’s weight for cars and refrigerators. Computer manufacturing also entails heavy […]

To the Victor Goes the Right to Spoil

How the Energy Industry Won the Battle for Influence in the Bush Admin. It’s a fable for our times: When the Bush administration took office in 2001, a battle over energy policy began. On one side was the U.S. EPA, with its team of long-time career employees and its moderate new head Christie Whitman. On […]

Sea Whirled

Gene Study of Sargasso Sea Sample Yields Surprising Results Gene sequencing conducted on a small sample of water from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda has revealed some 1,800 new species and led to questions about our basic knowledge of ocean biology. A group of scientists led by Craig Venter — the famed gene researcher and […]

Southwest Passage

New Mexico Passes Renewable-Energy Bills New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) yesterday celebrated the passage of a remarkable package of progressive energy bills, with the vocal support of a broad coalition including utilities, environmentalists, ranchers, and consumers. The centerpiece is a new law stating that all investor-owned electrical utilities in the state must generate 10 […]