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SoCal environmental scientist answers questions

What environmental organization are you affiliated with? What does it do? The Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP) is a consortium of universities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border that cares about the environment, ecology, and people of that region. What’s your job title? I am the managing director. What do you […]

Jesus Christ’s Supercar?

Hybrid SUVs to Hit U.S. Market This Year While a “green SUV” may sound like an oxymoron, Toyota and Ford plan to roll out new gas-electric hybrid SUVs later this year that warrant the label “greener” — or, at least, less egregiously wasteful. Ford’s hybrid Escape will hit U.S. showrooms this summer, while Toyota will […]

What Blows Around Comes Around

Cross-Border Pollution an Increasing Problem Pollution from Asia can taint the air along the West Coast of the U.S., said scientists on Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Jet streams can drive dirty air across the Pacific Ocean in a matter of days, markedly increasing levels of ozone […]

Wheeze and No Thank You

Pollution a Likely Contributor to Rising Asthma Rates Asthma rates are climbing around the world, and though scientists can’t say precisely what’s causing the increase, pollution is thought to be a serious contributor. The respiratory disease has become a particular problem in Asia, where terrible air quality, rapid urbanization, and poor medical treatment have contributed […]

Coal and Calculating

Bush Admin. Decision Could Boost Pollution in National Parks In a move that could lead to more pollution in national parks, the Bush administration on Friday said it will permit North Dakota to change the way it estimates air pollution in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Seems like a small thing, but the new estimation formula […]

Google Gaga

Google Bans Ads from Environmental Group The popular search engine Google is facing accusations of censorship after it refused to carry ads from an environmental group that is protesting a major cruise line’s sewage-treatment methods. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Oceana paid Google to run an ad that read “Help us protect the world’s oceans” when […]

The Minnow Would Be Lost

Senator’s Plan Would Move Endangered Fish to Wetter Habitat The New Mexico habitat of the silvery minnow, an endangered fish, too often goes dry, so Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) has come up with an unusual plan: relocate the fish to wetter territory. The minnow, which lives primarily in the Rio Grande River south of Albuquerque, […]

Bleeding Between the Lines

Longline Fishing Takes Heavy Toll on Turtles Yesterday we wrote about longline fishing wiping out large numbers of albatrosses; today, there’s news that the fishing technique is messing with another charismatic critter — the sea turtle. “In the year 2000, longline fishermen from 40 nations set at least 1.4 billion hooks on longlines that average […]

Stuck in Trafficking

Enviros Accuse Malaysia of Enabling Illegal Timber Smuggling The Environmental Investigation Agency and the Indonesian environmental group Telapak yesterday accused the Malaysian government of turning a blind eye to the widespread trafficking of timber illegally logged from Indonesia. According to an investigative report by the two groups, large quantities of the endangered tropical hardwood ramin […]

We’re Outta Here

In honor of dearly departed George Washington and Abe Lincoln, the Grist staff will be taking a little break on Monday. But don’t worry your pretty little heads — we’ll be back at our green news-gathering on Tuesday. Happy Presidents’ Day!