Latest Articles

Rhode Island lawsuit pinpoints lead poisoning as an environmental, not medical, problem

In the spring of 2000, in Manchester, N.H., a two-year-old Sudanese girl named Sunday Abek, just three weeks removed from an Egyptian refugee camp, was treated at an emergency room for a low-grade fever and vomiting. A throat culture turned up positive for strep, and she was sent home with an antibiotic prescription. Three weeks […]

Citigroup Hug

Citigroup Adopts Green-Friendly Policies After four years of pressure and protests from the Rainforest Action Network, the world’s largest financial institution announced today that it will adopt a comprehensive corporate policy stressing eco-friendly investment. Citigroup will carefully assess financing requests for projects that might adversely affect natural habitats and will not finance any logging in […]

Zinc Positive

Supreme Court Sides With EPA in Clean Air Case A narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. EPA has the authority to override state government decisions on what constitutes the “best available” anti-pollution technology. Enviros hailed the decision as a victory for clean air, while libertarian think tanks, a coalition of […]

Rubbers? Ducky!

Condom Factory in Brazil to Fight AIDS, Deforestation Giving new meaning to the promise of “protection,” a new condom factory in northwest Brazil is expected to not only fight the spread of AIDS in that country (one of the world’s hardest-hit by the disease) but also to slow the destruction of native old-growth forests. The […]

Genetic Drift

GM Will Be Difficult to Contain, Say Scientists Current techniques for preventing the unplanned spread of genetically modified organisms are in their infancy and are unlikely to prevent some GM plants and animals from having unforeseen health or environmental effects, said a panel of scientists from the National Research Council on Tuesday. While the most […]

Fool Proof

Patently Absurd

GM Giant Monsanto Sues Canadian Farmer Speaking of genetic drift: The Canadian Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Tuesday in a case that has become a cause celebre for both opponents and fans of agricultural biotechnology. Agro-giant Monsanto Co. sued Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser when its patented biotech canola was found growing in his fields […]

Leipzig Lizards!

World’s Largest Solar Energy Plant Planned for Germany The world’s largest solar energy plant — projected to meet the power demands of some 1,800 households — will soon start soaking up rays outside the eastern German town of Leipzig this year. The $27 million plant, to be built by the Royal Dutch/Shell’s Solar Group, will […]

Misstate of the Union

Bush State of the Union Speech Silent on Environment In a State of the Union speech that found time to discuss the evils of steroid use among athletes — an issue entirely outside the purview of the federal government — President Bush did not mention the environment, or the environmental challenges facing the country, a […]

Industry flacks learn how to snooker the public with their not-so-eco-friendly messages

This morning, some 50 people powwowed in the chandeliered Ticonderoga conference room of the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill for a conference entitled “Environmental Issues 2004: How to Get Results in an Election Year.” There weren’t more than a handful of environmentalists in attendance — perhaps because the conference was hosted by the National […]