Latest Articles

Nuclear Waste By Any Other Name…

Energy Department Wants to Redefine Nuclear Waste The U.S. Department of Energy is asking Congress for the power to redefine some nuclear waste to allow it to be left where it is or disposed of at low-level radioactive waste sites instead of buried deep underground. The waste in question consists of tens of millions of […]

Drowned and Out

Three Gorges Dam Causing Unexpected Pollution Problems Unexpected environmental problems are already cropping up at China’s Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower and construction project. After the dam went into operation in June, the reservoir behind it reached 443 feet and was supposed to stay at that level until 2006, but the Chinese government […]

The Terminator

Schwarzenegger Suggests that He Might Shut Down California EPA California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) suggested yesterday that he might terminate the state’s environmental protection agency. At a question-and-answer session with voters, Schwarzenegger was asked by a farmer why the state needed Cal/EPA when there was a federal EPA. “What you just talked about is […]

No More Elks’ Conventions

Wolves Help Restore Biodiversity in Yellowstone Wolves have proven to be a big draw for tourists since they were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, but camera-toting vacationers aren’t the only species they’ve attracted. The park’s population of about 250 wolves seems to be spurring a general improvement in biodiversity, helping to bring Yellowstone’s […]

Strip-tease

Republicans Drop Renewable Requirement from Energy Bill A measure that would require large utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2019 has been stripped out of a big energy bill by Republican congressional negotiators. Yesterday, 53 senators, including eight Republicans, called for the provision to be reinstated, but to no […]

Orange U Sad?

Illegal Logging Could Push Orangutans to the Brink of Extinction Orangutans could be wiped out within 20 years if illegal logging continues unabated on two islands in Indonesia and Malaysia, the only spots where the animals live, a researcher warned yesterday. As an example of troubling habitat destruction, anthropologist Cheryl Knott of Harvard University pointed […]

Airing It All Out

EPA Launches New Daily Air-Quality Forecasts If terror threat alerts aren’t your thing, maybe you’ll be more excited about the U.S. government’s newest color-coded warning system — for air quality. Starting tomorrow, the U.S. EPA will provide daily forecasts on expected levels of particulate pollution, or soot, in 141 cities. Airborne particulates contribute to heart […]

Thad Miller, Columbia grad student

Thad Miller is studying for an MPA in environmental science and policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Monday, 29 Sep 2003 NEW YORK, N.Y. Greetings to anyone who may be reading this. Since you’ll be getting to know me over the next week, for better or worse, I’ll start off by […]

The Fairest of Them All

Fair-Trade Food Starts to Catch on in the U.S. Hey, you — sipping the fair-trade, shade-grown, organic coffee. How would you like a fair-trade banana with that? Or a fair-trade chocolate bar? A small but growing number of products in U.S. grocery stores carry a fair-trade label issued by TransFair USA, based in Oakland, Calif., […]

The Cost Is Clear

Benefits of U.S. Clean-Air Rules Far Outweigh Costs, Report Says The benefits of some major U.S. environmental laws appear to dramatically outweigh the costs, according to a new federal report that is giving environmentalists reason to cheer. The Office of Management and Budget found that tough clean-air regulations implemented over the past decade brought health […]