Latest Articles

Community-based forestry takes root in the U.S.

Can a “forest economy” be good for the forest? A new movement known as community-based forestry says yes. Also referred to as community forestry, CBF is dramatically different from most forest management practiced in the U.S., and increasing numbers of environmentalists are championing the cause. Land of the trees, and home of the brave. Photo: […]

Deserters

Conference on Desertification Gains Little Ground The sixth international conference on desertification ended yesterday in Cuba with few results, save for a decision on how to finance efforts to slow the encroachment of arid regions and the loss of fertile lands. Leaders of 10 African and Caribbean nations attending the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification […]

Thirsty Hungary

Central Europe’s Largest Lake Is Shrinking According to legend, Hungary’s Lake Balaton is constantly replenished by a young girl weeping in a church in the middle of its waters. Now, though, Central Europe’s largest lake is shrinking, and experts say the problem isn’t a happier lake lady; it’s global warming. Following four hot summers in […]

Giving Up the Ghost Fleet

U.S. Navy Ships Get Ready for Transatlantic Trip, Toxics and All Thirteen is not a lucky number, and many fear that bad luck could trail in the wake of 13 decrepit and pollution-laden U.S. ships that are set to embark on a 4,500-mile voyage from Virginia to the British region of Teesside.* The ships are […]

It Was Fund While It Lasted

Superfund Money Will Be Gone in One Month, GAO Says The countdown has begun: In one month, the Superfund will run out of money, according to a new study by the General Accounting Office. Money in the fund comes from a now-expired tax on industry and is used to clean up “orphan sites,” toxic waste […]

Andy Holdsworth, conservation biologist

Andy Holdsworth is a PhD candidate in conservation biology at the University of Minnesota. He studies the ecological effects and conservation implications of nonnative earthworms in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Tuesday, 2 Sep 2003 MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. There is a blurry line between work and play in my life. My wife, Hillary, learned this lesson for the […]

Goats are the hip new thing in eco-friendly weed management

The lawnmower was broken. Not that I knew how to use it, anyway, as I’d spent my whole life until a year ago in lawn-less New York City. Now, though, I was in Boulder, Colo., with waist-high weeds in my yard. I refused to even consider herbicides, but my attempt to pull the weeds by […]

Trickle-down Economics

Saving Forests Can Mean Clean Water for Cities Cities around the world could save billions of dollars on water-treatment plants if they dedicated resources to protecting nearby forests, which naturally filter and purify drinking water, according to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank. Researchers came to this conclusion after […]

Hot Enough for Ya?

Earth’s Climate Hits a 2,000-Year High, Study Says If you thought the summer was hot, get a load of this: The Earth has been warmer since 1980 than at any time in the past 2,000 years, according to the most comprehensive study to date of climatic history. The study authors believe their research, published in […]

Real Bad Estate

Bush Administration Lifts Ban on Selling PCB-Tainted Land In yet another behind-the-scenes weakening of environmental rules, the Bush administration last month quietly ended a ban on the sale of land contaminated with PCBs. The 25-year-old ban was designed to prevent polluted sites from being redeveloped in ways that might expose the public to PCBs, which […]