Latest Articles

Hazing Incident

EPA Settles Case Over Haze in National Parks Visitors to U.S. national parks and other wild areas should be able to breathe a little easier in the future, thanks to a legal settlement signed yesterday by the U.S. EPA and Environmental Defense. Under the terms of the settlement, the agency has until April 2005 to […]

Nafta-shocks

Thwarted by Environmental Rules, Mining Company Sues Under NAFTA Critics have long said the North American Free Trade Agreement spells trouble for the environment. Now, mining company Glamis Gold is poised to prove them right: It plans to use an obscure provision of the treaty to challenge California’s strict environmental laws. For years, the company, […]

Pain in the Acid

Neighboring Nations to Blame for Acid Rain in Taiwan More than half of the acid rain that falls on Taiwan is the result of pollutants blown in from neighboring countries, according to a study released yesterday by the nation’s Environmental Protection Administration. Between January and July of this year, the average acidity of rain in […]

Lessons in environmentally friendly living from New York City

In 1975, Ernest Callenbach published a slim book called Ecotopia, in which the Northwest secedes from the United States and establishes itself as an ecological paradise. The text became a counterculture classic, and the term “Ecotopia” entered the lexicon, embodying the American tendency to think of the continent’s forested far coast as a land of […]

Arson Ick

Radical Environmental Group Claims Responsibility for San Diego Fire Saying it was trying to send a message about “rampant urban development,” the Earth Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for a $50 million fire that destroyed an apartment complex in San Diego two weeks ago. No one was injured in the fire. The destruction of the […]

Blackout and Blue

Enviros Fear Blackout Will Bolster Support for Bush Energy Plan Last week’s blackout in the eastern U.S. and Canada caused food spoilage, water contamination, economic losses, transportation delays, and all manner of disruptions ranging from the inconvenient to the awful. Now, environmentalists fear it might also cause a change for the worse in U.S. national […]

A Texas Toast

Wind Power on the Rise in Lone Star State Texas is probably not the first place that comes to mind when the topic turns to clean energy — but the land of fossil fuels is looking to become a leader in renewable power by investing heavily in wind energy. The state is already the second-largest […]

Thar It Blows

First Minke Whale Killed in 14 Years A team of Icelandic hunters who resumed whaling recently despite international protests killed a minke whale yesterday, the first in 14 years. The team, from Iceland’s Marine Research Institute, plans to kill 37 more in the next six weeks. The hunt is part of a research program, and […]

Umbra on Roundup

Dear Umbra, I have a large, organic (hopefully) vegetable garden. However, I occasionally use Roundup around the edges to keep invasive grasses from creeping in. Now, I have been given to understand that Roundup is relatively safe and breaks down almost immediately. What are your thoughts on this subject? I totally trust your judgment. BetsyMichigan […]

Umbra on wedding presents

Dear Umbra, My wife and I have made great progress in simplifying our lives. We don’t own a car (we take the bus, walk, bike, and occasionally rent a car), we have cut back on our use of water and power, and we are working on avoiding “more stuff.” We’re just wondering what we might […]