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  • The Postman Always Recycles Twice

    U.K. to Increase Recycling of Junk Mail 70 Percent Over 10 Years The U.S. has finally got a “Do Not Call” registry to ward off would-be telemarketers — but will it ever get a “Do Not Mail” registry to stem the endless tide of junk mail? Maybe not, but across the Atlantic, the U.K. is […]

  • Working on the Chain Gang

    California Cancels Use of Prison Labor to Recycle Electronics California will no longer use underpaid federal prisoners to recycle the tons of potentially dangerous electronics discarded by state workers. The decision to stop shipping e-waste to prisons came in response to pressure from environmental and labor activists, who also successfully protested a similar arrangement by […]

  • Greens plan to field a presidential candidate in 2004 — consequences be damned

    For the 2004 presidential race, the Green die is cast. “The Green Party emerged from a national meeting … increasingly certain that it will run a presidential candidate in next year’s election, all but settling a debate within the group over how it should approach the 2004 contest,” the Washington Post reported on July 21. […]

  • Let the Games Be Green

    Enviros Accuse 2004 Athens Olympic Organizers of Green Failings Organizers of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens are already getting poor scores from environmentalists, who say the Greeks have missed numerous opportunities to make the games more eco-friendly. Greece won its bid to host the games in part by pledging to protect vulnerable natural and […]

  • Mass Destruction of Weapons

    Chemical Weapons Incineration in Anniston, Ala., Delayed Just as local residents were scrambling for gas masks, the U.S. Army announced yesterday that it would delay startup of a controversial chemical-weapons incinerator in Anniston, Ala., until Friday, when a federal judge can consider an environmental group’s request for a temporary restraining order against the facility. The […]

  • Oh, Fudge

    EPA May Have Exaggerated Numbers on Safe Drinking Water The U.S. EPA may have fudged the numbers when it announced in a June report that “94 percent of the population served by community water systems were served by systems that met all health-based standards.” Internal EPA documents suggest that the true number may be markedly […]

  • Impaired Judgement

    Judge Who Struck Down Roadless Rule May Have Ethics Conflict The federal judge who struck down the Clinton-era roadless rule last month may have violated ethics laws, according to two legal watchdog groups that filed a formal ethics complaint yesterday. The groups say the judge should have recused himself from hearing the case because he […]

  • Power to the Pueblo

    Enviros Rejoice as Utility Drops Plan for Strip Mine in N.M. After a bitter 20-year fight, enviros and members of the Zuni Pueblo tribe had cause to celebrate yesterday, when an Arizona utility abandoned plans to build a large coal strip mine and railroad near a salt lake in western New Mexico that the Native […]

  • Send in the Marine Reserves

    Marine Hotspots Could Be Key to Saving Endangered Ocean Species Rainforests and savannah watering holes have long been recognized as biodiversity “hotspots,” where a wide array of species live and interact. Now, scientists have pulled together compelling data pointing to the existence of marine hotspots as well — ocean locations where a large number of […]

  • Connaughton in the Act

    Bush Environmental Advisor Plays Powerful Behind-the-Scenes Role He might just be the most powerful environmental player you’ve never heard of. James Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is credited with (or, in some circles, accused of) being the architect of the Bush administration’s environmental policy. In large part, his role consists […]