Latest Articles

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 […]

Going Mahogany Wild

Illegal Mahogany Logging Endangers Amazon Rainforest in Peru Illegal logging of mahogany is escalating in Peru, threatening the Amazon rainforest and a number of indigenous groups that live in its remote reaches. The mahogany trade is strictly governed by international rules, and Brazil has cracked down on logging of the sought-after tree, but mahogany still […]

Not Russian to Judgment

Russia Still Undecided on Kyoto Protocol Russia still has not decided whether to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, President Vladimir Putin said today. The nation has the power to make or break the climate-change treaty, which cannot go into effect until it is ratified by nations accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The treaty […]