Latest Articles
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Curtain Call of the Wild
The man who cleared the way for the lifting of the Iron Curtain now wants to transform the former cold war border region into a large, multinational nature reserve. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, now president of the environmental group Green Cross International, has joined with a number of European conservation organizations in pushing for […]
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Is That Your Final Answer?
The Bush administration surprised clean-air advocates and polluting industries alike on Friday when it announced that the U.S. EPA would reconsider parts of a decision to significantly relax air-pollution rules. In December, the EPA announced “final” revisions to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review rule — changes that would have allowed tens of thousands […]
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Reservoir Dogged
Four elderly Pehuenche Indian women have thrown a big wrench into plans for a $570 million hydroelectric dam in southern Chile. Arguing that the hydro project would flood sacred land and destroy their traditional way of life, the four have refused to sell 103 acres they own along the Bio Bio River, land that would […]
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Coming Soon: Organic Cheez Whiz
Mainstream food producers are diving into the organic market, which accounts for less than 2 percent of U.S. food sales but has been expanding by more than 20 percent per year. Salivating at this impressive growth rate, many large companies are gobbling up smaller organic producers. In just the latest example, Dean Foods Co., the […]
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So Much for “Go West, Young Man”
The U.S. has long imported French cuisine, Italian fashion, and German cars; now, California wants to import Old World environmental regulations. The Golden State has historically been on the cutting edge of environmental politics here in the U.S., but the European Union, with its strict controls on food, water, and chemicals, boasts even more eco-friendly […]
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The Maine Dish
After years of legal wrangling, Maine is finally ending its opposition to the federal government’s decision to list the wild Atlantic salmon as endangered in several of the state’s rivers. Gov. John Baldacci (D) announced yesterday that the state had come to an agreement with the feds and would not appeal a recent court decision […]
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Moment in the Sun
Okay, so it didn’t get quite as much press as Ben Curtis’s surprise victory in the British Open or the Funny Cide-Empire Maker standoff in the Belmont Stakes, but for the 20 cars that took off from Chicago on July 13, the race was every bit as exciting. The event in question was the American […]
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Logbook Rolling
Prior to commercial whaling, far more whales thrived in the North Atlantic than previously thought, according to a study published in today’s issue of Science. Earlier studies estimated historical whale populations by combing through logbooks from old whaling ships; the current study was the first to look instead at telltale genetic variations that increase as […]
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States of Grace
With federal action against climate change stagnating, some state leaders are taking matters into their own hands. Ten Northeastern states agreed yesterday to begin discussing the creation of the nation’s first market-based plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Under the plan, plants would be able to buy or sell CO2 credits in […]
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Elizabeth Grossman reviews The Empty Ocean by Richard Ellis
"It's a fire alarm," says Richard Ellis about his new book, The Empty Ocean, which joins a chorus of recent publications documenting the precipitous decline of world fisheries and the dire state of the marine environment. That alarm should make you think long and hard about your lunchtime tuna sandwich or the sashimi you order at your favorite Japanese restaurant.
