Latest Articles
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Idle Trucks Are the Devil’s Playthings
New gadgetry at truck stops could help slash pollution from idling big rigs. Most truck drivers across the U.S. leave their vehicles’ engines running all night while they’re parked at truck stops because it’s the only way to keep the heating or air conditioning on while they get some shuteye. Between 840 million and 2 […]
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Tangled Up in Deep Blue
Each day, nearly 1,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises are sent to an untimely death after they get tangled up in nets and other fishing equipment, according to a new study conducted by American and Scottish scientists and released by the World Wildlife Fund. These accidental captures may be the biggest threat to the sea mammals’ […]
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Lifestyles of the Green and Crunchy
In an effort to raise both funds and consumer consciousness, the Sierra Club is preparing to put its name on a range of eco-friendly products that will hit stores this fall — toys, jackets, pillows, bedding, and organic coffee and tea. “Our products will make it possible to create a total Sierra Club lifestyle,” said […]
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A Man With a Plan
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, made a bid for green votes on Friday when he unveiled an energy plan that would, among other things, tighten fuel-economy standards for automobiles and push the U.S. toward getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Kerry wants to […]
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Nature Conservancy Goes Back to Nature
The Nature Conservancy, which was sent reeling last month after a series of Washington Post articles exposed embarrassing problems and questionable practices within the organization, has announced a number of policy reforms decided upon in a board meeting last week. TNC, the world’s wealthiest environmental group, will stop drilling for oil on land it controls, […]
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Silvery Lining
If fish could celebrate, there would have been a major party going on among silvery minnows yesterday, when a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation must take the species into account when managing New Mexico’s water system. State officials, who have long been fighting environmentalists over the endangered silvery minnow, claim […]
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Blair Switch Project
As part of a broad cabinet reshuffle that has British politicians and citizens alike shaking their heads, U.K. Environment Minister Michael Meacher was asked yesterday by Prime Minister Tony Blair to step down. Meacher, who has held his post since 1997, was increasingly at odds with Blair over the issue of genetically modified crops; Meacher […]
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Deep Blue See
Over the objections of lawmakers from coastal states, the U.S. Senate yesterday approved a plan to survey oil and natural gas deposits beneath the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Supporters say the country has the right to know the extent and nature of its energy reserves in case of a crisis. Critics say the plan could […]
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Adding Fuel Cells to the Fire
The Bush administration has been busily touting fuel-cell cars as a critical component of its energy plan and the solution to many an environmental woe. But what if the solution turns out to cause its own problems? According to new research published in this week’s issue of Science, the technology used in hydrogen fuel cells […]
