Latest Articles

At a Loss for Birds

FCC to Investigate Why Millions of Birds Fly into Cell-Phone Towers The Federal Communications Commission is launching an investigation into the reasons why high numbers of birds are killed by flying into cell-phone and broadcast towers in the U.S. Each year, an estimated 5 million to 50 million birds die this way, says the U.S. […]

The Wildlife Conservation Society takes the lead in making zoos sustainable

Is it better to compost elephant dung or tap its energy with a methane generator? Will a ring-tailed lemur feel at home under energy-efficient lights? Sustainability at zoos is a tall order. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs New York City’s zoos and aquarium, is increasingly turning its attention to these and other environmental quandaries. […]

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Geiger Counter

Energy Department Seeks Rule Change on N-Waste Disposal Offshore oil drilling is one area where the Bush administration is trying to rewrite the rules; radioactive waste disposal is another. A month ago, a federal judge ordered the Department of Energy to remove 85 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste from sites in Idaho, South Carolina, […]

Sweeter Home Alabama

Alabama PCB Suits End in $700 Million Settlement Monsanto Co. and its spin-off enterprise, Solutia, agreed yesterday to pay $700 million to settle state and federal lawsuits concerning five decades of PCB pollution in Anniston, Ala. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Monsanto (and later Solutia) used a plant in Anniston to produce PCBs, which […]

Must Have Been Something in the Water

India Says Coke, Pepsi Products Safe to Drink Three weeks after an environmental organization created a furor in India by claiming that soft drinks made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi contained dangerously high levels of pesticides, the nation’s government proclaimed the products safe. Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said today that the government had tested the soft […]

Going Coastal

Bush Administration Rewrites Rules on Coastal Control When it comes to offshore oil drilling, the Bush administration lost the battle but may well win the war. Earlier this year, a federal judge affirmed California’s right to review all offshore development plans, putting an end to efforts by the Bush administration to drill for oil in […]

Don’t Call the Sheriff

County Officials in Utah Steal Signs from National Monument The U.S. EPA might be protecting the air in national parks and wilderness areas, but who’s watching out for the land in national monuments? If you happen to live in southern Utah, the answer is: not your local elected officials. Kane County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw and […]

Bass Ackwards

International Team Chases Illegal Fishing Vessel Across High Seas It’s kind of like “Pirates of the Caribbean,” only it’s set in the Indian Ocean. Australian and South African customs ships are hunting down the Viarsa, an Uruguayan fishing vessel suspected of poaching millions of pounds of endangered Patagonian toothfish. The high drama on the high […]

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, […]