Latest Articles
-
Mikey Doesn’t Like It
Michael Meacher, who earlier this month was pushed out of his job as Britain’s environment minister, this weekend accused Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration of systematically disregarding evidence that genetically modified (GM) foods could pose threats to human health or the environment. Meacher’s charge comes as the British government is preparing to release two reports […]
-
The Fat of the Land
Sprawl has been accused of many evils, but here’s a new one: It may make you fat. While suburban residents drive to get most places they go, many city dwellers walk or ride bikes, and that physical exercise seems to keep urbanites slimmer. “[I]f you choose to live in a sprawling environment, you are more […]
-
Aw, Shoot
People accused of shooting endangered species are getting off the hook thanks to a U.S. Justice Department policy that some federal wildlife officials say amounts to a loophole in the Endangered Species Act. Adopted in 1998 under the Clinton administration, the policy requires government prosecutors to prove that a suspect knew the animal they were […]
-
Chef’s Salud
Across the Atlantic, another fracas is brewing over genetically modified foods. Yesterday protesters hit the streets in Sacramento, Calif., to rally against GM technology, one day before the start of a large international agricultural conference that is bringing together agriculture ministers from more than 100 countries and reps from biotechnology and agribusiness corporations. Family farmers, […]
-
Beauty and the Beasts
India’s tigers may be threatened by, of all things, rising demand for cosmetics. The growing market for talcum powder — widely used in lipsticks, eye shadows, deodorants, and other such products — is leading to the destruction of tiger habitat by illegal mining operations that sell talc to international cosmetics companies, including Revlon, Johnson & […]
-
Crop Circles
Negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union over genetically modified foods broke down yesterday in Geneva, furthering heightening trans-Atlantic tension and prompting the Bush administration to call on the World Trade Organization to begin hearing the dispute. At issue is a European ban on GM crops — a ban that the U.S. agricultural industry […]
-
Air Heads
California’s San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved a plan yesterday intended to improve some of the worst air quality in the nation — but critics say the plan makes too many concessions to industry to be effective. Enviros, doctors, and residents who have suffered from respiratory ailments allege that efforts to reduce […]
-
Not By the Air of Our Chinny-chin-chin
Meanwhile, things aren’t looking so hot for air-pollution regulation on the federal level, either. Republicans in the Senate are drawing up a transportation bill that enviros say could water down the efficacy of the Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Provisions in a draft legislation would allow states to postpone or avoid […]
-
Two Turntables and a Megapode
This week was for the birds — in a good way: Two previously endangered species seem to be enjoying a rebound. The population of the once desperately rare Polynesian Megapode has doubled and the bird could soon be removed from the list of critically endangered species maintained by the World Conservation Union. The species is […]
