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The Yellow Haze of Texas

Meanwhile, the state of Texas is plagued by its own air-quality issues — and the state House and Senate are at loggerheads over what to do about it. On Monday, the Senate passed a bill to fund the Texas Emissions Reductions Program, the key component of a federally mandated state anti-smog plan. The bill would […]

A Less Perfect Union

Greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union increased in 2001 for the second year in a row, casting serious doubt on the ability of the bloc to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change. Emissions levels in 2001 were 1 percent higher than in 2000; under Kyoto, the E.U. is obliged […]

The Farmer and the Smell

The U.S. EPA could offer large industrial livestock farms amnesty from the federal Clean Air Act and Superfund laws, according to people involved in agency-industry talks. Rather than enforce the laws, the EPA would monitor pollution levels at roughly 30 large hog and chicken operations, a plan environmentalists and former enforcement officials say is far […]

We’re All Ears

Everyone knows you can eat corn — but can you eat using plates, cups, and forks made from corn? Absolutely, and doing so can help reduce both waste and oil consumption, say advocates of biodegradable corn products. Although it’s not quite true that “anything that can be made from a barrel of crude oil can […]

Mexi-can’t

The U.S. Department of Energy acted illegally when it found that two Mexican power plants would not have a significant impact on the air and water quality in the border region between northwestern Mexico and Southern California, a federal judge in San Diego ruled yesterday. That ruling calls into question the legitimacy of U.S. permits […]

Low Riders

The average fuel efficiency of the nation’s cars and trucks hit a 22-year low of 20.4 miles per gallon during the 2002 model year, the U.S. EPA announced last week. That statistic stands in stark contrast to significant improvements in other automotive areas: Since 1981, average horsepower has increased 93 percent and average acceleration (as […]

Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, Environmental Defense

Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza is policy director for the Los Angeles Environmental Justice Project Office of Environmental Defense. Her work focuses on greening the built environment, increasing green space in L.A.’s urban core, and ensuring transportation equity for the working poor. Monday, 5 May 2003 LOS ANGELES, Calif. Monday mornings are rough, especially when you’re trying […]

Look, Mom, No Tofu

Don’t Call It a Comeback

The nuclear industry is swinging into comeback mode. A bill expected to pass the U.S. Senate in the next few weeks would provide federal loan guarantees for as much as 50 percent of the cost of constructing up to six new nuclear power plants. Sponsored by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), the legislation also would earmark […]

We Don’t Cotton to This Idea

Farmers in India are harvesting the nation’s first approved biotech cotton crop, a development that has environmentalists and some nationalists nervous. About 55,000 growers, an estimated 2 percent of India’s cotton farmers, have planted Monsanto’s Bollgard cotton seed, genetically engineered with the Bt bacterium to be resistant to the bollworm, a troublesome cotton pest. The […]