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Jean Ponzi, Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency

Jean Ponzi promotes environmental education for kids, business people, and the general public as program manager for the Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency, a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Monday, 21 Apr 2003 ST. LOUIS, Mo. Earth Week. In my business — environmental education — this strip on the calendar includes actual Earth Day, […]

Europe Paean

Major American corporations may be getting off easy on environmental regulations in the U.S. these days, but they’re being forced to toe the line in Europe. Rules adopted this year will require all electronics manufacturers doing business in European Union countries to eliminate use of lead, mercury, and other heavy metals from their products, and […]

In a Moment of Leakness

A baffling leak has been discovered at one of the newest nuclear reactors in the U.S. The South Texas Nuclear Project, 90 miles southwest of Houston, was discovered to have leaked cooling water from its large reactor vessel, a problem that experts have never before encountered. “This is the first time it’s been seen, either […]

Gutter Talk

The Bush administration has been discreetly gutting environmental protections by encouraging industry groups to sue over rules and then settling those lawsuits on terms favorable to industry, enviros argue. Using such tactics, the administration has allowed more logging in Northwest forests, curtailed protections for roadless lands and potential wilderness areas in the West, and reopened […]

Driving Us Crazy

Toyota last week unveiled a spiffy new version of its hybrid gas-electric Prius, which will get better gas mileage (55 miles to the gallon), emit fewer air pollutants, and give passengers more room than previous Prius models. The car will hit showrooms late this year as a 2004 model. Toyota also said it plans to […]

Out, Damn Dam!

The Bush administration last week proposed the breaching of a hydroelectric dam near Missoula, Mont. — yep, you read that right. It’s not one of the four dams on the Snake River that enviros want to tear down in order to restore salmon runs, but it’s in the same region. The Milltown Dam blocks migration […]

And other words from readers

  Re: Let It Be Me Dear Editor: I liked the interview with Emily Saliers. But please suggest to Kathryn that she refer to these “new” energy sources as renewable rather than alternative. I am in the business of designing, installing, and promoting the occasional solar-electric system. As long as we keep calling it “alternative,” […]

Starting from scratch with chickens and eggs

Chicks and balances. Photo: USDA. It’s very provoking, as Humpty Dumpty once told Alice, to be called an egg. After all, a name must mean something. “My name,” he told her, “means the shape I am — and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, […]

A Peruvian activist takes on the fishmeal industry

Maria Elena Foronda Farro was born to be an activist. Her father, a union lawyer in Chimbote, Peru, taught her — through words and by example — about the importance of social justice. Foronda, who grew up in Chimbote and earned a master’s degree in sociology in Mexico, is now applying her father’s lessons to […]

Afri-can Do

Seeking to capitalize on the potential of renewable energy sources, 10 African nations are collaborating to increase their combined geothermal power generation to 1,000 megawatts by 2020. Geothermal power yields electricity by trapping steam released by water reservoirs deep inside the Earth. It is a clean and reliable energy source, and the United National Environment […]