Latest Articles
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Lead Story
Lead levels that are currently assumed to be safe for children can significantly impair intellectual development, according to a groundbreaking report published in today’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The current U.S. and international allowable blood lead level is 10 micrograms per deciliter, but researchers found that lead levels lower than that […]
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Give a Hoot
Pollution in North America decreased by 5 percent between 1995 and 2000, according to a report released today by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established under the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 2000, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico released 3.6 million tons of pollution. Of that, 1.5 million tons went directly into the air, […]
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Orange Alert
The U.S. military sprayed twice as much herbicide on Vietnam during the war there than previously estimated, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. Relying on previously unexamined military documents and new assessments of dioxin concentrations, the study found that an additional 1.8 million gallons of toxic herbicides, mostly Agent Orange, were […]
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An Aboriginal elder battles construction of a radioactive-waste dump in Australia
In the 1950s and ’60s, the British military conducted a dozen full-scale nuclear tests in the desert of southern Australia. To the military, the region was a wasteland, the best possible place for such a project; to the Aboriginal people who had lived in the desert for millennia, the land was their home. Eileen Kampakuta […]
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Can’t See the Trees, Either
Spring is here, and all across the country, the first pale green leaves are appearing on trees. But if you live in an urban area, you may be lucky to see such a sight: During the past 15 years, the quantity of trees in many U.S. cities has dropped by almost a third, while paved […]
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The Progress of Engines
Bulldozers, tractors, irrigation equipment, and other diesel-powered off-road machines will be subject to stricter emissions standards under a new plan announced yesterday by the U.S. EPA. The plan calls for cutting emissions by up to 95 percent, a move that would bring the standards for off-road vehicles in line with those for cars and trucks […]
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Ever Glad-handing
The federal government is footing half the $8.4 billion bill for restoring the Florida Everglades — so no wonder eight U.S. lawmakers are expressing concern over what they see as the state’s efforts to alter the Everglades Forever Act, which sets the terms of the cleanup. Florida Department of Environmental Protection chief David Struhs is […]
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Von Hernandez sparked a mass movement to keep trash incinerators out of the Philippines
The industrialized world is fond of exporting its problems: its toxic waste, its low-paying jobs, its most incorrigible mining and logging companies. Von Hernandez, the coordinator of Greenpeace International’s Toxics Campaign in Asia, says “dirty technology” — especially large-scale waste incineration — is also being shipped away to developing countries. On April 14, Hernandez was […]
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Fishy Business
For the second time this year, congressional Republicans have used behind-the-scenes trickery to weaken organic-labeling standards. Powerful Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, tacked a measure onto the recently passed $79 million war-spending bill that directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to come up with a plan for certifying and labeling […]
