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And other words from readers

  Re: Little Bundle of Consumption Dear Editor: Thanks go to Umbra for outlining her perspectives on the environmental consequences of childrearing. I agree wholeheartedly and have found myself in both a personal struggle and heated arguments about the topic with friends. I now have one child and plan, though guiltily, to keep it this […]

Brazilian Whacks

In what may be the worst industrial accident in Brazil’s history, a massive chemical spill into two rivers has cut off the supply of clean water to some 600,000 people in three states near Rio de Janeiro. A reservoir at a pulp and paper factory leaked 320 million gallons of caustic soda and chlorine into […]

Well, They Otter

Sea otters should be allowed to frolic freely along the Southern California coastline, according to a new recovery plan drawn up for the threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hailed by enviros, the plan, developed over 14 years, advocates the end of a federal program that relocates otters away from shellfish grounds […]

Something Smells Fishy

The Bush administration is proposing changes to its salmon-protection strategy that critics say would endanger salmon while boosting logging in the Pacific Northwest. As it now stands, federal rules prohibit timber sales and other activities on public lands unless officials can demonstrate that fish would not be harmed. Under revisions proposed this week, officials would […]

The feds are backing nuclear power — in the name of the environment

It’s a long-held tenet of U.S. environmentalists that nuclear power is bad news. Critics argue that the clean-air benefits of nuclear reactors are far outweighed by the consequences of uranium mining and radioactive waste storage — not to mention the damage that could result from an accident at an atomic power station. Now more than […]

Research and Destroy

It’s been a bad news week for whales. First, Iceland announced that it would begin hunting minke, fin, and sei whales again after a 13-year hiatus. The nation says the whaling will be strictly for research purposes, but environmentalists say the plan is a smokescreen for commercial hunts. The World Conservation Union’s Red List ranks […]

Ceci N’est Pas Une Small Fine

The U.S. EPA has levied a $34 million fine against the Colonial Pipeline Company, the largest civil penalty the agency has doled out in its 32-year history. The company owns a 5,500-mile underground pipeline that snakes through 14 states on its way from Texas to New York; the fine is for violating the federal Clean […]

Sweet Tooth and Nail

Efforts to restore Florida’s Everglades hit a snag yesterday, when the state’s top environmental regulator suggested delaying by 20 years the cleanup of phosphorus from South Florida waters. David Struhs, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, had previously backed a plan to reduce the presence of phosphorus from a whopping 300 parts per […]

Black and Blue Canyon

In a move that environmentalists and others fear could set a dangerous precedent, the U.S. Department of the Interior has ceded control over the waters in Colorado’s Gunnison National Park, allowing the state to sell it to cities. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the decision to hand over control of the river (which was awarded […]

Tupperscare Parties

A chemical commonly used in food packaging and other plastics may cause miscarriages and Down’s syndrome, according to a study published this week in the journal Current Biology. Geneticists at Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University found that exposure to even small quantities of bisphenol A (BPA), a substance that mimics the hormone estrogen, can disrupt […]