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The Maine Event

Meanwhile, Maine is several steps ahead of the federal government when it comes to combating climate change: Today, the state will become the first in the nation to enact a law establishing specific goals and deadlines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Other New England states have addressed carbon dioxide emissions through different means — such […]

Classrooms Dismissed

Some California classrooms may be contaminated, and not with the cooties. According to a new state study, portable classrooms are more likely than their conventional counterparts to contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. Half of the portable classrooms studied exceeded air-quality guidelines for eight-hour indoor exposure to formaldehyde, and one-hour exposure levels were 10 times […]

Stow It

The U.S. famously declined to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, but yesterday it jumped on the bandwagon of another effort to control global warming: a research program dedicated to exploring technologies for capturing and storing carbon dioxide. Such technologies, collectively known as carbon sequestration, seek to keep CO2 out of the atmosphere through […]

Illegal gold mining in Ghana shafts locals’ health and the environment

At I Trust My Legs, an illegal mining camp along a gray stream in the West African nation of Ghana, trespassers have bored vertical shafts deep into the ground. On a recent morning, Maxwell Adzoka strapped a lamp to his head, pressed his bare back and shoeless feet against the slick clay walls of one […]

Weed Between the Lines

In a finding that undermines one key argument in favor of genetically modified (GM) crops, researchers at Iowa State University have discovered that a number of “superweeds” have developed a resistance to Monsanto’s widely used Roundup herbicide. Monsanto has engineered crops that are tolerant of Roundup, the idea being that the chemical would kill everything […]

The Dirk Side of the Moon

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R), thought to be President Bush’s top pick to head the U.S. EPA after Christie Whitman leaves the agency at the end of this week, has overseen a decline in environmental quality in his home state. Since he assumed the Idaho governorship four and a half years ago, the state’s air […]

More Than a Year of Living Dangerously

Indonesian citizens, particularly children, are suffering from a rise in industrial pollution that has accompanied the nation’s rapid economic growth, according to a World Bank report released today. More than 6 million vehicles were added to Indonesia’s streets between 1995 and 2000, and many of them use leaded gasoline. Lead in the environment puts an […]

White House Whitewash

In a first-of-its-kind environmental survey released today, the U.S. EPA said that the nation’s air, water, and land are cleaner and better protected than they were 30 years ago, though sprawl and air quality, among other problems, continue to pose challenges for the nation. But the survey’s credibility was compromised by reports last week that […]

Soll Sussman, Texas Sustainable Energy Network

Soll Sussman works in the energy division of the Texas General Land Office, where he helped organize the Texas Sustainable Energy Network. Also a writer, he formerly worked for the Associated Press as bureau chief in Canada and correspondent in Washington, Mexico City, and Central America. Monday, 23 Jun 2003 AUSTIN, Texas This should be […]

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 […]