Latest Articles
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Tony Tony Tony!
In a speech that compared the danger of environmental degradation to the threat of terrorism, British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday outlined a sweeping plan to combat global warming. Blair called on his country, the European Union, and would-be E.U. members in Eastern Europe to cut carbon dioxide emissions 60 percent by 2050. That figure, […]
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9021-woe
Remember that episode of 90210 where Brenda and Dylan fell ill from toxic gases leaking out of oil wells and into Beverly Hills High School? Actually, that never happened on the show — but according to famed environmental legal crusader Erin Brockovich, it happened in real life. Brockovich and her partner, Ed Masry, are preparing […]
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In the Doghouse
The U.S. Supreme Court announced yesterday that it would review a clean air case that could determine when the federal government can overrule state environmental decisions. The case concerns the Red Dog mine in Alaska, which produces zinc and lead. Two years ago, when the mine sought to build a new diesel generator, the state […]
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Pro-fusion
The U.S. and China have officially joined the quest to develop fusion power, which proponents say could be an affordable, eco-friendly alternative to existing energy sources. The International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor is the largest global science project after the International Space Station. China, the U.S., Canada, the E.U., Japan, and Russia will spend $5 billion […]
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All That Jazz and Dredging
The federal government has earmarked $370 million to clean up the waterways of East Chicago, one of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes region — and the town’s citizens are unhappy about it. Local residents and environmental groups say the remediation solution proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is as hazardous […]
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Jesse Putnam, Eco Encore
Jesse Putnam is the founder and director of Eco Encore, a Seattle-based nonprofit that generates financial support for environmental organizations through the sale of used books, CDs, DVDs, and videos. Monday, 24 Feb 2003 SEATTLE, Wash. After making the very eco-efficient commute to work (right out of my kitchen, left at the lamp, straight ahead […]
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Big Mac Attack
It’s likely that the computer you’re using right now will one day end up in China contributing to a mounting toxic nightmare. Towns along China’s southeastern coast have become dumping grounds for obsolete computers and other electronic equipment sent from the U.S., Europe, and Japan for “recycling.” Entire communities, children included, make meager livings by […]
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Oinks Per Gallon
The waste from hundreds of thousands of hogs will soon be powering vehicle diesel engines if Smithfield Farms follows through on a plan announced Friday. Smithfield, the world’s largest hog producer, intends to build a $20 million waste-to-energy facility in southwestern Utah that will convert swine manure into biodiesel fuel, which burns more cleanly than […]
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Greenocide?
A new phrase is raising hackles and fueling environmental debate in the Western U.S.: “rural cleansing.” Thought to have been coined by a Washington-state property-rights activist, rural cleansing is taking root as a catchphrase for those who argue that eco-activists are trying to drive rural citizens away from traditional resource-dependent livelihoods and into cities. The […]
