Latest Articles

A Grist interview with Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean

With George W. Bush boasting perhaps the worst environmental record of any president in U.S. history, it almost goes without saying that any contender in the 2004 election will appear to be an environmentalist nonpareil by comparison. Indeed, nearly every Democrat running for president is advertising himself as just that, and former Vermont Gov. Howard […]

Whittled Away

U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman handed President Bush her letter of resignation yesterday, citing the desire to spend more time with her family. Whitman, who was frequently at odds with the Bush administration and constantly under fire from conservationists and industry leaders alike, did not mention political differences as a factor in her decision to […]

Read U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman’s letter of resignation

Christine Todd Whitman sent the following communication to all U.S. EPA employees on May 21, 2003, the day after she resigned her post as EPA administrator. The communication includes her letter of resignation to President Bush, dated May 20, 2003. To All EPA Employees: Yesterday afternoon, I met with President Bush at the White House […]

Dela-Wherewithall

The state of Delaware, which already distinguished itself this year by approving criminal sanctions for executives at polluting companies, has now announced a voluntary program designed to give manufacturers incentives to surpass state environmental and conservation standards. The Principles for Responsible Industry program, which was announced yesterday by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D), sets high […]

Forests Fired

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed President Bush’s “Healthy Forests” initiative, which would limit environmental and judicial reviews of proposed tree-cutting projects in the name of preventing forest fires. Approval of the initiative came despite a report released last week by the General Accounting Office that found that, contrary to White House allegations, very […]

Neverglades

In more bad news for the environment, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) yesterday signed into law a highly controversial plan that will delay cleanup of phosphorus from the Everglades by a decade and, critics say, potentially result in the loss of $4 billion in federal funding for the massive restoration project. Bush — who said […]

Extra-Special Delivery

United Parcel Service, the world’s largest package-delivery company, announced yesterday that it will put a DaimlerChrysler fuel-cell car into service later this year in Ann Arbor, Mich., making UPS the first U.S. company to integrate fuel-cell technology into its commercial fleet. One or more fuel-cell vans will start delivering UPS packages in 2004. Not to […]

Turtle Wane

Having depleted their own nation’s once-plentiful turtle populations, Chinese buyers are now offering top dollar for turtles from the southern U.S. In the last three years, there’s been a dramatic upswing in the number of turtles exported to China, where the animals’ meat is considered a delicacy and their shells are ground up to make […]

Too Cool, from School

Pennsylvania State University has undertaken a massive new recycling program — not for paper or plastics or food waste, but for the mammoth piles of stuff that students leave behind at the end of every school year, from sneakers to TVs to sofas. The end-of-term junk problem grew into a major headache on U.S. campuses […]

Swiss Miss

In a closely watched referendum, Swiss citizens voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to keep nuclear power going strong in the country. Although Switzerland has abundant sources of hydroelectric power, voters rejected two initiatives on the ballot that would have phased out the nation’s five nuclear power plants over the coming decades. Philippe de Rougemont, representative for […]