Latest Articles
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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 […]
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Nobody Expected This Spanish Inquisition
Hundreds of thousands of Spanish citizens hit the streets of Madrid on Sunday to protest the national government’s poor handling of the Prestige oil tanker spill, which has been labeled the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history. Hundreds of chartered buses brought in protesters from Galicia, the region whose environment and economy have been […]
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Everybody Must Be Yellowstoned
Snowmobiles will be permitted in Yellowstone and Grand Teton under the National Park Service’s final environmental impact statement, released yesterday. The park service acknowledges that the plan is not the best one in terms of improving air quality, reducing noise, or protecting the health of park workers, visitors, and wildlife. Under the plan, only “cleaner […]
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Chinese Take Out Genes
With over 20,000 people employed in research positions and as much as $1.5 billion in funding through 2005, China is second only to the U.S. in its dedication to developing genetically modified (GM) crops. The rest of Asia is following its lead, with India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia dedicating billions of dollars […]
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Birds of a Feather Crash Together
Somewhere between 5 million and 50 million migratory birds die every year from slamming into communications towers for cell phones, pagers, and radios, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Now, environmentalists are suing the Federal Communications Commission to force it to protect those birds. The lawsuit concerns towers that are at least 200 […]
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Poaching Aches
If you associate poaching only with the cloud-shrouded mountains of Africa or the tropical forests of the Amazon, think again: Poachers are also taking a toll in North America. One recent victim was one of the last wild-born California condors, a female at least 30 years old and possessed of a nine-foot wingspan. The condor […]
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Turning Over a New Leaf
Worried about deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and global climate change? Relax. A scientist at Columbia University has come up with a solution: synthetic trees. Klaus Lackner says his fake tree would suck carbon dioxide from the air, as plants do during photosynthesis, thereby helping cleanse the atmosphere of the leading greenhouse gas. According to Lackner, […]
