Latest Articles
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A Kulongoski Time Coming
In his first major speech on the environment since taking office, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) promised yesterday that economic concerns would not undermine environmental protections in the state. In a speech to conservationists, the governor pledged to oppose efforts to roll back environmental regulations such as the state Endangered Species Act; to provide sufficient […]
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Dean of Emissions
The federal government has changed its tune on air quality in California, with the U.S. EPA easing pressure on the state to impose more stringent air-pollution controls on farms. Just last month, the EPA said the state should repeal a law exempting large farms from air-pollution monitoring permits; now, it is calling instead for an […]
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Spokes Person
Meanwhile, good news for those who entirely eschew the internal combustion engine: If a representative from Oregon gets his way, people who commute to work by bike will soon get a tax break. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), founder and chair of the bipartisan Congressional Bike Caucus, has biked to his Capitol Hill office for years; […]
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Everybody’s Gone, Surfing
Summer is on its way to Biarritz, France, the surfing capital of Europe — but despite the surf and sun, no one is yet riding the waves. That’s because surfing is banned in Biarritz and along some 160 miles of coastline in southwestern France, due to lingering environmental problems from the oil spill of the […]
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Light Truck at the End of the Tunnel
What’s in a name? In the case of “car” versus “light truck,” the name means a lot — so the auto industry and environmentalists are watching closely as the Bush administration begins redefining cars and trucks as it revamps fuel-economy standards. Currently, light trucks are subject to far weaker gas-mileage requirements than passenger cars, a […]
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Glenn Hurowitz, WILD PAC
Glenn Hurowitz is the associate director of WILD PAC, a political action committee that works to elect leaders at all levels of government who will champion protection of America’s wilderness and public lands. Monday, 24 Mar 2003 NEW YORK, N.Y. I’m back from Minnesota. During this past week, I had the great opportunity to meet […]
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Congo Drummed
The Ebola virus may be wiping out a number of endangered western lowland gorillas in the conflict-torn border region between Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An Ebola outbreak in the area has killed hundreds of people in recent years, and perhaps thousands of gorillas, say scientists. “Chimpanzees and gorillas are already endangered, […]
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Deep Thoughts
Japanese ingenuity may soon bring both potable water and clean energy to a number of periodically parched Pacific island nations, thanks to a new desalination technology that exploits the temperature difference between the ocean’s surface and its depths. The Republic of Palau in the western Pacific has teamed up with Japan’s Saga University to build […]
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Petroleum Jelly-legs
U.S. petrochemical plants pose security risks to millions of Americans and could be targets of terrorist attacks, but the government has no idea how secure the plants are from such attacks, according to an audit released last week by the General Accounting Office. The audit found that both U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman and Homeland […]
