Latest Articles

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydrogen

In his State of the Union address, President Bush outlined a vision of nonpolluting, hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars and promised to pony up $1.5 billion over five years to make that vision a reality. Almost everyone, from environmentalists to automakers, agrees that the transition toward hydrogen is a good thing, at least in theory: It is […]

And other words from readers

  Re: Always a Big Turn-off Dear Editor: I just read Umbra’s responses to the lighting questions and must tell you that I have heard significantly different answers. I was informed that it does indeed take more energy to turn on a florescent light and that if you were going to be returning to a […]

Sweet Carolina

For the first time, residents of North Carolina will be able to buy their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and biomass. Under “NC Greenpower,” a new plan approved by the state earlier this week, industrial electricity customers can choose to pay about 2.5 extra cents per kilowatt hour for green power; residential […]

Raging Kabul

Twenty years of war in Afghanistan have not only taken an appalling human toll; they’ve laid waste to the nation’s environment, according to a survey just completed by the United Nations Environment Programme. The survey found that more than 50 percent of the forests in three Afghan provinces have been destroyed in the last quarter-century, […]

Brown Mountain State?

The Green Mountain State is looking less and less green every day: Vermont environmentalists are increasingly concerned about the fate of the state under new Republican Gov. Jim Douglas. So far, Douglas has proposed an 8 percent cut in the Natural Resources Agency budget, pledged to reexamine a plan to protect lands in the Northeast […]

The Sub-way Continent

If ever there were a city that needed a good subway system, it is New Delhi, India, one of the world’s most populous (14 million) and most crowded metropolises. Now the city’s got just that, and everyone, from residents to foreigners, is amazed and thrilled by its success. Although the entire 62-mile, 90-station subway system […]

School’s Out

A coalition of Montana mining, timber, and construction lobbyists yesterday called on the state legislature to cut funding for the University of Montana’s environmental studies department, calling it “insidious” and a threat to the state economy. Speaking to the state’s Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Ellen Engstedt of the Montana Wood Products Association said, “We […]

Super-efficient Cheeseheads

Going green could save Wisconsin more than $225 million over the next two years, according to a coalition of state environmental groups. Yesterday, the groups released a “Green Budget” itemizing ways Wisconsin could save money while protecting the environment. One of the budget’s simplest recommendations — using more efficient lighting and turning off unused electronic […]

Drinking Problems

As concerns grow about possible global water shortages, the United Nations Environment Programme has published a new report on the quantity, quality, and availability of worldwide water supplies. But unlike many scientific studies that are all-but-incomprehensible to the general public, this report uses simple visual images to convey its message. The graphs and photos illustrate […]

Board Stiffs

In what may be the most significant regulatory backdown in state history, the Oregon Board of Forestry yesterday sharply reduced its obligation to review private timber sales on landslide-prone land. In the past, the state forester was required to approve all such logging and could be held liable if an approved project later resulted in […]