Latest Articles

The Reformer in the Dell

Beginning on March 25, owners of outdated Dell personal computers will be able to treat them like glass, aluminum, plastic, and paper — by leaving them on the curb for recycling. For $15, Dell will haul away up to 50 pounds worth of discarded computer components (monitors, hard drives, laptops, and the like) for recycling […]

The Spoils of War

The war against Iraq that began last night will lead to “massive and possibly irreversible” environmental damage to the Persian Gulf region and contribute significantly to global warming, experts cautioned this week. Environmentalists who have been monitoring the situation say the ecological destruction could be radically worse than the damage sustained during the 1991 Gulf […]

Elementary, My Dear Holmes

An environmental ethicist has won the coveted Templeton Prize, a $1 million award for raising awareness about how science can lead to discoveries about spirituality. Holmes Rolston III, a philosophy professor at Colorado State University and the man known as the father of environmental ethics, won the prize for his explorations of the relationships among […]

What we don’t know about the toxic chemicals in our bodies

Scientists call the accumulation of chemical contaminants (such as PCBs, mercury, and pesticides) within a person’s body the “body burden.” Body burden is just a number, a concentration in parts per billion or micrograms per liter. But the term calls forth an image, too, of a body bent over and struggling beneath a heavy load. […]

Greenie Get Your Gun

“Gun-toting” is not a phrase frequently used to modify “environmentalist,” but that could change if Vermont approves a measure to grant police powers to investigators with the state’s Agency of Natural Resources. The measure, currently being considered by the Vermont senate, would allow investigators to serve subpoenas and legal notices, access criminal records and law […]

Grilling Me Softly

As spring comes to the Northern Hemisphere, people all over are hauling out the yard furniture and shlepping barbeques out of basements. Everyone loves a cookout — but in Houston, Tex., the massive popularity of barbequing is contributing to the city’s notorious air pollution. Scientists at Rice University have found that tiny particles of polyunsaturated […]

Kentucky Green Gas

Kentucky is soon to get its first-ever methane power plants, which will rely on gases given off by landfills to generate electricity. The plan represents a landmark energy development for the famously coal-dependent state. The three plants will cost $4 million each and generate a total of 10 megawatts of power from the gases given […]

War and Peas

War abroad could hit home in the nation’s chemical factories and food-processing plants, the General Accounting Office warned yesterday. The GAO said the lack of federal authority over such facilities makes it impossible to know whether they are sufficiently prepared for potential terrorist attacks. The office recommended that the U.S. EPA and the Department of […]

How to clean your house without hurting the planet

If you think of your home as a haven from pollution, we’ve got some bummer news. Levels of pollutants in indoor air can be from two to more than 100 times higher than outdoors, according to the U.S. EPA. That indoor pollution is due in large part to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate, or […]

Come Down From There Right Now!

Two of 18 environmental activists who have been sitting in redwoods in California’s Humboldt County for almost a year were forcibly removed yesterday by Pacific Lumber Company, raising the longstanding conflict between the two groups to a new level. After the Humboldt County Superior Court issued the tree sitters a temporary restraining order last week, […]