Latest Articles

The Shipping News

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has announced an agreement in which several of the largest shipping companies in Asia will work with L.A. to clean up air quality in the city’s port. Last year, the port received 2,200 cargo ship visits, each burning about 14 tons of heavy bunker fuel. Under the new plan, the […]

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

The Bush administration and environmentalists are at loggerheads over what should happen to national forests burned in last summer’s wildfire season. The administration is pushing for aggressive logging of scorched forests, including older and larger trees; next month, it will propose new rules meant to reduce delays in timber sales due to environmental appeals. Enviros, […]

New Source, Same Old Crap

In the most far-reaching move to relax air pollution rules in years, the Bush administration on Friday gave refineries new flexibility to upgrade their facilities without having to reduce emissions. The U.S. EPA also outlined proposals that would give aging coal-fired power plants a similar advantage — allowing them to upgrade and increase energy output […]

And other words from readers

  Re: Hitting the Bottle Dear Editor: We would like to thank you for the article by Keith Schneider. Many of the people of Michigan have never heard of Mecosta County. They have no idea that this is their fight also. My husband and I are members of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation; we believe […]

Rome If You Want to

One-third of Italy’s most important cultural sites are in a state of emergency, according to the Italian environmental group Legambiente, which studied 36 areas in the country that have been designated World Heritage sites by the United Nations. The group said water pollution was threatening Venice, while smog and sprawl were damaging Naples, Florence, and […]

Like Padre, Like Son

With no public announcement, the Bush administration has given the go-ahead to two new natural gas wells in the Padre Island National Seashore, which boasts the nation’s longest stretch of undeveloped beach and 11 endangered species. Oil and gas drilling have occurred in the Texas park before, but the rate of drilling dropped sharply in […]

If You Drive Alone, You Drive With Saddam

For some U.S. citizens, solar panels, wind turbines, and fuel-efficient cars have become the ultimate patriotic statement. With a war looming in the Middle East, green groups are framing the cause of energy conservation in terms of national security. They are issuing reports, creating websites, and hitting the airwaves with the message that true security […]

Fueltide Greetings

The Bush administration is weighing a proposal that would require auto manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of SUVs and light trucks by a teensy bit. Working off data submitted by the Big Three automakers in Detroit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sent a draft plan to the White House that would raise […]

A Big Pay Off?

Led by climate change skeptic ExxonMobil, a collection of oil, gas, and other energy companies has pledged at least $175 million over 10 years to Stanford University to create a Global Climate and Energy Project. One goal of the project will be to help develop renewable energy technologies. Critics say the gift amounts to small […]

I’m on the Hunt, I’m After You

Halliburton and Hunt Oil, two Texas energy companies with strong ties to the Bush White House, are requesting hundreds of millions of dollars in public financing for a natural gas project in Peru that will tear through pristine rainforests. The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. and the Inter-American Development Bank are forbidden from funding projects […]