Latest Articles

Ceci N’est Pas Une Citizens Group

U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has nixed the idea of a citizens panel to oversee the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, to the dismay of many environmentalists. Green groups and oil company watchdogs have called for the creation of such a group, similar to the citizens councils mandated by Congress after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, […]

Industry, Agency Say Nuke Plants Are Safe From Terrorism

One year after the tragedies of Sept. 11, how safe is the U.S. from terrorist strikes against its water supply and nuclear power facilities? Quite safe, according to industry and government studies commissioned in the wake of last year’s attacks. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, found that a Boeing 757 would not be […]

Haze Reaches Record Level in Hong Kong

While a metaphorical cloud shrouds New York City today, an all-too-real one is suffocating the city of Hong Kong, where pollution levels have set record highs this week, obscuring skyscrapers and prompting officials to warn people to stay indoors. Earlier this week, smog levels reached a record 185 on an air pollution index where any […]

U.N. Creates Watchdog Effort in Lieu of Future Summits

In what seemed like a tacit acknowledgment of the failure of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which ended last week, the United Nations has announced that it will not plan any more summits on the environment and development until governments have taken serious steps toward meeting the goals for progress established at Johannesburg and […]

Scientists Discuss How to Reduce Mercury Use Around Globe

Scientists from around the world are meeting this week in Geneva, Switzerland, at a conference sponsored by the U.N. Environment Programme, to discuss ways to cut back on global mercury use. For decades, the toxic substance has been used in lamps, batteries, electrical equipment, thermometers, dental fillings, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and even beauty products. Gulp! Mercury […]

I’d Like My C, Under the Sea

A six-year experiment in burying carbon dioxide under the ocean has been highly successful, according to the scientists behind the project. Since 1996, CO2 emitted during methane gas exploration in the North Sea has been pumped back into the ground, where it has been trapped in a giant bubble almost a third of a mile […]

Don’t Gag Me With a Heavy Metal Spoon

Despite taking an oath of secrecy regarding their jobs, employees at a nuclear weapons plant in Iowa will be allowed to talk to doctors and scientists about hazardous chemicals to which they may have been exposed, the Pentagon determined in a report issued yesterday. The oaths have posed problems for thousands of current or former […]

Paper Tiger

Confusion over the definition of old growth is spurring a new campaign by ForestEthics against major paper retailers. In the past, the environmental organization has taken on lumber retailers such as Home Depot; now, it’s turning its attention to Staples, accusing the company of misleading customers into thinking it doesn’t sell paper products made from […]

It’s My Way or No Highway?

The head of the U.S. EPA’s New England office has accused New Hampshire of failing to prepare for the environmental impact of the rapid population boom that is expected to follow the widening of Interstate 93, the main commuter highway connecting the state to Boston, Mass. New Hampshire plans to spend $18 million to ease […]

The Minnow Would Be Lost

The fate of the silvery minnow remains up in the air after a federal judge postponed a decision yesterday in a controversial water-rights case, saying he wanted to review information about the endangered species’ habitat. For those of you who haven’t been following the story, a coalition of environmental groups has asked the judge to […]