Latest Articles

To Russia, With Empty Tanks

As President Bush weighs the pros and cons of waging war on Iraq, the issue of U.S. oil energy security looms large. And although no one would have believed it 50 years ago, the U.S. is increasingly contemplating Russia as a stable and desirable alternative source of oil. The strategic partnership between the Cold War-era […]

Where There’s Smoke

Lambs to the Slaughter

The wildfires that are raging across the western U.S. this summer aren’t just threatening the trophy homes of billionaires; they are also posing a danger to wildlife. Take bighorn sheep, which were reintroduced to the shores of Washington state’s Lake Chelan after a century’s absence. The sheep were finally gaining a foothold in the area; […]

Fine, China

California is one of the most environmentally minded states in the U.S.; China is one of the most polluted countries in the world. Now, the two have teamed up to clean up: California scientists and entrepreneurs are working with the Chinese government to combat environmental degradation in its myriad forms. The effort is being led […]

Everyone’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Task Force

The Bush administration has 30 days to turn over more documents related to Vice President Dick Cheney’s National Energy Policy Development Group, a federal judge ordered late last week. A number of other federal agencies involved in the secretive energy task force have already turned over thousands of pages of related documents, but the Bush […]

Amazon Quivers

Deep in the southeastern jungles of Peru, a stand-off has begun between illegal loggers and some of the world’s last wholly isolated indigenous groups. Around 400 native Amazonians, who traditionally have little to no contact with the outside world, have emerged to try to run the illegal loggers off the land. After four of the […]

Summer Buggin’

Think of it as good news in bad packaging: The swarms of mayflies that are coating Midwestern towns this summer are a sign that the region’s waterways — most notably the Mississippi River — are healthier than they’ve been in decades. The flies don’t bite or sting; they just mate and die, all in the […]

Beluga Wails

Bad news for wealthy gourmets: By the end of this year, beluga caviar, the king of pricey delicacies, could be illegal fare in the United States. Earlier this week, the government proposed protecting the beluga sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act, following legal action against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services by the Natural Resources […]

Cut the Crop

Concerned that experimental genetically modified (GM) crops could contaminate their unaltered counterparts and creep into the nation’s food supply, the White House has drafted new rules to protect consumers and avoid costly and disruptive food recalls. The rules, which were written by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, propose preliminary crop-safety assessments before beginning […]

Tipping the Scales

A government-commissioned study has concluded that escapes from fish farms in Scotland pose a “major threat” to the nation’s wild fish population. According to Friends of the Earth, about 1 million salmon have escaped from Scottish fish farms in the last five years. If just 1 percent of the farmed population escapes each year, the […]