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G-ratify-ing News

It’s official: All 15 nations of the European Union have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, solidifying their commitment to combat climate change and highlighting the difference between European and U.S. environmental politics. The ratification was formalized during a ceremony held this morning at United Nations headquarters in New York City. E.U. Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom called […]

Environmental Procrastination Agency?

Health and environmental organizations in eight Southeastern states announced yesterday that they would sue the U.S. EPA for “dragging its feet” in implementing a strict air-quality standard established five years ago. The new standard limits ozone, the primary component of smog, to 0.08 parts per million instead of 0.12 ppm. The EPA claims it has […]

An excerpt from The New Economy of Nature by Gretchen C. Daily and Katherine Ellison

In a cattle pasture south of downtown Napa, Calif., a clarinet, flute, and bass guitar strike up a jazzy version of "Up a Lazy River." About sixty people, if you count the rubberneckers wandering over from a nearby retirement house, gather in the midsummer sun. Two young women in flowing dresses open paper boxes to release orange clouds of monarch butterflies. A few dogs wander through the crowd.

Swiss Bliss

Organic farming results in a smaller yield than conventional agriculture, but is far more energy efficient and better for the land. That might sound intuitive to many organic advocates, but it took a 21-year study by Swiss scientists to prove it. Research published in the most recent issue of Science showed that organic farming is […]

California Scheming

This week’s announcement by President Bush that his administration would spend $235 million to protect Florida’s pristine areas from oil and gas drilling has aroused both the ire and the envy of California environmentalists, who saw the deal as a family favor designed to aid the reelection bid of First Brother and Florida Gov. Jeb […]

Time to Get ExxonMobilized

ExxonMobil, long a target of progressive activists for its appalling environmental and human rights record, is now catching flak from more mainstream critics as well. In an unusual move, shareholder advisor Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc., recommended that ExxonMobil’s shareholders vote for two controversial proposals, one to outline plans to promote renewable energy use, and the […]

A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

Does access to information protect us, or put us at risk? That question is at the heart of an environmental debate that’s taken on a different shape — and different stakes — since Sept. 11. At issue is the public’s right to know about chemical plants and other factories manufacturing hazardous materials. Environmentalists maintain that […]

Dead Bird Flying

Upon hearing reports of his own demise, Mark Twain famously retorted that rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The same could be said of the golden-crowned manakin, a small Brazilian bird thought to have gone extinct almost a half-century ago but recently rediscovered in the Amazon rainforest. The bird was found by German […]

Dreading Water

Industrial pollution in U.S. and Canadian lakes, rivers, and streams rose 26 percent from 1995 to 1999, according to a report released yesterday by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the environmental watchdog agency of the North American Free Trade Association. The report, entitled “Taking Stock,” examined data on 210 chemicals from 21,500 facilities […]

Brotherhood Has Its Priviliges

Some of Florida’s natural wonders will be protected from oil and gas drilling, thanks to two major deals announced yesterday by President Bush. The first, a completed $115 million buy-back of drilling leases off the shores of Pensacola, will protect the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, while the second, which offers companies a total […]