Latest Articles

Rodents of Usual Size

It’s a grand time to be a San Bernardino kangaroo rat — or as grand as they come for the endangered nine-inch rodent. Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 33,295 acres of California’s San Bernardino and Riverside counties as critical habitat for the rats, meaning that it will be more difficult to win […]

Monumental Pains

It might not reach Arctic Refuge-proportions in its intensity, but a battle being joined today by the Bush administration over national monuments promises to be a doozy. It will encompass debates about everything from oil drilling to dirt bike-riding, and will pit Western lawmakers, landowners, and the recreational-vehicle industry — all of whom generally want […]

Umbra on corporate paper recycling

I work for a large corporation that is very wasteful with paper. I am looking for information on whom I can complain to about this so that something will happen. They do not use recycled paper or require any recycling of paper. Beth Dearest Beth, Prepare yourself: The fate of reams of office paper is […]

Umbra on farmed fish

I have a friend who is a homeopathic. She told me that I should stop eating pen-raised salmon because they are fed a lot of antibiotics. I was very disappointed because I thought I was eating a safe product. I don’t know how to get more info about this, but if you guys know anything […]

Let It Ride

In true gambler style, Las Vegas has upped the ante on us: In our April Fools’ edition, we joked that the city was going green by requiring energy-efficient lighting on its famous Strip. Now it seems that life imitates Grist, sort of: Although Las Vegas isn’t planning a mass purchase of compact fluorescent light bulbs, […]

Umbra on chemtrails

I’m interested in learning more about Chemtrails. I understand that they are spread in the sky by jets using aluminum particles and that they are used to create cooler weather to slow down global warming. However, people are suffering from health problems as a result of this spraying action. If you have more information on […]

Letting the Gene Out of the Bottle

Delegates from almost 200 countries are meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, this week to discuss the future of genetically modified organisms. Their challenge is to strike a balance between the fondest hopes of the multi-billion dollar biotech industry and the deepest fears of environmentalists, who worry that GMOs could adversely affect ecosystems and human health. […]

Read the resignation letter from Robert Martin, former national ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA

The following letter of resignation was submitted on April 22, 2002, by Robert Martin, the national ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA. Martin, who has held the post since 1992, was well-regarded by environmentalists for his handling of complaints about Superfund cleanups, but less beloved by higher-ups at the agency. He said his resignation was provoked […]

My Favorite Martin

Robert Martin marked Earth Day by resigning yesterday from his position as ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA. Martin, who has held the post since 1992, was well-regarded by environmentalists for his handling of complaints about cleanups conducted under the EPA’s Superfund program, but less beloved by higher-ups at the agency. In November, EPA Administrator Christie […]

I Believe in Yesterday!

While President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore spent Earth Day talking up the environment and taking jabs at each other, how was the rest of the world celebrating the occasion? In Indonesia, environmentalists blocked traffic and planted trees; in Thailand, some 15,000 Buddhists prayed for the Earth; in the Philippines, cyclists filled streets […]