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Quitting Time

Back in March, Eric Schaeffer made a big media splash by resigning after years as head of enforcement at the U.S. EPA over differences with the Bush administration’s environmental policies. But the truth is that Schaeffer was just the tip of the iceberg. From senior career administrators to lawyers to leading scientists, a number of […]

Dry Upheaval

As if Colombia needs any more bad news: The war-torn nation’s water supply could be reduced by as much as 40 percent over the next 50 years due to deforestation and other degradation of fragile high mountain ecosystems, according to Carlos Castano, director of the country’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies. The paramo, […]

Dave Hadden, Montana Wilderness Association

Dave Hadden is coordinator of the Montana Wilderness Association‘s Transboundary Organizing Project, which works to link wildland conservation across the U.S. – Canada boundary in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. The Glacier – Waterton International Peace Park forms the wild heart of this ecoregion. Monday, 3 Jun 2002 BIGFORK, Mont. I live and work […]

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 […]