Latest Articles
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For Lorne
Canada’s federal government has prepared a report to counter opponents’ forecasts that enacting the Kyoto Protocol would devastate the country’s economy. The report by Environment Canada, the country’s environmental agency, says industry claims that Kyoto could cost the country as much as $19-25 billion and as many as 450,000 jobs are bunk. The agency says […]
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Boise in the Hood
Timber giant Boise Cascade said quietly last week that it would phase out old-growth logging in the next two years. Almost all the old growth cut by Boise Cascade in recent years has come from federal land, and the company said its plan reflected a shift in federal forest management away from felling the big […]
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Beet It
Some genetically modified crops are likely to crossbreed with organic crops or wild plants, jeopardizing farms that are certified as GM-free, according to a European Union study. The Europe Environment Agency found that rapeseed, sugar beet, and maize had a medium to high probability of transferring genetic materials, while potatoes, wheat, and barley were unlikely […]
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Lent Ills
In the midst of Lent, the conservation group Wildcoast is asking Pope John Paul II to declare that sea turtles are meat, not fish. The group, which focuses on the protecting coastal resources in California and Baja California, says sea turtle populations are hit especially hard during Lent because many Catholics give up meat for […]
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Remote Controls
After months of internal debate, the Bush administration has decided (surprise, surprise) to replace pollution lawsuits with voluntary incentives to encourage coal-powered utilities and oil refineries to clean up their acts, according to U.S. EPA officials. The Clinton administration sued dozens of the country’s worst polluting power plants for violating New Source Review rules, which […]
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Costas Christ, Conservation International
Costas Christ is the senior director for ecotourism at Conservation International, a U.S.-based NGO working in 30 countries with a mission to conserve global biodiversity and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. He is also the chair of the board of directors of the International Ecotourism Society. Monday, 18 […]
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A breakdown of the renewables vote in the Senate
One day after declining to support tougher fuel-efficiency standards, the Senate yesterday voted down a measure that would have required 20 percent of the nation’s electricity to be produced from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources by 2020. Currently, less than 2 percent of U.S. electricity comes from renewable resources. The measure that could […]
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Drug Bust
A federal survey that found trace levels of medications in rivers and streams throughout the U.S. could prompt the Food and Drug Administration to revitalize its environmental investigations into drug safety. The first-of-its-kind survey of more than 100 waterways found low levels of dozens of antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, cough suppressants, disinfectants, and other products excreted […]
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Mutts and Jeffords
We hate to be the bearer of still more bad tidings, but what can we say? It’s been a rough week for the environment on Capitol Hill. One day after declining to support tougher fuel-efficiency standards, the Senate yesterday voted down a measure that would have required 20 percent of the nation’s electricity to be […]
