Latest Articles
-
Bang Dugong
The animal that inspired seafarers to tell tales of mermaids is disappearing from the planet, according to a report released this week. The dugong, a large sea mammal that is a cousin to the famous manatee of Florida and the Caribbean, was thought by ancient sailors to be half-woman, half-fish, perhaps because of its habit […]
-
Grants’ Tomb?
The U.S. EPA has awarded more than $2 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations since 1993 through a process that the agency’s internal watchdog says is seriously flawed. Many grants were awarded without competitive bids, and some groups may have received preferential treatment. Some of the awards went to organizations that subsequently sued the EPA […]
-
Banned, on the Run
The FBI’s top domestic terrorism officer yesterday called the Earth Liberation Front and its companion, the Animal Liberation Front, the largest and most active U.S.-based terrorist organizations. According to the FBI, the two organizations have perpetrated a total of 600 attacks since 1996 costing $43 million in damage. The bureau acknowledged, however, that no one […]
-
Sting Operation
Okay, everyone knows you can’t take so much as a nail clipper on an airplane these days — but how about a scorpion? Last month, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors in Miami impounded a shipment of 600 of the critters, plus 2,000 reptiles and other invertebrates. That’s a lot of crawly things, but the […]
-
![]()
![]()
A look at the president’s first year in office
Remember the eager young Naderites? Although it seems like another lifetime, it was only 15 months ago that supporters of the Green Party were telling us, with a sense of foreboding in their cracking voices, that there was “no difference” between presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush. In the Naderite view, both were […]
-
Anti-protection Racket
Fourteen of 25 groups of wild West Coast Pacific salmon and steelhead may lose their protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, following the federal government’s formal acceptance yesterday of petitions to de-list the groups. Last year, the National Marine Fisheries Service began evaluating the protected status of 23 of the 25 groups after a […]
-
Smoke Scream
The levels of pollutants spewed into the air over New York City following the Sep. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center exceeded even those of burning oil wells during the Gulf War, according to a new study released yesterday by scientists from the University of California at Davis. The study, which was the most […]
-
City City Ban Ban
And in related news from the Big Apple: The city’s post-Sep. 11 restrictions on single-occupant vehicles entering Manhattan has led to 190,000 fewer people coming into the city by car every day, according to a study commissioned by business and labor leaders opposed to the ban. The study claims the restrictions could cost the city […]
-
Not-so-secret Agent
Four decades after the U.S. started using Agent Orange in Vietnam, the two countries will begin working together to assess the effects of the toxic chemical on human health and the environment. Agent Orange is a defoliant that contains TCDD, the most dangerous form of dioxin, which causes cancer, immune system malfunction, and birth defects. […]
-
Winding Down?
What is the world coming to? Denmark, that model of eco-friendliness, announced last week that it would prioritize financial competitiveness over environmental sensitivity — and that, as a result, it would stop subsidizing the installation of new wind turbines beginning in 2004. Economy Minister Bendt Bendtsen said electricity generated by wind turbines was too expensive […]
