Latest Articles

Your Days Are Lumbered

The health risks posed by arsenic-treated lumber are much greater than previously thought, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group and other public interest organizations. Health and environmental advocates have long questioned the use of arsenic, a known carcinogen, to render lumber resistant to insects and rot. Nevertheless, arsenic-treated wood is commonly used […]

Hello, Minke, Pleased to Meat You

Japanese whaling vessels set sail yesterday on a six-month expedition to hunt up to 400 minke whales in the Antarctic. A 1986 ban on commercial whale hunting by the International Whaling Commission does not apply, because Japan claims the goal of the expedition is to gather data on the feeding habits, migration patterns, and lifecycle […]

Climate Every Mountain

Mount Kilimanjaro could lose all of its glaciers by 2015, Greenpeace warned delegates at the climate change negotiations in Morocco yesterday. In a video-link press conference, Greenpeace reps on the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain offered the delegates a stark reminder of the kinds of changes to expect if climate change is not controlled. At […]

Mormon Tabernacle Acquire

The Mormon Church is angling to buy U.S. Bureau of Land Management property it considers sacred, a move some say could set a troubling precedent. The Church has sought special legislation that would enable it to buy Martin’s Cove, BLM-owned land in central Wyoming where Utah-bound Mormons perished in an 1856 blizzard. The purchase would […]

Gale Blows Off Florida

In a decision environmentalists say is symbolic of the Bush administration’s lack of commitment to conservation issues, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the closure of the federal Office of Everglades Restoration yesterday. The office was created in the last month of the Clinton administration to implement the nation’s most ambitious ecosystem restoration project ever — […]

Population Not Da Bomb

The environmental outlook for our planet is bleak if we cannot control mushrooming birthrates, according to the United Nation’s annual “State of the World Population” report, released today. The study predicts that world population could grow from 6.1 billion to as many as 10.9 billion people by mid-century, unless dramatic gains are made in women’s […]

They've Got Our Vote

Environmentalists scored significant victories in yesterday’s gubernatorial elections, with Democrats James McGreevey and Mark Warner taking office in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively. McGreevey defeated Republican candidate Bret Schundler in a race where environmental issues, especially open spaces and clean air and water, were often front and center. Warner, who will be the first Democratic […]

Take a Spill Pill

Four environmental and angler groups sued the Bonneville Power Administration yesterday for unlawfully harming migrating salmon by increasing power production and reducing water flow at Columbia River dams this spring and summer. The BPA, the largest energy provider in the Northwest, is required by a federal salmon recovery plan to spill billions of gallons of […]

Spending Some Green

Fifty percent of Americans consider themselves environmentalists, according to a recent Gallup poll, but how many put their money where their mouths are? In a survey by Roper, only 29 percent of respondents reported recently purchasing a product because it was advertised as environmentally friendly. Despite efforts to standardize labeling practices, market analysts say consumers […]

Earning Some Green

Business for Social Responsibility, the brainchild of such lefty companies as Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s, is holding a conference in Seattle this week that is attracting companies not exactly known for their progressive politics: Chevron, Weyerhaeuser, Ford, The Gap, Nike, and the like. Homegrown giants Starbucks and Microsoft will also attend the conference, where […]