Latest Articles

China's water table levels are dropping fast

If you aren’t normally fascinated by China’s agricultural problems, then an obscure report issued this summer on the state of the nation’s water supply might have struck you as rather dry. But in this case, dry is precisely the problem: The water table under the North China Plain, which produces over half of China’s wheat […]

A Friend of the Devil Is a Friend of Mines

An announcement by the Bush administration yesterday that it would repeal a Clinton-era mining regulation pleased industry leaders but angered environmentalists. The regulation, which applies to hard-rock minerals such as gold, silver, and copper, allows the Interior secretary to veto new mines on federal lands if they threaten the well-being of communities or the environment. […]

Ranger Rearranger

Federal wildlife agents and rangers — the folks who protect U.S. public lands from poaching, endangered species smuggling, illegal off-road activity, and other no-nos — were in short supply long before Sept. 11. But now their ranks are even thinner, after scores of agents were re-assigned to serve as sky marshals or guard federal buildings […]

Hi Ho Silver

Notwithstanding intense citizen pressure, the U.S. EPA decided yesterday to proceed with a massive cleanup of Silver Valley, Idaho, making the area one of the nation’s biggest Superfund sites. Many residents had argued that toxins leftover from more than a century of mining no longer posed health or environmental problems, and feared that the EPA […]

Accountant Dracula

The U.S. Forest Service’s accounting practices are “totally unreliable,” the General Accounting Office reported Tuesday. The GAO report, which came in response to a request by Reps. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) for an agency audit, was by far the most scathing condemnation of irregular accounting practices at the USFS to date. Watchdog […]

Fuel for the City

Seeking to control sky-high summertime fuel prices, the U.S. EPA proposed new regulations for anti-smog gasoline yesterday. The EPA has been gradually phasing in a plan to combat summer smog in densely populated areas by mandating the use of cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline (RFG). The oil industry blames that plan for high prices at the pumps […]

Real Geniuses

Two environmental activists were among the 23 people honored with MacArthur “genius awards” yesterday. One of the $500,000 fellowships, which are awarded annually to outstanding individuals by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, was pilot and conservationist Sandra Lanham. Lanham flies researchers to remote areas of the Southwest and Mexico to study endangered […]

Sog Story

Mexico City’s new airport will be built on a soggy former lake bed east of the city, federal officials announced this week. Environmentalists are angry about the decision, saying it will endanger the geese, ducks, and other birds that nest on the lake bed. The airport is also furthering tension between conservative President Vicente Fox, […]

The Tide Is High

If you think you have to spend a year in a tree or a lifetime on Capitol Hill to help the environment, think again. Thanks to a new online program called "Turn the Tide," everyday folks can learn how to protect the environment and — here’s the twist — keep track of how well they […]

Murky Outcome

In a decision that could have serious implications for the environment, U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced this week that he will run for governor of his home state next year. Murkowski, a former banker, has been a senator for 21 years and is the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. […]