Latest Articles

Green Mountin' State

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) said yesterday that his state can meet electricity demands for the next decade by “using renewable energy and efficiency and relying less on large fossil-fuel plants.” For starters, Dean said he would probably devote $750,000 from an oil-industry settlement to solar and wind system rebates. Christine Salembier, commissioner of the […]

Better, Safe Safari

“The future of Kenyan tourism is green,” says Judy Gona, executive director of the Ecotourism Society of Kenya, which is working to create a low-impact, more environmentally friendly tourism industry in the second-most visited country in Africa. ESOK’s 80 members are mostly small, secluded camps and lodges that are built with local materials. They use […]

How Now, Brown Cow?

The 450,000 dairy cows in Southern California are contributing to some of the dirtiest air in the country — and regulators want to clamp down. The cows kick up tons of dust and their manure emits ammonia that joins with nitrogen oxide from vehicle tailpipes to create particulate pollution. Dairies in the area account for […]

Reef Riff

Despite objections from environmental groups and local governments, the California state legislature passed a bill on Friday that would allow abandoned offshore oilrigs to be converted to underwater reefs. If Gov. Gray Davis (D) signs the bill, oil companies will save millions of dollars; currently, they must dismantle and take away the rigs when drilling […]

Derailed

As a consequence of last week’s terrorist attacks, the U.S. Energy Department has cancelled a shipment of high-level nuclear waste that was scheduled to be transported from New York state to Idaho by train this summer. Anti-nuke activists had dubbed the shipment a “mobile Chernobyl” and were planning to raise a ruckus when the freight […]

Ayatollah You So

Iran is in the midst of its worst drought in 30 years, heightening problems caused by poor water management, climate change, and rapid population growth. The country’s largest body of freshwater, Lake Hamoun, is now desert and 100 nearby villages are disappearing beneath sand. Drinking water is being rationed in more than 30 cities, including […]

Fondest Schregardus

Facing an uphill battle, Donald Schregardus, President Bush’s choice to head the U.S. EPA’s enforcement division, withdrew his name from consideration yesterday. Schregardus told Bush in a letter that it was clear that his “nomination will not be considered by the U.S. Senate in a timely manner.” He was right to think so. Earlier this […]

Hanoi-ance

There are nine times more endangered species of sea life in Vietnam than there were in 1989, according to statistics from the country’s Ministry of Fisheries reported in the New Hanoi newspaper. The number of species at risk has grown from 15 to 135. In 1989, 35 percent of Vietnam’s coral reefs were healthy; that […]

Maple Leaf Rag

New England could lose many of its trademark sugar maples, and the region’s cross-country skiing and snowmobile industries could take a big hit, if steps aren’t taken soon to fend off climate change, according to a new study produced by the U.S. EPA, environmental groups, and others. If no steps are taken, Boston’s climate by […]

Tell a Commuter

Once touted as a solution to traffic congestion problems in the U.S., telecommuting has largely been a no-show. A decade ago, the federal government predicted that as much as 10.4 percent of the population would be telecommuting several days a week by 2000. But telecommuting hasn’t even topped 1 percent in some of the country’s […]