Latest Articles
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Ready, Willing, and Cable?
Environmentalists are concerned about a proposal by the state of Florida to streamline a lengthy approval process for laying undersea fiber-optic cables by creating four authorized submarine telecommunications corridors off Broward and Palm Beach counties. Under the proposal, cables laid within the corridors would be subject to a one-month approval process, rather than the yearlong […]
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David Friedman, Union of Concerned Scientists
David Friedman is a senior analyst with the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS educates and works with the public to advocate for environmental solutions based on the best scientific understanding. The Clean Vehicles Program develops and promote strategies to reduce the adverse impacts of the U.S. transportation system. Monday, 8 […]
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Driven to Drink
The average fuel efficiency of new vehicles has hit a two-decade low of 20.4 miles per gallon, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. EPA. The report attributed the decline in fuel economy largely to the popularity of sports utility vehicles, which get notoriously poor fuel economy and are regulated by laxer rules […]
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Rock On!
Canadian Minister of Health Allan Rock said yesterday that labels on genetically modified food should be mandatory in the country. In August, a national task force recommended a voluntary labeling system in Canada, but Rock said the country should instead follow the lead of the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and impose labeling […]
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If You Build It, Sprawl Won't Come
In the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center tower, environmentalists are calling for a rapid rebuilding of lower Manhattan as a way to fight increased urban sprawl and traffic congestion. They worry that the sudden shortage of office space downtown, combined with concerns about security and the economy, could drive corporations out […]
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Fill Up Yer Camel, Sir?
A court in Pakistan ruled yesterday that Britain’s Premier Oil can go ahead with plans to test for natural gas in the country’s largest national park, which is home to rare urial sheep, ibex, and chinkara gazelle. Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment and Friends of the Earth International say Premier’s exploratory surveys would threaten the […]
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Going With the Grain
In a closely contested vote yesterday, the U.S. House defeated an amendment to a massive farm bill that would have shifted $19 billion from crop subsidies to conservation efforts. The defeat, which was engineered largely by lawmakers from traditional farming states, paves the way for approval of a 10-year, $171 billion farm bill that would […]
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Just Say Noah
In a project known as Operation Ark — because, as one environmental official put it, “The only person that has come close to doing something like this is Mr. Noah” — 1,000 elephants are being moved from South Africa’s Kruger National Park to a neighboring protected area in Mozambique. The relocation project will ease pressure […]
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Safety Pinned
Despite increased safety concerns following the terrorist attacks, Great Britain has approved the opening of a radioactive fuel reprocessing plant by the state-owned British Nuclear Fuels. Although British officials said the plant, which would convert used plutonium from a nearby facility into mixed oxide fuel, presented a “negligible” security risk, others fear the plant and […]
