Latest Articles
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West Virginia, Mountain Maimer
The environmental movement was dealt a de facto blow yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a case involving the practice of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia. As its name suggests, the practice involves leveling hilltops with explosives to expose underlying coal seams. The remains of the mountain — tons of dirt […]
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The Trials of Herculaneum
Residents of the town of Herculaneum, Mo., are unhappy about an emergency plan to relocate members of at least 92 households while their homes and properties are being stripped of lead contamination. The source of the lead is a 110-year-old smelter owned by the Doe Run Company. Last year, the company agreed to a cleanup […]
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Coal-burning Bush
In other mining news, President Bush did not mince words about his energy plan during an address in the town of Belle, W.Va., yesterday: “We need to use coal. We got a lot of it,” he said. The president touted exploitation of domestic coal and other traditional energy resources as a way to avoid dependence […]
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The Kids Aren’t Alright
Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of developing asthma, cancer, learning disorders, and other diseases because they attend schools built on or near toxic waste sites, according to a new study released yesterday by a coalition called the Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign. The study found that most states and public school systems […]
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Kurt Teichert, Brown University
Kurt Teichert is environmental coordinator at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where he develops initiatives with students, faculty, and administrators to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the university operations. Monday, 21 Jan 2002 POCASSET, Mass. My dog Auggie and I headed out before breakfast this morning for a sunrise walk in Mud Cove. Located […]
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Humans are gobbling up too much of the sun’s energy
The energy of the sun, captured by plants and passed on to animals, powers everything in our world — dolphins leaping out of the ocean, geese moving across the sky, people stirring their morning oatmeal. Set in our ways. Photo: Art Wolfe, Inc. This truth contains beautiful poetry: It teaches us that in our children’s […]
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Cafe Noir
In the latest sad setback for environmentalists in the battle over corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided Friday not to increase fuel-efficiency requirements for 2004-model-year pickup trucks, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles. Last year, Congress voted to lift a six-year-old, industry-backed ban that prevented NHTSA from examining fuel-efficiency […]
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Live Tree or Die
In what will be one of the largest nonprofit land purchases in New England history, the federal and New Hampshire governments, the Trust for Public Land, and the Nature Conservancy are poised to buy 171,500 acres of land along the New Hampshire-Canada border from the International Paper Company. The estimated $44 million purchase will protect […]
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Peli-can!
Good news from the Pelican State: Brown pelicans may be removed from the endangered species list in Louisiana following a highly successful reintroduction program. By the middle of the 20th century, the birds had disappeared from their namesake state (and were almost wiped out throughout the nation) due to exposure to the pesticide DDT, which […]
