Latest Articles

Isn't It Good, We Need More Wood

Feel good that the world’s three biggest buyers of lumber — Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA — have promised to give preference to wood that meets eco-friendly certification standards. But feel un-good that very little such wood exists. Only about 200 patches of certified forests now exist across the globe. Rod Taylor of the World […]

The Day the Earth Didn't Stand Still

Water-hungry Los Angeles is pumping so much groundwater that the area is rising and falling each year in tune with the seasons, according to a report published today in the journal Nature. Using global positioning system satellites, a research team from the U.S. Geological Survey calculated that some parts of the L.A. area have been […]

The Kratzer-Jammin' Kid

Two new U.S. government reports raise big concerns about a Bush administration plan to cut federal environmental enforcement staff by 8 percent and shift resources to the states. A report by the U.S. EPA’s inspector general found that states are doing a poor job of monitoring and punishing water polluters. A report by the General […]

This Rocks, Fish!

Enviros scored a victory yesterday when a federal judge ordered the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to do more to protect two species of rockfish, bocaccio and lingcod. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Larson of San Francisco said that the agency had failed to track the number of rockfish that die after they are inadvertently caught […]

Give Us Hybrids, or Give Us Death

  Re: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Do Good Dear Editor: I disagree with the action to dissuade Ford from making hybrid SUVs. I live in western Colorado and would very much like to own a hybrid car for environmental reasons; however, tiny two-door, lightweight cars that sit about six inches off the ground are useless […]

Smog and Mirrors

Businesses located near national parks told the U.S. EPA yesterday to move forward with a plan to reduce smog over 156 parks. At a hearing yesterday, the businesses and environmental groups warned that tourism dollars could dry up and acid rain problems would increase unless the agency adopted rules proposed by the Clinton administration to […]

Kentucky Fried Mountaintops

A Kentucky citizens group yesterday sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to try to stop coal mining operations from burying streams under rock and dirt waste piles. The group says the Corps doesn’t have the authority under the Clean Water Act to approve the fills, which are a result of mountaintop-removal mining. Bill Caylor, […]

Michelle Nijhuis reviews The Tapir's Morning Bath by Elizabeth Royte

It's easy to glorify field biologists. They travel to exotic locales, hang out with rare wildlife, and further humanity's understanding of the natural world. What could be more valuable -- or more fun?

All Falls Down

Chanting "let the water flow," about 4,000 residents joined a convoy of trucks from around the country yesterday in Klamath Falls, Ore., to protest the federal government and demand more irrigation water for their farms. This spring, the feds shut off the water to protect endangered fish, and the small amount of water released earlier […]

Give a Hoot, Don't Commute

The U.S. Transportation Department launched a new campaign yesterday to reduce pollution and encourage telecommuting by offering smog-emissions credits to companies that get more employees to work from home. Under a two-year pilot program, businesses that earn the credits will be able to swap them for air-quality requirements or sell them to other companies. The […]