Latest Articles

Send Us the Bill

Former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson was elected late last week to serve on the board of trustees of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Karen Golembeski, Richardson’s spokesperson, said he was drawn to the group “primarily for its work on global climate change.” Some folks in the know expect Richardson to run for governor of New […]

Sweden Lowdown

Police estimate that between 10,000 and 25,000 demonstrators will gather today in Gothenburg, Sweden, where U.S. President Bush will be called upon by European Union leaders to defend his rejection of the Kyoto treaty on climate change. The 15 E.U. leaders are kicking off a two-day summit, with the environment at the top of the […]

Grain of Truth

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that it had found no evidence that genetically engineered StarLink corn causes allergic reactions in humans. Blood tests of 17 people who had complained of reactions after eating corn taco shells and tortillas last fall failed to turn up any signs of antibodies to the […]

Lakes Inferior

The governors of the eight Great Lakes states are meeting next week with the premiers of Ontario and Quebec to consider ways to make sure that water from the lakes stays in the region. All is not hunky-dory in the five lakes, which contain 20 percent of the world’s freshwater. The lakes are at their […]

They Get the Goldmine, We Get the Shaft

Mining regulations approved by former President Clinton and now under review by President Bush would give the federal government the right to reject a mining proposal on federal land if it would cause “substantial irreparable harm.” But the Bush administration is expected to repeal the rules next month or water them down, meaning mining companies […]

Chain Gang

About two dozen Greenpeace activists chained themselves together to block a side exit at a military airfield when U.S. President Bush arrived for a NATO meeting in Brussels today. They held up the sign, “George W. Bush — Wanted for crimes against the planet.” The side exit had been used by former President Clinton when […]

Angus Beef

Maine Gov. Angus King (I) told a National Academy of Sciences panel yesterday that the feds erred when they listed Atlantic salmon in eight of the state’s rivers as endangered last year. King and the state’s senators hope the panel will find that distinct populations of wild salmon no longer exist in Maine rivers because […]

Driving Range

General Motors announced that it would take a 20 percent stake in a California company that has found a way to triple the driving range of hydrogen-based fuel-cell vehicles to 500 miles. Larry Burns, GM vice president for research and development, said, “Getting up into this kind of range is really the holy grail we […]

Take a Chill Pill

Between 50 to 80 percent of the Arctic ecosystem could be seriously damaged by 2050 if industrial development there doesn’t slow down, according to a new report published yesterday by the U.N. Environment Programme. As much as 15 percent of the region is already affected by development. The report focuses on development and doesn’t take […]

They're All Ears

The White House has decided to force California to use corn-based ethanol as an additive to make gasoline burn more cleanly, even though the requirement will probably boost prices at the pump this summer and many environmentalists say cheaper ways to reduce emissions exist. The decision will be a big benefit to Archer Daniels Midland, […]