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Scientific Americans

A week before President Bush travels overseas to meet with European leaders already frustrated with his stance on global warming, a report released yesterday by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences states that global warming is real and getting worse and that human activity is largely responsible for the problem. The report — an evaluation […]

Judge Dreadful

In a blow to environmentalists, a federal judge chose yesterday not to issue an emergency stay on road-building in metro Atlanta. U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin said she would give her final ruling this summer on a lawsuit filed by environmental groups opposed to Georgia’s three-year, $1.9 billion transportation plan for the area. The groups […]

Wet T-shirts — No Contest

Wet cleaners are opening up around the country as an alternative to environmentally nasty dry cleaners. Traditional cleaners use a cleaning solvent, perchlorethylene, that has been linked to health and environmental hazards. A recent study, for example, found that dry-cleaning workers were more prone to certain types of cancer than the general population. In 1996, […]

Cheney Takes Us for Fuels

The same day that a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed public support for President Bush’s energy policy at 37 percent, Vice President Dick Cheney held his first serious meeting with environmental groups. During the session yesterday, leaders from four green groups asked the Bush administration to work to boost fuel-economy standards to 40 miles per […]

Grill a Gorilla

Rwandan soldiers spread out across Virunga National Park yesterday to protect endangered mountain gorillas after the Hutu militia apparently grilled two male gorillas and ate their meat on Friday. Killing apes for their meat is relatively common in Congo and other parts of Central Africa, but not in Rwanda and Uganda. Only 355 members of […]

South of the Bolder

Petroleos Mexicanos, the world’s fifth-largest oil company, said this week that it would start a six-month internal effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions 1 percent below 1999 levels, as the first step in a 10-year emissions reduction program. The state-owned Mexican company is the first Latin American firm to say publicly that it would reduce […]

Dim Summary

China’s top environmental official warned yesterday that air and water quality are on the decline and soil erosion is continuing at a fast clip in the country. Nearly half of China’s river water supplies don’t meet safety standards, said Xie Zhenhua, director of the Environmental Protection Administration, which produces an annual state of the environment […]

Grin and Bear It

British Columbia this fall will begin its most ambitious wildlife reintroduction effort ever, a long-term plan to increase grizzly bear populations in the core of its North Cascades mountain range. The Environment Ministry hopes to increase the population in the 3,800 square-mile area from fewer than 25 individuals to 150 bears by 2050. Trapping and […]

River of Gross

In an attempt to boost his image on the environment, President Bush visited the Everglades National Park yesterday and called attention to what he said would be budget increases for Everglades restoration. But Mary Munson, Florida director of the National Parks Conservation Foundation, said the president’s proposed spending is less than what former President Clinton […]

Phoenix Rising From the Toxic Ashes

Hundreds of mostly African-American and Latino residents living in southeast Phoenix accused the city yesterday of turning their neighborhood into a toxic dumping ground. They are backing a class-action lawsuit that claims that they are the victims of more than two decades of environmental racism. Last August, an industrial fire in the area sent toxic […]