Latest Articles
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A review of A Whale Hunt
For countless generations the Makah Indians have lived on the shores of Neah Bay, in the corner of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, the northwesternmost tip of the 48 states. Until the 1920s, hunting the gray whales that swam past this stretch of coastline as they migrated between Baja California and Alaska's Bering Sea had been a Makah tradition for 2,000 years.
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You're Soaking in It
Iowa’s 132 lakes are among the water bodies most polluted with fertilizers in the world, according to a study by Iowa State University. Researcher John Downing took three rounds of samples from each of the lakes last summer, and the results turned up heavy concentrations of nitrates and phosphorus, both common ingredients in farm and […]
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Blairingly Obvious
U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair dedicated more than $146 million toward the development of renewable energy sources yesterday, in an apparent appeal for the green vote in the upcoming election this May. In a speech to the World Wildlife Fund, Blair said, “We can only succeed if we make tackling climate change a commercial opportunity.” […]
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Ghana With the Wind
Effective and affordable ways to curb climate change exist — what’s uncertain is whether governments have the political will to implement them. So says the latest study by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was released yesterday in Accra, Ghana. A key step will be to reduce the world’s reliance on oil and […]
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By Poplar Demand
Plants may prove to be the most cost-effective and safe tool to clean up toxic sites, scientists say. In a process dubbed “phytoremediation,” plants like sunflower, clover, and mustard have been shown to absorb and break down such harmful chemicals as arsenic, zinc, uranium, and lead. “A stand of poplars is a self-assembling, solar-powered, pump-and-treat […]
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Steward Little
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton made her first trip outside Washington, D.C., last weekend, promising an audience of 600 jubilant Republicans in Oregon that the dark days of the Clinton administration were over. She repeated what has become one of her favorite lines, “I respectfully disagree with those who say that to be good stewards […]
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Drain, Oh!
The delicate balance of the Pantanal wetlands in southwestern Brazil may be forever altered by a massive project to straighten and dredge the area’s rivers. Powerful commercial interests in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina want to proceed with the Hidrovia project to improve barge navigation through the Paraguay River and other waterways in the region. […]
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Not-so-green Acres
The U.S. government is running short on funds to promote conservation on privately owned farmlands. Last year, the U.S. Agriculture Department had to turn away almost 80 percent of applicants to one program — more than 59,000 farmers — because money to pay them was not available. The program helps farmers convert to environmentally friendly […]
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Soon — Put a Tigerlily in Your Tank
Soybeans and corn may become hot new fuel sources if high fuel prices and low crop prices continue. Bio-fuels, such as corn-based ethanol and soybean oil, burn more cleanly than gasoline and could help stabilize the faltering U.S. farm economy. Ethanol has been in production as a fuel additive since the 1970s, but President Bush […]
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States Get the Drift
The U.S. Supreme Court today let stand federal rules intended to reduce the amount of smog drifting across state borders from smokestacks in the Midwest and South to the Northeast. In 1998, the U.S. EPA required 22 states and the District of Columbia to submit plans to cut nitrogen oxide pollution, placing a heavier burden […]
