Latest Articles

Roll Out the Barrels

Did anyone expect such early international criticism of President Bush’s energy plan? Yesterday, Jan Pronk, the head of U.N. talks on climate change and the Dutch environment minister, described the plan as a “disastrous development” that would “undoubtedly” lead to more greenhouse gas emissions. A press release issued by Friends of the Earth in the […]

Putting It in Reverse

The average fuel economy of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last year dropped to the lowest levels since 1980, according to a new report by the U.S. Transportation Department. President Bush’s energy plan released yesterday calls for a review of fuel-economy standards once the National Academy of Sciences completes a study of […]

Tina Turnaround

In what appears to be a big victory for environmentalists, the White House says it will retain the air-quality standards for ozone and particulate pollution that were set by the Clinton administration several years ago. In February, the U.S. Supreme rejected arguments by industry groups and affirmed the U.S. EPA’s right to establish the standards. […]

The Strategy of the Commons

Enough about endangered species — Massachusetts next month is beginning the country’s most ambitious effort to save common plants and animals. More than 20,000 people, including school kids, are expected to take part in a three-day “bioblitz” to create a town-by-town inventory of every species living in the state that is bigger than a one-millimeter […]

Quitos Never Prosper

Major environmental groups in Ecuador, led by Fundacion Natura, banded together yesterday to announce their official opposition to a billion-dollar pipeline project that would double the country’s crude oil output. Ecuador’s Energy Ministry is expected to decide whether to grant the project an environmental permit early in June. The pipeline would go straight through the […]

Have the Bushies done enviros a favor?

Remember that old line that tells you to beware of getting what you wished for? The Bush administration and the timber industry may be on the verge of providing another illustration. Even with a federal judge on their side. The roadless travails. Photo: U.S. Forest Service. The administration wished to get rid of the National […]

Carr Crash?

Voters in British Columbia, Canada, yesterday got rid of the country’s most left-leaning provincial government, headed by the New Democratic Party, and overwhelmingly voted for the conservative Liberal Party instead. In the final days of the campaign, NDP leader Ujjal Dosanjh pleaded with environmentalists to “come home” to his party and vented against Green Party […]

The Finnish Line

The Finnish parliament began debating a controversial plan yesterday to bury waste from Finland’s nuclear power plants at a site some 1,600 feet underground. If the plan is approved, Finland will become the first country in the world to store nuclear waste deep underground. Environmentalists are protesting the proposal. Meanwhile, the Japanese government is poised […]

Army of Darkness

Saying that the U.S. faces a “darker future” if it doesn’t boost its domestic energy supply, President Bush unveiled his long-awaited proposal today to open more federal lands to oil and gas drilling, build many more power plants, and increase the production of nuclear power in the country. Under the plan, Bush will issue one […]

Cool Air, Just Don't Breathe It

Environmental officials in Utah yesterday eased air-quality rules temporarily to allow communities in the state to rev up diesel generators so that residents can blast their air-conditioning this summer. Some cities fear they will experience blackouts this summer, as a lack of rain, inadequate conservation, and ties to the energy crunch in California have led […]