Latest Articles
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Helter Smelter
Enviros are cheering a decision by an international environmental panel to investigate Mexico’s handling of an abandoned lead smelter in Tijuana that has become a symbol of pollution problems along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, established by a side accord of the North American Free Trade Agreement, agreed to compile a report […]
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Can You Hear the Drums, Fernando?
A controversial bill due to be debated in the Brazilian Congress next week would cut the legally protected portion of the nation’s Amazon region from 80 percent to 50 percent. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso promised yesterday to fight the measure. Enviros warn that the bill would dramatically increase destruction of the Amazon rainforest, the […]
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A 3M-tive Strike
3M Co. announced yesterday that it will stop producing many of its well-known Scotchgard oil- and water-repellant products after finding that one of the chemical compounds they contain lingers in the environment for years and is found widely in the bloodstreams of people around the world. 3M says that the substance, perfluorooctanyl, has not been […]
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Bad News for Dr. Atkins
A draft of a much-delayed report from the U.S. EPA concludes for the first time that at least one form of dioxin is a “human carcinogen,” while other dioxins are “likely” carcinogens. The chance of developing cancer for those who eat large amounts of fatty foods and dairy products, which are relatively high in dioxins, […]
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This Leaves a Lott to Be Desired
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and nine other GOP senators introduced a bill yesterday that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. The measure, which is aimed at decreasing American dependency on foreign oil, would also establish tax incentives for some low-producing oil wells, lower royalties for some oil exploration, […]
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Chasing Tailpipe
The Clinton administration today will propose regulations that would force big cuts in emissions from new diesel trucks and buses and require that diesel fuel be almost free of sulfur, which can foul up anti-pollution equipment. The EPA estimated that the rules, which would begin going into effect in 2006 and 2007, would cut tailpipe […]
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And other words from readers
Re: Lean and Green Dear Editor: I read with interest your story on the family in Colorado that made the choice to live more simply and consume less in an effort to improve their quality of life and lessen their impact on the environment. I fully endorse the idea of simplifying one’s life, spending less, […]
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Soylent Bean
Brazil is in the process of deciding whether to allow the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops, and many observers believe that its decision could play a big role in determining the future of GM technology worldwide. The U.S., Brazil, and Argentina together grow 80 percent of the world’s soybeans, a crop used in countless […]
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U'wa Ta Shame
A court in Colombia gave the go-ahead yesterday to Occidental Petroleum to drill for oil on rainforest land claimed by the U’wa indigenous tribe, overturning an earlier court decision that had suspended drilling in response to a petition from the U’wa. Work on construction of an exploratory drilling site is expected to resume immediately. The […]
