Latest Articles
-
Protecting Their Privates
Oregon environmentalists are lamenting the passage on Tuesday of a ballot measure that will amend the Oregon constitution to require state and local governments to pay private property owners when land-use or other regulations reduce the value of their property. Opponents argue that the property-rights, or “takings,” measure will hamper the state’s widely touted efforts […]
-
It's Sprawl Downhill From Here
Much to the disappointment of environmentalists, high-profile anti-sprawl ballot measures in Colorado and Arizona were defeated in yesterday’s election. A proposed amendment to the Colorado constitution that would have put dramatic constraints on development, requiring cities and counties to develop growth plans and let the public vote on them, was rejected by a margin of […]
-
London Birds Are Falling Down
Urbanization and climate change may be partly to blame for a serious decline in Britain of house sparrows, formerly the most common bird in the country. Max Nicholson, a 96-year-old bird watcher who has been conducting informal bird censuses for 75 years, said that this year he counted only eight sparrows in London’s Kensington Gardens, […]
-
Waiting for Uh-oh
Enviros are biting their nails along with the rest of America, waiting to hear the outcome of the presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush. It is known that Green Party candidate Ralph Nader fell short of the 5 percent of votes that would have earned the party federal matching funds in the […]
-
Airing Their Grievances
In one of the most significant environmental cases to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in years, the high court yesterday heard arguments on whether the U.S. EPA overstepped its bounds in setting new clean air standards for ozone and particulates in 1997. Industry groups argue that the Clean Air Act, as interpreted by the EPA, […]
-
That Can-do Spirit
A new report indicates that the New Hampshire State Prison for Women could save more than $13,000 a year through energy conservation — but what’s most surprising about the report is that it was produced not by efficiency specialists but by inmates, a first in the U.S. Fourteen inmates in an energy conservation class offered […]
-
![]()
![]()
A personal tribute to David Brower
What more is there to say about a man who wrote three autobiographies, has been profiled in virtually every magazine (from the New Yorker on down), and was interviewed on every television and radio show worth its salt? David Brower, 1912-2000. Photo: Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. I speak of David Brower, my friend and idol […]
-
A Maize of Problems
Genetically modified (GM) corn not approved for sale in Europe has been found in four supermarket brands of tortilla chips sold in Britain and Denmark, according to Friends of the Earth (FoE), which commissioned tests of the products. The four supermarkets, all of which claim their chips are GM-free, launched investigations into the claims yesterday. […]
-
The Year of Living Safely?
Last month marked the first time in a decade that Mexico City has gone a full year without a smog alert. The city was once considered to have the dirtiest air in the world, but Beijing, New Delhi, and other metropolitan areas now seem to have it beat. The improvement in Mexico City’s air is […]
-
A Last Encounter With the Archdruid
David Brower, one of the most important and uncompromising environmentalists of the 20th century, died Sunday night at his home in Berkeley, Calif, at age 88. As the first executive director of the Sierra Club from 1952 to 1969, Brower helped shape the modern-day environmental movement by boosting the group’s membership from 7,000 to 77,000 […]
