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How Interest-ing

The U.S. is canceling part of Bangladesh’s debt and allowing future interest payments to go toward paying for forest protection in the tropical country, the first such agreement under a U.S. debt-for-nature law passed in 1998. The shift will free up about $8.5 million over 18 years for conservation of Bangladeshi forests. U.S. Treasury Deputy […]

And other words from readers

Dear Editor: I’m a little concerned with the pressure environmental groups are putting on less developed countries (whose standards of living are below those of the U.S.) to halt what many in these countries might see as improvements in their daily lives. I say this mainly because many people living in these areas look to […]

The Price Is Wrong

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced yesterday that his nation will launch a sweeping plan to conserve energy by the end of the year. As France emerged from a week of disruptive protests by truckers and others over high gasoline prices, Jospin said soaring fuel costs should be an incentive to conserve energy and promote […]

Miss-taken

The Miss Waldron’s red colobus, a large West African monkey, has gone extinct, say scientists in the October issue of the journal Conservation Biology. This is the first time in several centuries that a member of the primate order, the taxonomic group to which humans belong, has gone extinct. The scientists warn that the pace […]

Melbourne Place

Thousands of enviros and other anti-globalization activists took to the streets of Melbourne, Australia, yesterday, with the aim of shutting down, Seattle-style, a three-day World Economic Forum meeting of high-powered corporate leaders and policymakers, primarily from the Asia-Pacific region. “We have no vote on who these major world leaders are,” said Michael Gann, a protestor […]

Sink Like a Butterfly

Monarch butterflies may be in trouble due to the degradation of a forested region in central Mexico that serves as critical habitat for the migratory species during the winter. The first scientific study of the habitat found that in the past 30 years, the forest has been transformed by illegal logging, cattle grazing, farming, and […]

Don Cry for Me

A landmark conservation bill sponsored by Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) and Sen. Frank Murkowski (R) — which also has the support of environmentalists, sports groups, local governments, and federal officials — may not make it out of Congress. The bill, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, would direct $3 billion a year from offshore oil […]

Deborah Tabart, Australian Koala Foundation

Deborah Tabart is executive director of the Australian Koala Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to the conservation of the koala and its habitat. Monday, 11 Sep 2000 BRISBANE, Australia When the Olympics begin this Friday, the world will be watching Australia. Beautiful images of koalas will be beamed across the globe, but there will be […]

And We'll Have Fund, Fund, Fund

Last year investors put nearly $3 trillion into investment portfolios and funds that are screened for social responsibility, up from $639 billion in 1995, according to the Social Investment Forum. And 79 percent of those portfolios focus on companies’ environmental records, up from 37 percent in 1997. Advocates of eco-friendly investing argue that companies with […]

Why do we compete even though we know it hurts us?

Not beary funny. Photo: Art Wolfe, Inc. I’ve heard the joke about the bear before, and so, probably, have you. Two guys are sitting outside their tent in a forest campsite when they see a huge angry bear charging toward them. One starts lacing up his running shoes. The other says, “Are you crazy? You’ll […]