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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 […]

Hi, Tech!

Calvert Group, a U.S. mutual fund company known for socially and environmentally responsible investing, announced yesterday that it is launching the first-ever socially screened fund investing in technology companies. The fund will avoid investing in companies that don’t meet Calvert’s standards in the areas of labor issues, human rights, product safety, and the environment, including […]

A Last Encounter With Al Gore?

During a final 30-hour, five-state campaign tour, Al Gore appealed yesterday to enviros and other supporters of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader to join the "main" contest and vote for Gore over George W. Bush. Speaking on a syndicated radio show, Gore said, "I don’t like the argument that a vote for Nader is a […]

Fabio Rosa, Ashoka Brazil

Fabio Luis de Oliviera Rosa is a fellow with Ashoka Brazil. An economist and lawyer, he has developed low-cost rural electrification models to improve quality of life for the rural poor and to slow urban migration. Monday, 6 Nov 2000 PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil At IDEAAS, the Brazilian NGO that I started, we are working in […]

Two brothers talk carbon sequestration

A while ago I wrote about Jonathan Foley, an environmental scientist at the University of Wisconsin, who is so appalled at the lack of government action on global warming that he has taken matters into his own hands. Through energy efficiency and solar energy, he and his family have greatly reduced their use of gas, […]

Congregatulations!

A growing number of religious leaders are getting active in environmental issues, urging their congregations to be good stewards of the earth. This fall, leaders in 16 states have joined an interfaith effort aimed at educating people about climate change. Last year, a group of “Redwood Rabbis” fought to save old-growth trees in California’s Headwaters […]

For Goodness Hake

Cod and western hake stocks in the North Sea are so low that the European Union may ban catches in much of the sea this year, predicts the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a British conservation group. Cod stocks have plummeted so dramatically in the past 20 years that they are now […]

Quaking Like a Reef

A Malaysian ship with a load of dangerous chemicals ran aground last week on the Great Barrier Reef off the northeastern coast of Australia, likely damaging about 150 feet of coral with the impact of its landing. The ship is still stuck on the reef, which is part of the world’s largest complex of coral […]

Happily Everglades After?

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed landmark legislation on Friday that would provide $1.4 billion to begin a 30-year effort to restore the Florida Everglades, one of the largest environmental restoration projects in history. The measure, part of a larger water resources bill, was approved by the Senate on Tuesday and is expected to be signed […]

Rats!

A naturally derived pesticide used by many organic farmers and home gardeners can produce the classic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in rats, scientists said this weekend at the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience. The scientists said the finding was the best evidence so far linking chemicals in the environment to Parkinson’s. Deborah A. […]