Latest Articles

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. […]

Guess What's in Store

The ongoing recall of genetically modified StarLink corn, which is not approved for human consumption, could cost businesses all along the food chain hundreds of millions of dollars as they try to track down and dispose of nearly 300 food products that may contain the corn, as well as contaminated grain shipments. The recall is […]

Has Carl Hiaasen created the new Hayduke?

Lost in the spinning swells of debate coverage was the news that, while in Florida preparing for the second debate, Vice President Al Gore purchased a copy of Sick Puppy, the most recent offering from the best-selling author and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen.

They Blindsided Me With Science

Three of the U.S. government’s top salmon scientists contend today in an article in the journal Science that breaching four dams on the lower Snake River in southeastern Washington might not be the best way to ensure the survival of salmon runs. The article by scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service supports the Clinton […]

In Hot Water

Radioactivity in waterways near a top-secret nuclear weapons complex in Siberia is higher than what would be released from 10,000 commercial nuclear reactors, making it the worst nuclear river contamination ever uncovered, U.S. and Russian watchdog groups announced this week. Between 1955 and 1967, the Soviet Union commissioned five nuclear reactors at the Siberian Chemical […]