Latest Articles

Set This Insecticide Aside

The EPA plans to effectively remove from the market all over-the-counter products containing chlorpyrifos, one of the most commonly used pesticides in the U.S., often sold under the brand name Dursban. The pesticide, made by Dow Chemical, is contained in some 800 consumer products, everything from lawn spray to flea collars. The EPA is expected […]

Please Don't Squeeze the Chairman

Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who became chair of the Senate Environment Committee six months ago following the death of pro-conservation Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), has been a not-entirely-unpleasant surprise for enviros. Many had feared that the conservative Smith would use his new position to lead a no-holds-barred assault on environmental protection. Instead, Smith has shown […]

Not Appealing

Enviros were unhappy yesterday at the news that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the EPA should have taken into account costs to industry when it issued tougher clean-air standards in 1997. Last week, the court agreed to hear the federal government’s challenge to a lower court ruling that invalidated those tougher air-quality […]

In Big With the League

Al Gore picked up the backing of the League of Conservation Voters yesterday, his first endorsement from a national environmental group. LCV President Deb Callahan: “His environmental achievements are the most extensive of any public official in high office.” Gore used the occasion to tout his green credentials and proclaim the launch of an “environmental […]

Net Loss

Populations of wild salmon in the North Atlantic have fallen to record lows, and if current trends continue, the salmon may be headed for extinction, the World Wildlife Fund said today. In the last 25 years, the number of large salmon returning to spawn in North American rivers has fallen from 800,000 a year to […]

Road, Road, Road Your Vote

Al Gore promised yesterday that as president he would expand the Clinton administration’s national forest roadless initiative to include the massive Tongass National Forest in Alaska, and would ban not just road-building but also logging on 43 million acres of undeveloped national forest land. Gore: “If I am entrusted with the presidency, it will be […]

The Gall!

America’s federal lands are increasingly threatened by thieves who make off with everything from mushrooms to cedar trees and sell the natural resources for profit. From 1991 to 1997, poachers stole 15,000 barrel cacti from federal lands in California, including the Mojave National Preserve, and sold them to makers of miznaga, a Mexican candy. Earlier […]

It's My Green Party, and I'll Vote How I Want To

Is a vote for Ralph Nader for president a vote in favor of a new greener, more progressive political movement or a de facto vote for Republican candidate George W. Bush? The Green Party nominee has campaigned in more than 35 states so far, hammering home his anti-corporate message and criticizing Al Gore for being […]

Pamela K. Miller, Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Pamela K. Miller is a biologist and director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). ACAT works to protect human health, water and air quality, and the natural environment by collaborating with affected communities under right-to-know and other laws. ACAT exposes polluters, seeks to hold them accountable, and offers technical assistance to citizens who want […]

Sonic Boon

The U.S. Navy has given up its controversial plans to test sonar systems off the New Jersey shore after enviros and federal regulators protested that the tests could harm whales and other marine animals. Two months ago, a dozen whales beached themselves in the Bahamas one day after Navy sonar exercises. Many scientists believe that […]