Latest Articles
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Green Berets
Greens in the French coalition government warned yesterday that they would quit the coalition if the cabinet proceeds with plans to replace aging nuclear plants with new reactors. The Greens regularly campaign for the elimination of nuclear energy, which provides 80 percent of France’s power, but this latest threat highlights their discontent with Socialist leadership. […]
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No Thanksgiving for Turkey
Even as Turkey grapples with the human tragedies caused by Tuesday’s earthquake, the nation is also confronted with serious environmental problems produced by the quake. The primary concern is a fire at Turkey’s biggest oil refinery in Korfez, which contains 700,000 tons of oil and has been burning out of control. On Wednesday, tens of […]
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Parliament Funkadelic
A bill to be considered by the Zambia parliament next week would strengthen forest protections in the country, as well as allow local communities, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties to participate in the management of forests. The bill would also give the nation’s environment minister the ability to declare species endangered and require the […]
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Of Mice and Estrogen
Research exploring the possible health risks of chemicals may be flawed because the mice used in lab experiments may be genetically tolerant of the pollutants to which they are being exposed, according to a new study in the journal Science. Researchers at the University of California at Davis exposed several strains of mice to chemicals […]
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The Dirt on Dirt
Improved farming practices and soil conservation measures in the U.S. have significantly reduced soil erosion problems, according to a study published in today’s issue of the journal Science. Stanley Trimble of the University of California at Los Angeles conducted a 26-year study of an area in Wisconsin and found that the soil erosion rate there […]
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Panel to Court: Kiss My Asthma
A government panel of air-pollution experts is pressing the EPA to accelerate its research into possible health problems caused by particulate pollution, despite a federal court ruling this spring that cast doubt on the agency’s power to regulate the tiny soot particles. The panel, assembled by the National Research Council, said that disrupting research into […]
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You Rock, Yurok!
After years of mutual ill will, California’s largest Native American tribe, the Yurok Indians, and the Simpson Timber Co., the biggest owner of forestland along the state’s northern coast, are partnering to help restore salmon runs along the Klamath River. The Yurok have long complained that silt from Simpson’s logging roads clogs the river’s tributaries, […]
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Amazon Grace
Although the Amazon rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate, a few projects are underway to develop sustainable logging techniques and replant denuded areas. Brazil’s Institute of Man and the Amazon Environment is studying reduced-impact logging and developing techniques to remove older trees without damaging younger ones and without cutting into profits. For its part, […]
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Y2-Kiev
A project to eliminate any Y2K bugs from 14 aging, problem-prone nuclear reactors in the Ukraine has just gotten underway, financed by Western governments. The experts working on the project say they are simply making sure the plants don’t shut down on New Year’s Eve, and they claim confidence that there are no safety problems […]
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Winged Victory
The peregrine falcon, which was pushed to the brink of extinction by widespread use of DDT, is expected to be removed from the endangered species list tomorrow, the first species to be delisted since 1994. At the beginning of this century, there were an estimated 3,900 breeding peregrine pairs; by 1975, the number had fallen […]
