Latest Articles
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Why's Youse Guys So Mad?
Violence and threats against federal employees who manage land in the West are on the rise, with nearly 100 incidents taking place in 1998, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Such attacks have increased since the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City, with much of the problem attributable to anti-government radicals and extreme “wise-use” proponents […]
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Ebony Days for Ivory
Vietnam’s wild elephant population faces certain extinction unless action is taken to protect the animals, according to a study released yesterday by Fauna and Flora International, a British conservation group. Between 98 and 150 wild elephants now live in the nation’s fragmented forests, down from an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 in 1990. Though poaching for […]
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Banging Heads Over Hard Rock
Environmental regulations governing hard-rock mining on federal lands are applied unevenly and without necessary expertise, the National Research Council said yesterday in a long-awaited report. A committee of the council identified “several gaps in existing regulations that need to be filled,” and said federal agencies need more staff, more authority, and better information. Still, the […]
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Fish Don't Fry in the Kitchen, But Beans Do Burn in Brazil
Brazil’s southernmost state yesterday launched a big publicity push to keep farmers from illegally planting genetically modified soybean seeds smuggled in from neighboring Argentina. A black market is growing for the seeds, which save farmers money on herbicides and pesticides. Industry sources estimate that nearly 10 percent of Brazil’s soybean harvest could be genetically modified, […]
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Is McCain Able?
GOP presidential contender John McCain yesterday called for cutting federal subsidies for oil, gas, ethanol, and sugar and using the money to fund a school voucher program. A major theme of McCain’s campaign has been fighting special interests, and in going after the oil and gas subsidies, he strikes against an industry that is a […]
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If Not for the Courage of the Fearless Judge, the Minnow Would Be Lost
Enviros have won a big court case that could lead to the protection of more than 200 miles of streams in Arizona and New Mexico from mining, grazing, and development. A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must designate critical habitat for two federally listed endangered minnow species within five months. […]
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Motor Mouths
Federal regulators should crack down on pollution from power plants and factories and not put so much of the burden on cars, says AAA, the motorists’ advocacy group. The group is releasing a study today that found that pollution from automobiles has declined much more rapidly over the past 30 years than pollution from other […]
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Label Pains
The U.S. is considering requiring that genetically modified foods be labeled as such, but no decision has been reached, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson said this week. Some reports indicate that the U.S. hopes to develop a labeling proposal by the time of the World Trade Organization meeting that will begin in Seattle in […]
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This Plum Needs Some Pruning
The Sierra Club’s national board of directors is opposing a major swap of public and private land in Washington state, which was approved by the Senate last week. The board heard last week from residents of Randle, Wash., who live near a parcel of national forest called Watch Mountain that would be turned over to […]
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Gee, You Mean We Can't Trust the Nuclear Power Industry?
The owner of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut yesterday admitted that the plant had falsified environmental records and deliberately promoted unqualified plant operators, pleading guilty to 23 federal felonies and agreeing to pay $10 million in fines, the largest penalty ever for a U.S. nuclear plant. Prosecutors said the plant’s actions could have […]
