Latest Articles
-
We-O-U
Because of the environmental damage they’ve caused, developed countries owe far more to developing nations than the amount of debt that developing nations have accrued by borrowing from richer governments and banks, according to a new report released by three British groups. The developed world is overwhelmingly responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that are […]
-
Ba Ha, Ahab!
Bowing to international outrage, Russia last week agreed to stop commercial whaling. A few days previously, a Russian ship carrying the meat of 36 beluga whales had arrived in Japan, the first time in 13 years that international trade in whales had been conducted. But when word of the sale leaked out, the U.S. government […]
-
I've Seen Floyd and I've Seen Rain
Hurricane Floyd brought serious environmental damage to a number of areas along the East Coast, officials are warning. In North Carolina, wastewater treatment plants have been flooded, and industrial facilities and warehouses are leaking chemicals and contaminants that could get into water supplies. In the Chesapeake Bay area, a great deal of pollution-laden sediment, much […]
-
Survey Says …
The flora and fauna of the Northwest are in serious decline because of human influences, according to a report released on Friday by the U.S. Geological Survey, the first large-scale assessment of such trends by the feds. Species declines are blamed on urban sprawl, population growth, the consumption of water for industry and agriculture, global […]
-
Wake Up and Smell the Biodiversity
El Salvador hopes to protect its wildlife and boost its income by charging a 5 percent premium for “biodiversity-friendly” coffee grown in the shade of native plants. While many other Central and South American countries switched in the 1970s to the pesticide-dependent method of growing coffee in direct sunlight, El Salvador stuck to the more […]
-
And on the Seventh Day, Ford Rested
An Amsterdam court today rejected the last challenge to the upcoming “Auto-Free Sunday,” clearing the way for a one-day ban on vehicles in the downtown area this weekend. The group Environmental Defense is spearheading the ban to call attention to pollution and congestion and convince people to give public transportation a try. Efforts are also […]
-
My Toxic Idaho
Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) is joining forces with enviros, ski bums, actor Harrison Ford, World Bank Pres. James Wolfensohn, and a host of Wyoming residents to fight plans to build a nuclear waste incinerator in Idaho. Two environmental groups plan to file suit today against the Energy Department, seeking an injunction to stop construction by […]
-
Far Fewer Firs Felled in Federal Forests
Logging on federal lands in the Northwest has dropped by two-thirds this year because of judicial rulings holding up timber sales, and the feds have stopped negotiating for any new sales in Oregon and Washington. Northwest lawmakers complain that it could be a year or more before logging of federal lands returns to expected levels, […]
-
Greens Vs. Genes
Enviros fighting genetically modified foods in Britain scored a point today when the government announced that it would not fight a legal challenge against its licensing of crop trials. Friends of the Earth had gone to court to stop a trial planting of genetically modified rapeseed, arguing that the government illegally made changes to the […]
-
Going Bananas over Kiwis
The kiwi bird, New Zealand’s national symbol, is in danger of going extinct within five to 10 years, enviros warn. New Zealand’s kiwi population is now estimated at 70,000, down from 5 million in 1923. Though the population has been declining for decades, a recent study by New Zealand’s Forest and Bird Society, which found […]
