Latest Articles
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Enviros try to put the R back in the NRC
Watchdogs say the Nuclear Regulatory Commission compromised public safety with its decision late last month to grant long-term renewal of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland. Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. Photo: Dan Hamilton. With the decision, the plant, tucked on a rural peninsula along the shore of […]
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The Trees Are Beautiful, Wish You Were Here
The Sierra Club yesterday began delivering 600,000 postcards to Congress and President Clinton urging them to protect giant sequoias in California, trees that can live up to 3,000 years and grow to 100 feet around at the base. Many of the remaining sequoias are within national parks, but enviros are pushing for additional protections for […]
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Nonpointing in the Right Direction
In a significant ruling that means average citizens could more bear more responsibility for reducing water pollution, a federal judge has upheld the right of the U.S. EPA to set limits for river pollution caused by runoff from logging, agriculture, and urban areas. Farm and timber groups argued in a lawsuit that the EPA could […]
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Goodness Glacious!
If climate change proceeds, the melting of Greenland’s glaciers could pose a serious threat, say scientists. In a study published in today’s issue of the journal Nature, researchers found that the glaciers of Greenland are more susceptible to melting than the West Antarctic ice sheet, which scientists have been watching for years for signs of […]
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NAS-ty Boys
Genetically modified (GM) crops have the potential to pose food safety risks and harm the environment so the U.S. government should do a better job of regulating the industry, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) said yesterday in a high-profile report. Still, the report, prepared by a panel of 12 scientists, was seen by many […]
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Fool's Gold
125,000 metric tons — estimated amount of gold mined worldwide since historical times 2,500 metric tons — amount of gold mined worldwide in 1998 360 cubic feet — amount of waste rock removed in order to produce enough gold to make an average pair of gold wedding bands 31 — number of fatalities in gold […]
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A Bunch of Spoil Ports
A ship carrying toxic waste from U.S. military bases in Japan is likely to meet with controversy when it docks later today in Seattle. The 90 tons of PCBs had been en route to Vancouver, Canada, but the Canadian government abruptly rescinded a permit for the waste to be unloaded, a U.S. EPA spokesperson said […]
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Free the Condor 8
Nearly 14 years after she was captured and placed in a breeding program to help save her species from extinction, a California condor known as Adult Condor No. 8 was set free yesterday in a wilderness area northwest of Los Angeles. The old-timer was joined by two 10-month-old condors born and raised in the Los […]
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The Man With the Goldman Touch
Rodolfo Montiel, a Mexican environmentalist who is now in prison as a result of his activism, today will be awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, perhaps the most prestigious award given to environmentalists. In 1995, Montiel began fighting against logging of virgin forests near his village in the mountains north of Acapulco, some of which was […]
