Latest Articles
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2 x CO2 = 3.5 Feet
Climate change may boost ocean levels by about 3.5 feet by 2550, according to Jerry Mahlman of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mahlman’s computer model assumes that by 2050, carbon dioxide concentrations will be double what they were in the 1700s and then stabilize at that level because of conservation measures. Mahlman stresses that […]
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A review of 'Use Less Stuff' by Robert Lilienfeld and William Rathje
Robert Lilienfeld and William Rathje have compiled a resolutely accessible guide to curbing consumption in Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are. The authors founded Use Less Stuff Day, celebrated since 1994 on the Thursday preceding Thanksgiving, in an attempt to convince consumers to change their wasteful ways, and this book is a how-to manual for implementing the principles of the holiday.
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A review of 'The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices'
Michael Brower and Warren Leon aim to distinguish their book, The Consumer Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists, from other laundry-list-like enviro books by telling readers which purchasing and lifestyle choices pack the greatest environmental punch. In contrast to volumes that bombard readers with 50, 100, or 1001 steps that they can take to spare the earth, Brower and Leon lay out 11 "priority actions," urging Americans to give careful consideration to, for example, the cars they drive, the appliances in their homes, and the amount of meat in their diets. At the same time, the authors tell readers to stop fretting over relatively minor issues such as the occasional disposable cup tossed in the trash and the paper-versus-plastic quandary.
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Don't Worry, the Frogs Are Just Bored
An outbreak in recent years of deformities in frog legs may be caused by a simple parasite found in nature rather than by chemical pollution, according to two new studies published today in the journal Science. The new research, conducted on Pacific tree frogs in California, suggests that limb deformities are caused by a tiny […]
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New Nukes Nuked
China has squelched plans to begin any new nuclear power projects in the next three years because the Asian economic crisis has cut into electricity demand, a Chinese nuclear industry official said yesterday. But the halt is expected to be temporary. “This does not mean bleak prospects for nuclear power development in China,” the official […]
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A Grisly Bill for Grizzlies
Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho) is pushing forward with a bill that would restrict the federal government’s ability to close forest and logging roads, mandating more public participation in the process. The U.S. Forest Service has closed or plans to close hundreds of miles of road in an eastern Idaho national forest to protect grizzly bears, […]
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Doggy Don't
Mexico City’s horrendous air pollution problem is being exacerbated by dog doo. More than 2 million dogs live in Mexico City’s inner Federal District and deposit at least 353 tons of waste a day, the vast majority of which is not scooped up by pet owners. The waste dries into dust that combines with particles […]
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Greens Seeing Red over Redwoods
The war between environmentalists and the logging corporation that owned the treasured Headwaters grove of ancient redwoods in northern California has been one of the nastiest altercations in American environmental history, reports the Washington Post in a long feature story. A controversial deal was struck last month in which the government paid half a billion […]
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Cloak, Dagger, and Turtle
A shroud of secrecy surrounds information about the northern bog turtle, a threatened species that makes its home in meadows from Massachusetts to Maryland, prime suburb territory. Its presence has delayed road and water projects in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Michael Klemens, who is developing a federal plan to save the species, thinks it […]
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Electric Cars Run Out of Gas
Honda has pulled the plug on its production of electric vehicles, becoming the first major automaker to admit that the battery-powered cars aren’t making inroads with consumers. Honda plans to focus on other alternative-fuel technologies, such as fuel cells, and some industry watchers speculate that the company’s move may indicate that it has another zero-emissions […]
