Latest Articles
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They Couldn't Car Less
A community of residents Freiburg, Germany, has launched the nation’s biggest experiment in car-free living. The Vauban development — which includes 280 new homes on 94 acres — bans cars within its limits, so people happily get around by bike and on foot. About half of the residents have given up their cars completely, while […]
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Rain Drops Stopped Falling on My Head
Pollution from coal-burning power plants and other sources may prevent snow and rainfall in downwind areas, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem studied satellite data and found that pollution particles cause water in clouds to spread out thinly, preventing it from forming into […]
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Taking the Lawn Into Their Own Hands
The EPA is cracking down on pollution from lawnmowers, weed-trimmers, and chainsaws with new rules announced yesterday. It may seem like small potatoes, but 20 million small engine-powered devices are purchased by Americans each year, and together these devices are the second-largest contributor to smog after automobiles. The new EPA pollution rules, to be phased […]
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Card-Carrying Enviros
For the second year in a row, the Snake River in Washington state has been declared the most endangered river in the U.S. by American Rivers. The enviro group is pushing the Clinton administration to call this summer for the breaching of four dams on the Snake to help threatened salmon runs recover. The feds […]
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To Kjell in a Handbasket
Norway’s centrist Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik resigned today after losing a vote in parliament yesterday, when the opposition majority ignored his objections and eased pollution laws in order to allow gas-fired power plants to be built in the country. Bondevik of the Christian Democrat Party says gas power plants will raise pollution levels in […]
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No Canyon Do
The Sierra Club filed suit on Wednesday to stop a big development project proposed for a gateway community south of Grand Canyon National Park. “Building Northern Arizona’s largest shopping center at the entrance to the Grand Canyon is simply a bad idea,” said Sharon Galbreath of the Sierra Club. The group contends that the U.S. […]
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Primary Colors
The presidential primary contests came thundering to a halt this week and, on the Republican side, the environment appears to have played a major role in helping George W. Bush beat back John McCain. The height of the GOP battle was marked by bitter acrimony over a television ad paid for by Bush supporters that […]
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That Really Extincts!
It takes about 10 million years for the living world to recover from large-scale extinctions and produce mature ecosystems, according to a study published in today’s issue of the journal Nature. “When we got that result, I was just stunned,” said study coauthor James Kirchner of the University of California at Berkeley. Many biologists say […]
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The British Are Coming Closer
The UK is aiming to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 21.5 percent below 1990 levels by 2010, a reduction almost twice as large as the one the nation committed to under the Kyoto climate change treaty. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the goal yesterday as he unveiled a draft plan for complying with the […]
