Latest Articles
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Birds Brained
A team of British researchers is calling for reform of Europe’s agricultural policies to give birds and wildlife a better chance of survival, warning that farming practices are causing “a second silent spring.” Thirteen bird species that live exclusively on farmland have declined by an average of 30 percent between 1968 and 1995, the team […]
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First Slick Willy, Now Slick Al
Vice Pres. Al Gore has accepted more than $80,000 in campaign contributions from employees of fossil fuel companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making it likely that he will surpass the $130,000 that Pres. Clinton received from such interests in the last presidential race. These contributions make some enviros nervous, but they have […]
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Super-Ultra-Excellent-Stupendous News
Nissan announced yesterday that it will introduce the world’s first super-ultra-low-emissions vehicle in California next year. The 2000 model year Sentra compact sedan has a four-cylinder engine, a super-efficient catalytic converter, and a system that eliminates evaporative emissions from unburned fuel. Nissan says the car will produce fewer total emissions during a 20-mile trip than […]
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Roof of the World Springs a Leak?
A third hole in the world’s ozone layer may appear above Tibet, according to scientists. An international delegation of experts from environmental groups has visited the region to study patterns of disease and changes in plants and wildlife that might be connected with depletion of the ozone layer. Holes in the ozone layer have already […]
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Bad Reaction
The operators of the vast majority of commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. have reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that their systems might not function as required during an emergency, according to an analysis of government data by Critical Mass, a nuclear safety group. Of 111 reactors licensed between 1996 and 1999, 102 […]
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Great, Scots!
Two private Scottish companies plan to install wave energy machines along Scotland’s west coast, one in the next few months and another by 2002. According to a report by the U.K. government, the cost of harnessing wave power has fallen dramatically in the last 17 years, making it almost commercially viable. The U.K. this year […]
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NAFTA Shock
Pollution from manufacturing plants in Canada and the U.S. is on the downswing, according to an annual report released yesterday by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, set up to monitor the environmental effects of NAFTA. Industrial contaminants fell by 5 percent in Canada and 2 percent in the U.S. in 1996, compared to 1995, and […]
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I Am the Walrus. Whom Do I Chew?
Climate change appears to be affecting the behavior of wildlife in the Arctic, say researchers who went on a Greenpeace expedition to the region last month. Brendan Kelly of the University of Alaska, head of the research team, noted that the walrus population in particular seems to be in decline. The researchers say the Arctic […]
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Can't See the Forest for the Smoke
Indonesian Pres. B.J. Habibie yesterday ordered immediate action to stop forest fires burning in the areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan, which are causing a thick, choking haze throughout much of Southeast Asia. But Walhi, Indonesia’s leading environmental group, said the government is much too late in moving to tackle the fires, which are being set […]
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Yuck a Mountain
Federal scientists studying Nevada’s Yucca Mountain say they have uncovered no environmental factors that would rule out the site as a future home for waste from nuclear power plants, according to a draft environmental impact statement released on Friday. Officials did, however, acknowledge “a substantial amount of uncertainty associated with estimates of long-term repository performance.” […]
