Latest Articles
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A review of 'Song of the Meadowlark' by James Eggert
In this gentle and disjointed collection of essays, economist James Eggert pushes his quantitative impulses aside and puts his ecological consciousness front and center. A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, he argues in Song of the Meadowlark: Exploring Values for a Sustainable Future that classical economic values should play second fiddle to what he terms "meadowlark values," or priorities that esteem the natural world over indiscriminate growth. Eggert propounds that along with environmental impact statements, we as a society conduct "grandchild impact statements" to evaluate how our actions will affect the quality of life for generations to come.
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The Answer, My Friend, Is Funding in the Wind
The U.S. is putting up $1.5 million to export American energy-efficiency technology to China, Russia, Ukraine, and a number of Latin American countries. U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced the grant yesterday at an Earth Day news conference in New York, also noting that the Clinton administration later this year would launch a five-year plan […]
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Hasta la Vista, Baby?
Monsanto has temporarily tabled its controversial new “terminator technology” while it waits for completion of studies into its potential environmental, social, and economic effects, the company announced yesterday. The gene technology, which makes seeds sterile so farmers must buy new seeds each year, has spurred an uproar of angry protests around the globe, with some […]
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Congress Suffers Mass Midlife Crisis
A group of congressional members posed with their surfboards on Capitol Hill yesterday to celebrate the House’s unanimous passage of a bill setting national standards for beach water quality. The bill, now headed for the Senate, would make $150 million available to encourage state and local governments to test coastal waters and warn beach-goers when […]
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Protect Your Willy
The number of orca whales along British Columbia’s coast is on the downswing, prompting Canada to place the animal on its threatened species list. The orcas are suffering from declining stocks of salmon, an important food source, and potentially from whale-watchers, who sometimes follow the whales in groups of up to 100 boats. But because […]
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Damn Logjam
A plan to remove a dam from the Elwha River in Washington to help restore salmon runs seems to have hit another stalemate, even though the feuding parties agree the dam should come down. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) is insisting that a bill to fund the dam’s removal include a provision stating that no dam […]
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If They Can't Even Agree on This Number …
Utah Rep. Jim Hansen (R) stepped on the toes of environmentalists yesterday, Earth Day, by usurping the bill number that since 1989 has been attached to enviros’ Utah wilderness proposal. Hansen will assign the number H.R. 1500 to his own wilderness bill instead, which would impose a 10-year limit on the amount of time an […]
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Clean, Clean, Clean Up the Mississippi Mud
A diverse coalition aiming to clean up the Mississippi River is asking the feds to put up $1.1 billion over the next ten years for the cause, a 40 percent jump over current spending. The investment could help reverse the buildup of sediment and reduce the flow of fertilizer and other pollutants into the river, […]
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Oh Shenandoah, I Long to See Across You
Vice Pres. Al Gore is marking Earth Day today with a trip to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to announce a new plan that aims to clean up the air in national parks and wilderness areas to pre-industrial-era quality. New regulations will direct states to make notable air quality improvements every 10 years with a […]
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Thank You Soooo Much, Corporate America!
Corporate America is patting its own back today on Earth Day, touting the fact that businesses have spent $1 trillion over the past 30 years on environmental cleanups. “The theme is: ‘Thank business for cleaning up the environment,'” said US Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Frank Coleman. Environmentalists are not buying the talk. “To the extent […]
