Latest Articles
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Get the Bread Out
Trial lawyers and politicians are hoping to wring a lot of money from the former producers of lead paint as the lawyers prepare a massive legal assault inspired by the recent attacks on tobacco companies. Lead paint — which can lead to lowered IQs, severe learning difficulties, and behavioral problems in children — was banned […]
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Hazy Shade of Winter
Scientists have been surprised to discover a massive haze of air pollution the size of the U.S. that covers the Indian Ocean during winter and combines with monsoon rains to cause acid rain over the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia during the summer. The haze is composed of several minute byproducts from the burning […]
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Float Like a Butterfly
More than 50 species of butterflies in Europe have begun migrating many miles north of their traditional ranges, an indication that global warming is underway, according to a report published in today’s issue of the journal Nature. The study suggests that many other species may also be on the move because of climate change, but […]
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Oh Stop, You're Killing Me
Three Republican senators from the Northwest — Slade Gorton (Wash.), Larry Craig (Idaho), and Gordon Smith (Ore.) — yesterday embraced a report released this week by enviros that indicates salmon are being harmed by global warming. In a Senate hearing, the lawmakers, who have not been known for their concern about global warming, made primarily […]
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Canada Gets a Sock in the Eye
Salmon runs on Canada’s west coast have declined drastically in recent years because of habitat destruction, overfishing, and changing ocean conditions, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pacific Fisheries Resource Council. The report also found that the Canadian Fisheries Department can’t do its job because it lacks the money to properly monitor salmon […]
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There Is No Free Lunch
The European Union’s plan to limit carbon dioxide emissions trading as a way of meeting climate change commitments will increase the cost of fighting global warming, according to a study released yesterday by the International Energy Agency. But the EU plan would lead to more “real” cuts in emissions, the IEA said. The EU is […]
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Sierra Club Leaping into Political Ring?
Latest buzz on the streets of San Francisco is the nascent mayoral candidacy of enviro wunderkind Adam Werbach, who at the ripe old age of 26 is already an ex-president of the Sierra Club. We tracked Werbach down at the production company he runs in the Bay Area to find out if he is serious […]
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Water Over the Dam
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, in a speech yesterday in Colorado to Western water officials, proposed setting minimum water levels for rivers and signaled his intention to redirect water toward environmental uses rather than agricultural irrigation or residential growth. Babbitt said that in coming years, more dams will be breached or modified to help restore rivers, […]
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Oil of No-Way
California Gov. Gray Davis (D) is pulling no punches in his fight to block new oil and gas drilling off the coast of central California. His administration yesterday unveiled a broad plan to pursue “whatever legal or regulatory action is available” to protect the coast from oil exploration. It’s likely to be a brutal battle […]
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One Can's Trash Is Another Plan's Treasure
One of the nation’s largest garbage-to-energy projects got underway in central Washington last week, capturing enough methane gas from a massive landfill to power 3,000 homes. A local public utility and an aluminum company have become its first customers, and other utilities, including Seattle City Light, are eyeing deals as the project heads toward its […]
