Latest Articles
-
Mardi Gross
Rio de Janeiro’s self-image has taken a beating this year as its fabled beaches have been closed because a burst sewage line caused tons of untreated waste to be dumped close to shore. After months of mishaps and delays, the government claims that the flow of waste has been brought under control and that there’s […]
-
Finger-Lickin' Scary
The U.S. yesterday banned chicken and pork imports from Europe, one day after the EU began destroying chicken and pork from Belgium for fear that they may be contaminated with dioxin, a carcinogenic byproduct from the manufacture of some pesticides and herbicides. Alarm broke out last week when a European TV station reported that dioxin-laced […]
-
Indonesia Has a New Foe
Indonesia’s economic crisis is threatening the well-being not just of people but of wildlife. With widespread civic unrest in the nation, increased trafficking and poaching of endangered species are going unpunished. According to a report released this spring by Friends of the Earth (FoE), the Indonesian government, in an effort to boost its troubled economy, […]
-
A Gorge-ous House?
A contentious property rights battle is brewing in Washington state over the building of a large house that many say is marring the natural landscape of the Columbia River Gorge. Construction of the house, started two years ago, has been stalled because an oversight panel known as the Columbia River Gorge Commission has overruled county […]
-
The Reel Deal
A sweeping agreement between the U.S. and Canada to manage and conserve West Coast salmon runs is expected to be announced today. The 10-year deal, which would end a prolonged dispute over salmon between the two nations, would revolve around a jointly managed conservation trust fund of about $150 million. Millions from the fund would […]
-
White House Vs. Greenhouse
Pres. Clinton today will tell the federal government to hop to it when he issues an executive order calling on government agencies to use less energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent from 1990 levels by 2010. The U.S. government is the world’s largest energy consumer, spending more than $8 billion a year. Federal […]
-
Golden Boy Eyes Golden Gate
Former Sierra Club Pres. Adam Werbach is eying the mayorship of San Francisco and plans to decide in the next two weeks whether to make a run this November. The 26-year-old environmental wunderkind, who still serves on the Sierra Club board, has hooked up with a campaign consultant who once worked in Bill Clinton’s “war […]
-
Too Often Is Heard a Discouraging Word
Americans are discouraged by environmental problems and are losing interest in them, according to a new review of public opinion surveys. In 1989, 51 percent of Americans worried a great deal about the ozone hole and 35 percent about global warming. In 1997, those figures fell to 40 percent and 24 percent. Water pollution is […]
-
Spanish Fly in Face of Energy Tax
A European energy tax and other measures to combat climate change could create up to 1.9 million new jobs in the European Union, according to a study released yesterday by the World Wildlife Fund. Efforts to introduce a Europe-wide energy tax have been stymied by nations such as Spain that fear it would curb competitiveness […]
-
Poor Yeti
Glaciers in the Himalayas are threatened by global warming and most of them could melt within 40 years, perhaps causing catastrophic floods in areas inhabited by millions, according to a report published in today’s issue of New Scientist magazine. The study authors, scientists at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, say the glaciers in the Himalayas […]
