Latest Articles
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Go West, Young Wolf
Wolf populations introduced into Idaho three years ago are thriving and expanding westward, with wolves expected to hit Oregon within one or two years, says Pete Frost of the National Wildlife Federation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been surprised by the quick migration. Some Oregon residents, particularly ranchers, are less than thrilled by […]
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Putting in Their Two-Pence Worth
British customers are quite interested in buying their electricity from renewable sources, but they are reluctant to pay more than 10 percent over regular prices for it, according to a new Harris poll on the country’s electricity market. Britain this week completed deregulation of its market, and the poll found that the marketing pull of […]
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Enforcement Like a Bump on a Log
California’s logging rules and enforcement are too weak, allowing excessive tree cutting that leads to mudslides, damaged water supplies, and endangered fish and wildlife, according to a study released yesterday by a U.S. Forest Service geologist. Meanwhile, as part of a 50-year habitat conservation plan, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell (D) yesterday proposed that logging be […]
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FAO Swats Pesticides
More than 100,000 stocks of obsolete pesticides in Africa, the Middle East, Poland, and the Ukraine pose serious threats to human health and the environment, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO said funding is needed to remove the poisons. In many developing nations, metal drums filled with pesticides are corroding and […]
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Canadian Commissioner's Poison Pen
The Canadian government is failing to protect its citizens from toxic chemicals and pesticides, according to a damning report released yesterday by Brian Emmett, the nation’s commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. He criticized the government for relying on an ineffective system of voluntary programs to measure and reduce toxics, and for failing to […]
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Bye Bye Birdies
More than 25 years after DDT was banned, newer, more powerful pesticides continue to kill birds and fish, threatening the survival of a number of species, according to a study released yesterday by California enviros. The study calls on California and the feds to ban three pesticides — diazinon, a popular household garden pesticide, and […]
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Razers Have the Edge
In a major victory for Italian environmentalists, a huge hotel built 30 years ago on a rocky cliff overlooking the Mediterranean is being demolished. Parliament passed a special law to raze the Fuenti hotel, which has never been opened to visitors and has been dubbed Italy’s worst “eco-monster” by a leading conservation group. Hundreds of […]
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Look for the Onion Label
As controversy over genetically modified crops mounts, a federal task force will report by the end of July on whether genetically engineered foods should be labeled so consumers know what they’re getting. The biotech industry complains that such labeling would be expensive and unnecessary. Meanwhile, a National Academy of Sciences panel is conducting a review […]
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The Jury's In
Property rights advocates had cause to celebrate yesterday as the Supreme Court ruled that landowners who sue local governments over their land use regulations can be entitled to a jury trial. The case concerned a California developer whose plans to build a residential complex were rejected by the City of Monterey, which said the beachfront […]
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Prairie, the New Home Companion
Across the Midwest, the preservation and restoration of prairie lands are all the rage. In Kansas, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, one of the newest national parks, is gearing up for thousands of hiking tourists this summer, and a push is on to create another tall-grass prairie national park in Iowa. In Illinois, prairie boosters […]
