Latest Articles
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Thanks for Nothing, Big Guy
Pres. Clinton on Friday signed a $15 billion emergency spending bill that will help fund NATO’s air war in Yugoslavia and hurricane-relief efforts in Central America, even though the bill contained several anti-environmental riders that his administration had opposed. He said the pressing need for the funding overrode concerns about the riders, including one that […]
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Spain Is Banging Its Head over Heavy Metal
The region in Spain near the Guadiamar River is still reeling from an ecological disaster that took place one year ago, when the waste reservoir of a nearby zinc mine burst open and spilled more than one billion gallons of toxic slurry into the river, flooding hundreds of farms. The noxious waste has contaminated the […]
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Brower Beaten
David Brower, the 86-year-old environmental legend, on Saturday abandoned his bid to become president of the Sierra Club, acknowledging that he didn’t have enough votes among the board of directors. He backed the nomination of Chuck McGrady, who was unanimously elected to a second one-year term. Brower, who sits on the board, had criticized the […]
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A review of 'Women Pioneers for the Environment' by Mary Jo Breton
In 1993, Emma Must, irate over the British Department of Transport's plans to plow through yet another grassy hillside for yet another highway extension, chained herself by the neck to the axle of a bulldozer for five hours. Her bold antics and those of a band of like-minded peaceful protestors stalled construction of the highway for six months, but ultimately their campaign failed. Out of the ashes of Must's effort, however, rose a tide of public anger that swelled Britain's anti-road movement and forced the DOT to dramatically scale back its building plans and reassess transportation policy throughout the country. For Must's leadership in the anti-road movement, she earned a Goldman Environmental Prize in 1995, the environmental community's equivalent of the Nobel.
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Corn Canned
Following publication yesterday of a study that found genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies, the European Union governing body suspended approval for two types of gene-altered corn. Two other types have already been approved by the EU. In all, 18 genetically modified products have been approved by the EU since 1992; however, there has […]
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Biz Cool to Bush's Warming Stance
Pro-business types are aghast at Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s (R) recent announcement that he believes global warming is underway. Bush, the top GOP presidential contender, said he changed his position after meeting with advisers who agree that there is “some warming, but disagree about its cause and impact.” The head of the Environmental Defense […]
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Browner Courts a Fight
The Clinton administration will do its darndest to overturn an appeals court decision made last week that invalidated EPA clean-air regulations on ozone and particulates, EPA Administrator Carol Browner said yesterday. In addition to appealing the ruling, which Browner called “extreme, illogical, and bizarre,” the administration will press on with its efforts to crack down […]
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Invasion of the Habitat Snatchers
As of July 1, ships planning to enter U.S. waters will have to show they are doing their part to stem the tide of invasive species. The Coast Guard is implementing new regulations that will require big ocean vessels to empty their ballast tanks at sea before entering U.S. waters, in theory washing out foreign […]
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Nuclear Leak
Three nuclear power plants in New England held closed-door discussions with a British company last year about the possibility of shipping their high-level nuclear waste to the U.K. Though the negotiations went nowhere, British anti-nuke groups were angry this week when news of the discussions leaked out. The New England nuclear plants want to shut […]
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Brower Tries to Climb Sierra Again
David Brower, the outspoken, 86-year-old American conservationist, is making a bid for the presidency of the Sierra Club, a group with which he has had a hot-and-cold relationship over the years. Should he become president, Brower has said he would reopen the issue of immigration, which caused a big schism in the group last year, […]
