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  • Baby, We Use Corn to Run

    House and Senate Reach Agreement Over Ethanol in Energy Bill Clearing one of the last major hurdles on the way to a final energy bill, negotiators from the House and Senate agreed yesterday on most parts of a plan to almost double the use of ethanol by 2012 and provide a new tax credit for […]

  • It’s Chemical (Let’s Do It)

    Europe Pushes for Chemical Testing, But U.S. Backs Voluntary Approach While the European Commission voted last week to require new safety testing of chemicals (though not nearly as strict of testing as environmentalists would have liked), the U.S. is making no such strides. Rather, an average of two new chemicals are approved for use in […]

  • Mileage-based car insurance could be a boon for the environment

    Most of us don’t think much about car insurance. We eyeball the policy every year, fiddle around with a few changes to bring down the premium, and then forget about it until the bills come. And come they do — each exactly the same amount, no matter whether we’ve driven across the country or left […]

  • What a Drag

    Coral Gardens in Alaskan Waters Spur Controversy Over Trawling If you think coral is only to be found in warm, tropical waters, think again. Cold-water coral gardens contain a surprising array of biodiversity, and scientists discovered a particularly impressive coral bed in waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands last year, containing numerous coral varieties not seen […]

  • The Good of Small Things

    Aussies See Big Business in Small Life Forms Here’s an investment tip from Down Under: bacteria. That’s right — Australian scientists are creating a range of bacteria-based products to help clean up the environment, and, while they’re at it, reap some of the riches of a $5 billion global market in environmental biotechnology. A coalition […]

  • A Turkey of a Project

    Big Pipeline Project Threatens Environment in Azerbaijan, Turkey BP and 10 other companies are plotting to build a 1,000-mile pipeline to carry oil from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Ceyhan, Turkey, at a cost of up to $4 billion. The project is enthusiastically backed by the U.S. government, which is on the lookout for new sources of […]

  • Chemical Reaction

    E.U. Waters Down Chemical Safety Testing Plan In a blow to advocates of environmental and human health, the European Union dramatically narrowed the scope of its plan to require safety testing for tens of thousands of chemicals. The move was motivated primarily by financial concerns, and the narrower plan is expected to save billions of […]

  • Poor Judgment

    Company Warns Poor and Minorities They Will Suffer if N-Plant Is Closed The power company Entergy Nuclear Northeast is warning low-income and minority citizens in New York that more power plants will be built in their neighborhoods if the state’s highly controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant is closed. Critics say the move is an […]

  • Thar and Thar and Thar She Blows

    Southern Right Whales Rebounding in South African Waters In a rare bit of good news about the marine environment, southern right whales are making an impressive comeback in the waters of South Africa. The mammals were pushed to the brink of extinction by whaling until protections were put in place in 1935; in recent years, […]

  • Coffee Roasting on an Open Fire

    Eco-Friendly “Java Log” Aims for More of the Fake Firewood Market Ah, winter — icicles on the eves, smoke rising from the chimneys, a crackling fire, and emerging from it, that fragrant, familiar smell of … coffee? Yep, that’s right: A Canadian company is marketing fake logs made of recycled coffee grounds. Other fake logs, […]