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  • Rubbers? Ducky!

    Condom Factory in Brazil to Fight AIDS, Deforestation Giving new meaning to the promise of “protection,” a new condom factory in northwest Brazil is expected to not only fight the spread of AIDS in that country (one of the world’s hardest-hit by the disease) but also to slow the destruction of native old-growth forests. The […]

  • Industry flacks learn how to snooker the public with their not-so-eco-friendly messages

    This morning, some 50 people powwowed in the chandeliered Ticonderoga conference room of the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill for a conference entitled “Environmental Issues 2004: How to Get Results in an Election Year.” There weren’t more than a handful of environmentalists in attendance — perhaps because the conference was hosted by the National […]

  • The Big Disease-y

    New Controls Needed on Wildlife Trade to Prevent Disease, Scientists Say Leading wildlife and conservation experts from 10 nations say that stronger controls on global wildlife trade are needed to stem the spread of deadly diseases from exotic animals to humans. “Most wild-caught animals found in pet shops and food markets have never been tested […]

  • The Oil Hits the Fan

    Oil Pipeline Through Georgian Republic Runs Into Trouble A $3 billion, 1,000-mile pipeline — slated to be pumping oil from the newly opened Caspian oilfields through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey to the world market by April 2005 — has run into a whole mess of trouble. Environmentalists and many local groups are incensed that the […]

  • Houston, We Have a Solution

    Supporters Claim $300 Billion Energy Plan Would Create 3.3 Million Jobs A coalition called the Apollo Alliance released a report on Wednesday proposing and outlining a 10-year, $300 billion investment in alternative energy sources, which it claimed would create 3.3 million jobs and more than pay for itself through energy savings and economic stimulation. The […]

  • All-wheel Jive

    Subaru Outback to Become “Light Truck” to Avoid Fuel Economy Rules As of next year, Subaru’s Outback sedan will be classified as a “light truck,” thanks to some technical modifications to its ground clearance and back bumper position. The revised classification will place the car … er, truck in a category requiring (as of 2005) […]

  • Sales Pitched

    Forest Service Cancels Timber Sales in Tongass The U.S. Forest Service plans to cancel 20 timber sales in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest — not because it’s dedicated to preserving old growth in the vast rainforest, but because the sales were sure to be money-losers for logging companies. Enviros are feeling vindicated by the development; they […]

  • To Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

    Energy Execs Pay to Create Environmental “To-Do” List with GOP Reps Business execs from power, coal, and mining companies are powwowing with more than a dozen GOP lawmakers from Western states this week in Phoenix, Ariz., at a conference focused on energy and environmental issues that boasts, among other activities, a session during which attendees […]

  • Michelle Nijhuhis reviews Power to the People by Vijay Vaitheeswaran

    Just before Thanksgiving, Senate Democrats (with the aid of a few Republicans) stymied the massive national energy bill, guaranteeing that debate on the measure would drag into an election year -- and significantly reducing its chance of passing. The setback surprised some observers because the bill, which currently weighs in at just under 1,200 pages, was carefully designed by congressional leaders for maximum political appeal: Its ethanol subsidies tempted farm-state Democrats, while renewable-energy perks drew endorsements from advocates of wind and solar power.

  • Hey, Where Is Everybody?

    Deafening Silence Greets Bush’s Call for Voluntary Pollution Cuts Two years in, President Bush’s “Climate Leaders” program — a call for commitments from companies to voluntarily cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent or more within a decade — has seen only 50 of the thousands of polluting companies in the U.S. sign up, […]