Climate Technology
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40 Acres and a Tax Break
California environmentalists and farmers rejoiced yesterday when Gov. Gray Davis (D) restored $40 million in funding for farmland and open-space protection under the Williamson Act. Together, farmers and enviros had lobbied heavily against the proposed elimination of the act, under which the state pays back counties for property taxes lost when landowners are given lower […]
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Pay Dirt
The “polluter pays” principle may be languishing in the U.S. under the business-friendly Bush administration, but it’s alive and well in Europe, where the European parliament voted this week to strengthen rules to make companies pay for the environmental problems they cause. Spurred on by the recent Prestige disaster, in which a tanker spilled tens […]
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William Shutkin reviews Bronx Ecology and Tilting at Mills
These are tough times for environmentalists, what with the Bush administration’s frontal assault on environmental policy, drastic funding cuts and layoffs in state environmental programs, and the aftermath of a war in Iraq fought, in the opinion of many, over our nation’s undying addiction to oil. It’s thus fitting, if somewhat disheartening, that along come […]
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Beehive State Stung
Outdoor recreation retailers are threatening to pull two trade shows out of Utah because they don’t like Gov. Mike Leavitt’s (R) efforts to curtail wilderness designations in the state. With $24 million in trade-show-generated revenue at stake, a worried Leavitt has agreed to meet with outdoor industry leaders to discuss the matter. “The governor is […]
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Canada-Do Spirit
Societies tend to measure progress in narrow economic terms — gross domestic product, employment figures, trade deficits. Now an influential team in Canada is proposing that the country become the first in the world to measure its ecological health with the same care and precision. The National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy today […]
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Things That Make You Go Hummer
Yesterday, Grist reported that the average fuel efficiency of U.S. vehicles is at a 22-year low. Today, we’re happy to report that at least people are upset about it. A survey of complaints about new vehicles, released yesterday by J. D. Powers and Associates, found that fuel consumption was the second-most-common complaint among all respondents. […]
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Colorado’s proposed water projects could sink the environment
This March, the Denver Broncos football team agreed to spend $40 million on a seven-year contract with its new quarterback, Jake Plummer. Since winning two Super Bowls at the end of the 1990s, the Broncos have struggled just to make the playoffs. At his introductory press conference, Plummer predicted, “Winning a Super Bowl is what […]
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Daewoozy
An automobile company lobbying for stricter emissions standards? It might sound like an unlikely tale, but not when the bottom line is at stake. General Motors is pressuring the South Korean government to impose tougher standards for diesel emissions than it is currently considering. Here’s why: The automaker is trying to increase the competitiveness of […]
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Driving Us Crazy
Toyota last week unveiled a spiffy new version of its hybrid gas-electric Prius, which will get better gas mileage (55 miles to the gallon), emit fewer air pollutants, and give passengers more room than previous Prius models. The car will hit showrooms late this year as a 2004 model. Toyota also said it plans to […]
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A Peruvian activist takes on the fishmeal industry
Maria Elena Foronda Farro was born to be an activist. Her father, a union lawyer in Chimbote, Peru, taught her — through words and by example — about the importance of social justice. Foronda, who grew up in Chimbote and earned a master’s degree in sociology in Mexico, is now applying her father’s lessons to […]
