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Wetlands, the Quicker Picker-Upper?
Human-made marshes that filter water naturally are gaining in popularity as an alternative to high-tech water purifying systems, according to experts speaking at a National Marketplace for the Environment meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Partially treated wastewater and stormwater runoff are sent to constructed wetlands, where plants and microbes purify the water of silt and some […]
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Nuke Is a Nuke Is a Nuke
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, convinced that the nuclear industry is safer than ever, is eliminating its semiannual “watch list” of the nation’s most troubled nuclear power plants. In its place, the NRC will make a yearly announcement of plants needing “agency focus” and “regional focus.” Critics fear the decision will mean less oversight for the […]
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Gore Takes Bus to Swing Set
Vice Pres. Al Gore announced 47 modest federal initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and smart growth yesterday. In a keynote address in Detroit at the National Town Hall Meeting on Sustainable America — which is being attended by 3,000 community, environmental, and business leaders — Gore called for the development of abandoned industrial sites and […]
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Making S-U-Vs that Don't S-U-C-K
The Big Three automakers have agreed to consider adding gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles to a joint government-industry supercar program that aims to triple the gas mileage of popular vehicles. Vice Pres. Al Gore pressed top auto executives on the issue during a meeting in Detroit, emphasizing that expanding the program, known as the Partnership for a […]
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Euro Eco-Promo; France Rants
The European Commission launched a promotional campaign yesterday designed to attract $30 billion in private investment in solar, wind, and biomass technology by 2003. The “Campaign for Take-Off” aims to help the EU meet its goal of doubling renewable energy output to 12 percent by 2010. Meanwhile, France is pressing the EU to make energy […]
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Die-oxin
Chemical workers exposed to high levels of dioxin have a 60 percent increased chance of dying from cancer, but small doses of the chemical pose no risk to the general populace, a new study claims. Kyle Steenland, co-author of the study published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said the findings are […]
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Put a Tiger in Your Bank
Exxon argued in front of a packed courtroom yesterday that a judgement awarding $5.3 billion in punitive and compensatory damages against the company for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill is excessive and should be dropped. The company’s lawyers told a panel of three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Exxon […]
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Turtle Necks on Chopping Block
Southeast Asia is on the verge of completely killing off its once-bountiful turtle populations to feed the voracious demand for the critters in China, where they are sought as food and medicinals. Biologists say that in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, it can be nearly impossible to find even a single turtle in national parks […]
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Don't Pave Paradise — Put Up a Parking Garage
Parking lots are coming under fire from environmentalists. The lots can’t absorb rain, so water runs off the pavement, carrying pollution and causing erosion. At the same time, the lots absorb heat from sunlight, releasing it at night and raising temperatures in urban areas from six to 12 degrees compared to nearby rural areas. The […]
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Al "Soccer Mom" Gore
Suburban voters will be key in the 2000 presidential election, and candidates are courting the suburbs with different approaches. For example, Al Gore is pitching green-tinted issues that appeal almost exclusively to suburbanites — suburban sprawl, traffic congestion, open space preservation. But rather than framing the issues as environmental, he’s connecting them to families, speaking […]
