<B><U>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U> Un amigo mío rehusa nadar en nuestra playa cerca de Los Angeles porque el agua está demasiado sucia. ¿Cuál es el estado de la polución costera, y es peligroso que yo y mis chicos nos echemos un chapoteo en el agua?</B>
<B><U>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U>¿Cómo puedo reducir la cantidad de cuentas impresas que me llegan a la casa?</B>
Fortunately for the world’s dwindling forests, a growing number of financial institutions, utilities and universities are implementing paperless billing options that not only save paper, but time and money, too.
Seven northeastern states announced last week that they would participate in the nation’s first carbon dioxide emissions trading program in order to limit greenhouse gases from power plants. Analysts point out that the new agreement is relatively weak in comparison to a similar plan already underway in Europe, but agreed that it is a step in the right direction nonetheless.
The California Fish and Game Commission announced last week that it was creating the nation’s second largest network of marine reserves off that state’s central coast in order to protect and help restore depleted fisheries there. The new network encompasses 29 marine protected areas from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz. Commercial and most sport fishing will be banned in an area covering about 200 square miles of coastal waters.
I"m writing this column in longhand with a pen Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell used to sign a pioneering clean car bill. In a measure previously taken only in California that provides a model for the entire nation, Connecticut will now require cars sold in the state to display a window label disclosing how much global warming gas (primarily carbon dioxide, or CO2) they emit. It’s a measure we may see echoed soon in other states that follow California emission laws, including New York, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Pollution levels are not the same at all beaches, so local conditions dictate whether or not it is safe to swim in the ocean near you. Local officials are required by federal law to monitor coastal pollution levels and post warnings as needed.
<B><U>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U> ¿Cuáles son la principales causas de la mortalidad infantil alrededor del mundo, y que podemos hacer al respecto?</B>
<U><B>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U> ¿Por qué se pone tan mal la calidad del aire durante olas de calor?</B>
ir quality decreases during times of hot temperatures because the heat and sunlight essentially cook the air along with all the chemical compounds lingering within it. This chemical soup combines with the naturally occurring nitrogen oxide in the air, creating
Environmentalists are calling the new campaign to remove Yosemite National Park’s O"Shaughnessy Dam and restore the majestic canyon of the Hetch Hetchy Valley "a piece of unfinished work that John Muir left to his heirs." The battle over whether to dam Hetch Hetchy for drinking water and hydropower a century ago transformed Muir’s Sierra Club into a political force to be reckoned with, even though dam proponents won out.
Consumers already outraged at high gas prices this summer have one more reason to fume. Last week’s announcement by UK-based BP that it was shutting down Alaska’s largest North Slope oil field after discovering dangerous corrosion along its feeder pipeline has driven prices at the pump to new record highs in some parts of the U.S. The oil field in question accounts for about eight percent of all domestic oil production.
