This week’s column consists of brief excerpts from just a day or two of the anti-Bush press releases, op-eds and news stories that cross my desk. As many commentators have pointed out, the Bush environmental policy is rarely fully visible. To understand all its scorched-earth implications, you have to read the fine print in thick government regulations, Presidential orders and agency filings. But poring over that material is exactly what some dedicated environmentalists do.
Environmentalists were optimistic last week that a new federal report acknowledging that emissions from automobiles and power plants have contributed to warmer temperatures in North America since 1950 would lead to a policy shift by the Bush administration on global warming. But despite the report, a White House spokesperson reiterated that President Bush still believes that the connection between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming is inconclusive, and that voluntary reductions are sufficient for the time being.
The National Park Service believes that pollution from Denver and its suburbs is taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems of nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. If left unchecked, ecologists worry that effects similar to those of acid rain will wreak havoc on the park’s alpine environments.
Environmentalists extol the energy-efficient and water-efficient nature of tankless hot water heaters. Saving the Earth is a tankless job.
Is there an established, proven connection between environmental toxins and breast cancer? And what can I do to avoid them if so?
Recent research does in fact show that the incidence of nut allergies among American and British children has tripled within the last two decades. No one knows for sure why, but because the phenomenon seems to be occurring only in developed countries
Dear EarthTalk: What is “biomass energy,” and where in the world is it used?
The Bush administration continues to stonewall on the subject of reducing mercury emissions, even though the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Michael Leavitt, admitted August 24 that fish in almost all of the country’s rivers and streams are heavily dosed with the toxic heavy metal.
Tired of candy coming in the same old flavors? Ecuador-based Yachana Gourmet offers organic alternatives to the candy mainstream. The all-natural Jungle Chocolate ($2.49) combines dried, roasted cacao beans (the source of chocolate) with sugar cane syrup and a variety of tasty ingredients.
Last week, the U.S. Forest Service approved another timber sale in an area previously protected from logging by the controversial Clinton-era "roadless rule." Both of the new timber sales are to take place in Southeast Alaska, where dwindling natural resources and a sluggish economy have conspired to drive unemployment rates to unprecedented highs.
