Indonesia is set to lose its last remaining tiger species–the Sumatran tiger–if the widespread illegal trade in tiger parts and rampant habitat loss is not stopped, according to a joint report issued by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.
Last week, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonpartisan watchdog group, reported a critical shortage of staff in America’s national parks. NPCA research shows that across the system, national parks operate on average with only two-thirds of the needed funding, constituting a system-wide shortfall that exceeds $600 million annually. This deficit has led to reduced staff in many parks, which in turn jeopardizes the quality of people’s visits, the preservation of natural treasures and cultural resources.
An amendment to reinstate the "polluter-pays" principle on Superfund clean-up sites failed to gain enough votes in the Senate last week. Environmentalists are optimistic though that the idea enjoyed bi-partisan support and put additional pressure on the Bush administration to prioritize the health and safety of communities over the bottom lines of corporate polluters.
According to an analysis released last week by the Department of Energy (DOE), opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil development would only slightly reduce America’s dependence on imports and would lower oil prices by less than 50 cents a barrel.
According to EPA officials, DuPont, the country’s second-largest chemical manufacturer, violated the federal Toxic Substances Control Act from June 1981 to March 2001 by not reporting health risks from exposure to the main ingredient in Teflon, its non-stick cookware coating and carpet protection product.
Citing the conservative gospel of states’ rights and forest fire protection, the Bush administration announced last week that it was replacing the "roadless rule" established by outgoing President Clinton with a new plan that would require state governors to petition the Forest Service to block any road-building in their states for logging purposes. While the controversial Clinton plan had closed off 58 million acres of inaccessible and in some cases pristine Forest Service lands to road building and ensuing timber extraction, the new plan puts the onus on governors—many of whom won office on the merits of their pro-development positions—to keep loggers out.
Airline Recycling is a Hit-and-Miss Proposition Call it a fly-by-night operation. A flight attendant zips down the aisle, grabs an empty soda can from an airline passenger, mumbles any old answer when asked if it will be recycled, and stuffs the can in a trash bag. There’s really no way of knowing if the soda […]
Over the last few years, diaper services in the Boston area have shut their doors, leaving parents who prefer cloth scrambling for alternatives.
WIC, A Federal Food Program, Gets Supplemental Common Sense.
Oak Grove International’s “Summerfield” line is fairly typical of the caskets American funeral directors sell. Available in nine rich colors, it’s lined with plush velvet trim. And because it’s made of thick, reinforced fiberglass, it’s not biodegradable, “thereby protecting the body from the environment, and the environment from the body, for countless tomorrows,” as the […]
