In response to pressure from environmental groups and the Norwegian government, Ford Motor Company decided last week to spare 400 electric vehicles from the wrecking ball. The futuristic vehicles will be sent back to Norway, their country of origin, for resale to willing consumers.
London’s "red" mayor, Ken Livingston, was widely believed to have gone "too far" a year ago when he announced a plan to hit commuters with a special congestion charge every time they entered the central city.
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.
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.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is supporting proposed state legislation calling for the addition of solar energy systems to one million homes across California by 2017 to save electricity and cut pollution.
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.
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.
Tampons have been around since the 1930s, and women have largely taken their safety for granted. But over the past three decades there has been a staggering increase in illnesses that were once thought of as rare, including endometriosis, fibroids (growths in the uterus), pelvic inflammatory disease, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and cancer, causing some to take another look at those ubiquitous products.
