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Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even a Grouse
Large swaths of sage and grassland desert in the West are the focal point of a contentious debate over protections for the sage grouse, a large bird that some enviros have taken to calling the “spotted owl of the desert.” The American Lands Alliance and other enviro groups are preparing to petition the feds to […]
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They Weren't Wearing Their Lead Yarmulkes
Dozens of Israelis who worked at a nuclear reactor in a remote desert town are seeking millions of dollars in government compensation for cancer they claim resulted from their work. Years of attempts to settle the cases out of court have failed, and now the plaintiffs are pursuing a court case against Israel’s Atomic Energy […]
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Carbon Paper Stains U.S.
The world’s industrial nations aren’t likely to meet the timetables for cutting emissions of carbon dioxide as called for in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, according to a new study by the International Energy Agency. Continued economic growth in industrial nations has slowed a decline in the use of fossil fuels, according to IEA’s […]
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A Wolf in Ship's Clothing
Greenpeace joined with an international union of transport workers yesterday to launch a campaign against the world’s largest shipbreaking yard, which is located in western India. Shipbreaking, or the dismantling of decommissioned vessels, poses serious environmental risks because toxic wastes are often housed on the ships and appropriate environmental and safety precautions are not taken, […]
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News Flash: Congress Still Full of Jerks
Enviros are gearing up for a fierce battle with congressional Republicans over dozens of anti-environmental riders that have been tacked onto must-pass government appropriations bills. The riders would, among other things, permit more logging and road-building on national forests without wildlife surveys; block proposed restrictions on grazing in national parks; delay a proposed tightening of […]
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New Yuck State
Pres. and Hillary Rodham Clinton have received a unique gift welcoming them to their new home in Chappaqua, N.Y.: a 76-page report listing 47 known or potential toxic sites within one mile of the house the couple is buying. The report, prepared by Toxics Targeting, an environmental research company in Ithaca, N.Y., was FedEx-ed to […]
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LIttle Agency on the Prairie
In Prairie City, Iowa, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is undertaking one of the most ambitious prairie restoration projects in history, transforming farmland back to prairie at the 5,000-acre Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. A few years ago, biologists crisscrossed the state searching for prairie remnants where they could collect seeds of native prairie […]
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Atomic Bombshell
Managers of a government uranium plant in Paducah, Ky., knew for decades that workers were being exposed to radiation hazards but concealed the information because of fears of a public outcry, according to documents to be released by a congressional panel this week. Memos and other documents showing what plant management knew and concealed have […]
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Breach Birth Experiences Labor Pains
National Marine Fisheries Service scientists recently said that they don’t think they’ll be able to meet an April 2000 deadline for completing studies on whether the breaching of dams on the Snake River would be the best way to prevent extinction of endangered salmon runs. They want to conduct more studies, which could take four […]
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Farmers Reap a Windfall
The world’s largest single wind power project was dedicated in Iowa over the weekend. Federal energy officials hope the Great Plains region, which some have called “the Saudi Arabia of wind power,” can surge past California as the leading area for wind turbine power. Seven of the 10 states ranked highest for potential growth in […]