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A Tree Grows in Berlin
The fall of the Berlin Wall 10 years ago has meant hard times for many of the city’s old trees, some of which had been fenced off from public contact by Cold War barriers until 1989. Now, massive reconstruction in Berlin has caused fluctuations in the water table, drowning the roots of many trees. Exhaust […]
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Stuck a Feather in His Cap
Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, Pres. Clinton today will announce that the feds want to take the bald eagle off the endangered species list. The eagle has made a strong recovery since 1963, when only 417 pairs were found in the 48 contiguous states. Last year, biologists counted some 5,748 pairs, […]
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So That Means Everyone Should Drive Semis?
USA Today reports that 46,000 people have died because of a 1970s-era push for greater fuel efficiency that has lead to smaller cars, but the article gives short shrift to environmental benefits of fuel efficiency, such as less air pollution and lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The article reports that corporate average fuel economy standards, which have […]
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Black-and-Blue Danube
Environmentalists and Serb opposition politicians claim that the government of Serbian Pres. Slobodan Milosevic is hiding the full extent of environmental damage caused by NATO’s bombing campaign, fearful that it would fuel opposition to Milosevic. Massive amounts of ammonium and ammonium-based substances have leaked into the Danube River, and potentially deadly mudflows containing heavy metals […]
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Death-yl Bromide
Latino school kids in California face a higher risk of exposure to deadly pesticides than other kids in the state, according to a civil rights complaint filed Wednesday against California pesticide regulators. The complaint charges that the use of the lethal pesticide methyl bromide is discriminatory because it is applied near schools with primarily Latino […]
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River of Cash
In what’s being billed as the largest environmental restoration effort in history, the Clinton administration today will announce a plan to spend $7.8 billion over the next 20 years to help restore the Florida Everglades. The money — half from the feds, half from the state — would be used largely to undo a 1,700-mile […]
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Mmm … Salmon, What a Treat-y
Ending a long-running salmon war, Canada and the U.S. shook hands yesterday on a fishing treaty aimed at protecting dwindling Pacific salmon stocks. The agreement includes harvest limits for both nations that will fluctuate depending on the abundance of fish stocks, and it calls for the U.S. to put $140 million into a salmon restoration […]
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Owl's Fair in Love and War
The federal government yesterday decided to protect 731,000 acres near Tucson, Ariz., as critical habitat for the endangered pygmy owl, a major shift that will limit future development in the area. The feds were forced into the move by a lawsuit filed by the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity. Last week, Arizona Gov. Jane Hull […]
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Fees Take a Hike
A new system of higher fees in national parks is starting to pay off for visitors and park administrators alike. The system allows parks to keep 80 percent of the fees they collect, and parks are using the funds to build trails, control erosion, fix water and sewer lines, restore historic buildings, extend handicap access, […]
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Escargot Cargo Embargo
In an effort to curb the environmental degradation caused by exotic species, the U.S. government today will begin regulating the water that cargo ships dump when they enter U.S. ports. Ships will be asked to empty out their ballast water at least 200 miles off the U.S. coast to prevent invasive animals, microorganisms, and bacteria […]
