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Float Like a Butterfly
More than 50 species of butterflies in Europe have begun migrating many miles north of their traditional ranges, an indication that global warming is underway, according to a report published in today’s issue of the journal Nature. The study suggests that many other species may also be on the move because of climate change, but […]
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Oh Stop, You're Killing Me
Three Republican senators from the Northwest — Slade Gorton (Wash.), Larry Craig (Idaho), and Gordon Smith (Ore.) — yesterday embraced a report released this week by enviros that indicates salmon are being harmed by global warming. In a Senate hearing, the lawmakers, who have not been known for their concern about global warming, made primarily […]
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Canada Gets a Sock in the Eye
Salmon runs on Canada’s west coast have declined drastically in recent years because of habitat destruction, overfishing, and changing ocean conditions, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pacific Fisheries Resource Council. The report also found that the Canadian Fisheries Department can’t do its job because it lacks the money to properly monitor salmon […]
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There Is No Free Lunch
The European Union’s plan to limit carbon dioxide emissions trading as a way of meeting climate change commitments will increase the cost of fighting global warming, according to a study released yesterday by the International Energy Agency. But the EU plan would lead to more “real” cuts in emissions, the IEA said. The EU is […]
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Water Over the Dam
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, in a speech yesterday in Colorado to Western water officials, proposed setting minimum water levels for rivers and signaled his intention to redirect water toward environmental uses rather than agricultural irrigation or residential growth. Babbitt said that in coming years, more dams will be breached or modified to help restore rivers, […]
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Oil of No-Way
California Gov. Gray Davis (D) is pulling no punches in his fight to block new oil and gas drilling off the coast of central California. His administration yesterday unveiled a broad plan to pursue “whatever legal or regulatory action is available” to protect the coast from oil exploration. It’s likely to be a brutal battle […]
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One Can's Trash Is Another Plan's Treasure
One of the nation’s largest garbage-to-energy projects got underway in central Washington last week, capturing enough methane gas from a massive landfill to power 3,000 homes. A local public utility and an aluminum company have become its first customers, and other utilities, including Seattle City Light, are eyeing deals as the project heads toward its […]
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Dogs Do the Wild Thing
Africa’s wild dogs, nearly driven to extinction by hunters and dwindling habitat, are making a comeback. Nine dogs — some wild, some raised in captivity — will be released today in South Africa’s Pilanesberg Game Reserve, and if the pack survives in its new home, it will be the first time in decades that the […]
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Cutthroat Competition
A coalition of enviros and fishing groups banded together yesterday in filing a lawsuit to force the feds to protect the Rio Grande cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species Act. Although 95 percent of the fish’s habitat has been lost, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last September that it would not consider adding […]
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Take Those Jobs and Shove 'Em
In an unusual deal that reflects mounting concern about sprawl, computer chip-maker Intel agreed with local officials not to bring too many more jobs to the greater Portland, Ore., metropolitan area. Intel already employs 4,000 people and the deal with Washington County will let it create 1,000 new jobs, but if it exceeds that number […]