In The News

Unnatural Disasters

Andrew Simms October 15, 2003
In less than fifty years, there could be 150 million refugees fleeing environmental disaster, says this article in the UK's Guardian. Already outnumbering political refugees, environmental refugees are still not afforded the attention their plight demands. Oftentimes it is the countries least responsible for global environmental change that are most affected and least capable of dealing...

Hard Realities: Brazil Drops Resistance to Genetically Altered Crops

Larry Rohter September 28, 2003
Brazil, the world's second largest producer of soybeans and one of the world's most important agricultural exporters, has traditionally outlawed genetically modified (GM) crops. Now, populist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has shifted policy, choosing to allow modified soybean seeds. Some poor Brazilian farmers have already been using GM seeds obtained from neighboring Argentina...

A Swirl of Foreboding in Mahogany’s Grain

Juan Forero September 28, 2003
The towering mahogany tree has long been coveted for its color and strength. Now, fueled by international demand, trade in mahogany wood has become a multimillion-dollar industry that threatens large swaths of the Amazon rainforest. Logging of the wood far bypasses the stringent limits set by international regulations, raising fears that loggers operating outside legal areas will decimate the...

Bush Covers Up Climate Research

Paul Harris September 21, 2003
In an investigation by journalists at the British weekly Observer, emails and internal memos have been uncovered that implicate President Bush's administration in deliberately covering up scientific evidence that links oil and gas emissions to global warming. For years environmental scientists have been warning of global warming, but the Bush administration has always insisted that the...

Brussels Blocks Austrian Attempt to Create GM-Free Zone

Andrew Osborn September 3, 2003
A movement against genetically-modified crops in Europe appears to be no match for the powerful US biotechnology lobby. The European Union, bowing to pressure from the US representatives to the World Trade Organization, is well on its way to lifting its 5-year old moratorium on GM crop approvals. The latest battle was won by pro-GM forces this week when the EU Commission told Upper Austria that...

Heroic Capture at Sea Highlights Gaping Cavities in Toothfish Defence

Andrew Darby August 29, 2003
The Patagonian toothfish – popularly known as the Chilean Sea Bass – has long been over-fished and is protected by international laws as an endangered species. Unfortunately, there has not been a comparable international response to enforcing these laws and preventing illegal fishing. This reality is evidenced by a recent three-week chase of a Uruguayan ship through treacherous Antarctic waters...

Ecologists Fear Disaster as Oil Rush Takes Grip in Quake Zone

Nick Paton Walsh August 25, 2003
The Russian island of Sakhalin will soon be home to the largest energy project in the world, and there is fear, possibly the largest disaster. The oil rich island borders Japan and lies directly on top of an active seismic fault line, a fact that has environmentalists up in arms. They fear that the underground pipelines will not be able to withstand the island's frequent earthquakes and...