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Environment

Also Try

1. Ecology

Discussions

1. Senate Blocks Oil Drilling in Arctic Reserve (Los Angeles Times - Simon)
   "Foes of the drilling say it would endanger one of the nation's most precious wildlife habitats...." 4-02

Lists

1. Autos - Fuel Cell Power (Awesome Library)
   Provides sources of information on fuel cells for powering automobiles and homes. Fuel cells do not pollute, are inexpensive to operate, and should provide as much convenience as traditional sources of power, such as internal combustion engines. 5-01

News

1. Alternative Energy News (1stHeadlines.com)
   Provides news on progress with energy sources that produce less pollution than fossil fuels. 4-01
2. Bush Energy Plan (The White House)
   Provides President Bush's energy plan for the United States through the National Energy Policy Development Group. In PDF format. 5-01
3. Bush Energy Plan (Washington Post)
   Provides President Bush's energy plan for the United States. 5-01
4. Bush Energy Plan - Irish Response (The Irish Times)
   Provides an editorial criticizing Bush's plan as an attempt to scare the public into accepting his policies. Points out that his position was not accepted by USA or world financial markets because they were not affected by Bush's statement that we have an extreme fuel shortage. 5-01
5. Bush Energy Plan -Democrats Respond (Washington Post)
   Provides the response of Democrats to President Bush's energy plan for the United States. 5-01
6. Bush Proposal to End Global Warming (CNN.com)
   Provides a short description of the Bush proposal to end global warming, as well as reactions to the proposal. 2-02
7. Cars - Fuel Efficient Car Goal Abandoned (Auto.com)
   Describes the government announcement that the 80 mpg goal for cars by 2004 has been abandoned. Another approach to fuel efficiency, not disclosed, was given for the reason to stop trying to create a concept car that achieves 80 mpg by 2004. 5-01
8. Diesel Fuel Standards Important (CBS News)
   Describes the new standards for trucks that requires a 90 percent reduction in their pollution by requiring equipment similar to pollution control devices already used in cars. One reason for the new standards is that the microscopic pollution from trucks has been associated with increases in deaths from pollution in cities. 12-00
9. EPA Enforcer Quits - Claims Administration Is Siding With Polluters (Philadelphia Inquirer - Borenstein)
   Describes the reason why the head of the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement quit. "Eric Schaeffer, director of the EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement, said energy-industry lobbyists were helping to write proposals to weaken air-pollution regulations for older coal power plants. Enforcing those regulations was Schaeffer's job." 2-02
10. Electric Motocycles Required in Taiwan (Taiwan.com.au - Chang)
    Reports on Taiwan's new law requiring motorcycle manufacturers to meet a quota of at least two percent electric powered motorcycles. 5-01
11. Endangered Species Act Provisions Opposed (Time.com)
    Reports that the Bush administration seeks to "eliminate a provision of the Endangered Species Act that allows private groups to sue the Department of the Interior to add plants and animals to the official 'endangered' list...." 5-01
12. Energy Policy Meetings - Documents Released (ABC News)
    "Thousands of documents released under a federal judge's order on Monday show that Bush administration officials met with numerous utilities and oil companies before unveiling their energy policy plan last year." 3-02
13. Enron Energy Company Met With Cheney (Houston Chronicle - Ivanovich)
    Mentions meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney and Enron Executives that may have influenced the Bush administration's national energy strategy. The meeting on April 17 "was at a time when Cheney was busy crafting the administration's national energy strategy and California regulators were battling with Enron and other independent power producers over that state's electricity woes." 1-02
14. Environment News (1st Headlines News)
    Provides headline news related to the environment. 3-02
15. Environmental News (Earth Day Network - Grist Magazine)
    Provides global news on efforts to improve the environment, as well as violations of the environment. See "More archival matter "(on the left side of the magazine's page) for past issues. 11-00
16. Farmers Want More Wind Power (EV World)
    Provides news that the association of corn farmers wants more support from the federal government for wind energy generation. The Bush administration has proposed a reduction in support., according to the news release. 6-01
17. Federal Court Agrees With Tough Clean Air Standards (Washington Post - Tucker and Grunwald)
    Describes a court finding that upheld "the most stringent air pollution control standards in the nation's history." " 'This is a huge victory for breathers,' said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Air Trust." "EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said her agency will support the new regulations."
    
    "The next step for the EPA is to designate the places that do not meet the new standards. Then it can start requiring states to submit plans detailing how they will get into compliance." 3-02
18. Few Utilities Produce Majority of Polluting Emissions (Lycos - Lazaroff)
    Summarizes the results of a report on pollution from utilities. "The study by a coalition of environmental and public interest groups found that between four and six companies account for 25 percent of the emissions of each pollutant." 3-02
19. Forest Protection More than Doubled (CNN)
    Describes new federal regulations that protect 58.5 million acres, "roughly one-third of the national forest system from road building and commercial logging." This was later suspended by the Bush administration. 1-01
20. Global Warming Twice As Bad As Formerly Believed (BBC News)
    Summarizes a report by scientists that the earth is warming by twice as much as the amount expected in 1996. 7-01
21. Kyoto Protocol Meeting Fails (CNN)
    Describes the failure of nations to agree on limits on greenhouse gases to reduce global warming, a condition that is likely to result in catastrophic weather changes for the planet. The United States was regarded as a barrier to an agreement because it demanded the right to plant trees to offset its rate of pollution. 11-00
22. Low Pollution Two-Stroke Engine Announced (EarthVision.net)
    Describes a two-stroke engine developed by college students. Claims that the engine produces one percent of the pollution generated by a standard two-stroke engine. 3-02
23. Oceans a Key to Global Warming (Science Express - Recer)
    Suggests that tiny changes in solar energy can change the warmth of the oceans and have a severe effect on the climate. Suggests that concerns about global warming from human activities may be even more important than previously believed. 11-01
24. Pollution News (Yahoo)
    Provides world pollution news. 11-01
25. Riverways Create as Much Pollution as Highways (Earth Observatory - Kaufman)
    Describes results of a study of causes of pollution. 3-02
26. Seed Project to Preserve Species (PlanetArk.org)
    Describes the British project to save many species of plants from extinction by development of a huge seed bank. 11-00
27. Senate Rejects Rules Requiring Better Mileage (Philadelphia Inquirer - Kuhnhenn)
    "A powerful alliance of carmakers and autoworkers yesterday crushed an environmentalist push to increase fuel-efficiency standards, as the Senate removed mileage requirements from a sweeping energy bill." 3-02
28. Shanker, Al (United Federation of Teachers - Schierenbeck)
    Provides a biography of the former President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). 3-02
29. Superfunds - Bush to Shift Costs to Taxpayers (Time - Reaves)
    President Bush plans to shift the cost of cleaning up major pollution sites away from the corporations responsible for the pollution. Instead, he wants to reduce the size of the Superfund and to have taxpayers pay a larger share for the cleanup. "A White House victory would likely bring an immediate drop-off in the number of sites approved for Superfund status. But of even greater concern to environmental advocates is that the change will see the disincentive to pollute wither away alongside the Superfund coffers. After all, industrial polluters have been kept in check by the threat of having to fund costly cleanups." 2-02
30. Superfunds Cleanup Plans Cut - Bush to Shift Costs to Taxpayers (Seattle Times - Seelye)
    "Faced with dwindling reserves in the huge Superfund waste-cleanup account, the Bush administration has decided to target fewer sites for restoration and to shift the bulk of costs from industry to taxpayers." 2-02
31. Wind Power Is Now Efficient (TomPaine.com)
    Describes the use of wind turbines, 20 times more powerful than anything available in 1990, to supply energy in Germany. "The turbines are now so efficient that, according to U.S. government estimates, North Dakota, Texas and Kansas alone could produce far more energy than is needed to power the entire United States....Converting to wind power could take a bite out of the U.S. trade deficit, about $80 billion - or 20 percent - of which pays for oil-related imports. And it would no doubt be welcome among America's beleaguered farmers, who could earn money from the sky above their fields." 11-00
32. World Water Shortage Has Started (Boston Globe - Rothfeder)
    Provides facts about the current and growing shortage of drinkable water. "But the reality we face is sobering: water -- nature's most essential element -- is becoming dangerously scarce. A freshwater crisis has already begun that threatens to leave much of the world dry in the next 20 years, without enough water for a minimum quality of life." "Nearly 2.2 billion people in more than 62 countries, one-third of the world's population, are starved for water." 1-02

Papers

1. -Sustainable Planet (Awesome Library - Adams)
   Describes a few of the most important things we can do to reduce pollution and global warming, as well as improve the availability of drinkable water for the future. 11-00
2. Air Quality Today - Where You Live (Environmental Protection Agency)
   Provides a forecast for the day on the EPA Air Quality Index for pollution levels where you live. 8-01
3. Autos - Fuel Cell Cars (Awesome Library)
   Provides a summary of options for current and near future transportation that avoids pollution, yet is convenient, uses inexpensive fuel, and is safe. 6-01
4. Current Events Related to the Environment (The Tides Center - EcoNet)
   Provides articles on current events related to achieving a healthier environment.
5. Energy Alternative Suggested by Business Council for Sustainable Energy (Environmental News Network)
   Describes measures that could reduce the need for over 1000 power plants. Notes that wind energy has become over 80 percent more efficient. 5-01
6. Global Warming Real According to Satellite Pictures (Environmental News Network)
   Summarizes the results of a 27-year study of the earth's greenhouse gases and shows that there has been a significant increase as a result of human activity. The conclusions are based on pictures of the earth taken by satellites over the past 27 years. 3-01
7. Key Issues on the Environment (SpeakOut.com)
   Provides indepth coverage of both sides of key issues. 2-01
8. Reducing the Use of Gasoline (Oregonian - Yaden and Durning)
   Suggests ways that the use of gasoline can be reduced. "Feebates are point-of-purchase incentives. Consumers pay a fee when buying vehicles with low gas mileage and collect rebates for buying more efficient ones. Such a program could quickly push the market toward more economic designs. With the nation's automobile fuel efficiency at a 20-year low, this is an especially important step." 2-02
9. Smog Strong in Half of USA (MSNBC)
   Reports on a study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "A coalition of business groups led by the American Trucking Association filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the EPA’s 1997 pollution standards...." A federal appeals court rejected their argument. "The process is now under way to adopt the standards, which the EPA estimates would prevent 15,000 premature deaths, 350,000 cases of asthma and 1 million cases of decreased lung function in children." 5-02
10. Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Description (Time.com)
    Describes how the electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. "Not only does it have no brakes, it also has no engine, no throttle, no gearshift and no steering wheel. And it can carry the average rider for a full day, nonstop, on only five cents' worth of electricity." The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01
11. Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Picture (HowStuffWorks.com)
    Provides details of how an electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01
12. Two-Wheel Transporter - Segway Ginger Picture (Time.com)
    Provides details of how an electric, two-wheel personal transporter works. The device is expected to be available commercially toward the end of 2002 and is expected to sell for around 3,000 dollars. It is designed to replace an auto for short trips. The device stays upright due to gyros. 11-01