Environment & Health
Kentucky Questions Psychiatric Drugs for Children
Kentucky is the most recent state with plans to curb anti-psychotic drug prescriptions for children. The educational program should save...Ozone Link to Appendicitis?
Canadian researchers say they've found a connection between high levels of air pollution, particularly ozone, and appendicitis, reports the BBC....A Different Shade of Green Revolution
While much of the developed world is talking about environmentally sustainable "green" technology, Africa is desperately seeking a green revolution...Bottled Water May Be Tapped out in Toronto
Toronto, Canada, is considering a ban on the sale of bottled water in city-run buildings, community centers and arenas in...The Perils of Pyrethrins, and Other Pesticide Problems
A new class of pesticides is making a growing number of people sick -- leading to death in some cases...Dark Side of the Green Revolution
It was the chemically supplemented Green Revolution of the 1960s that helped India end its cycles of famine. Yet a...30 Floors of Farmland, Coming to New York City?
A plan to build a skyscraper in New York City -- one that contains 30 stories of farmland -- might...Bioplastics: Friend or Foe?
Biodegradable plastics are raising hopes for a potential solution to overstuffed landfills, climate change and diminished fossil fuel resources. Yet...Food Crisis Renews Biotech Farming Debate
As global food prices climb, the debate over genetically modified agriculture is once again heating up. The Christian Science Monitor...Will Pond Scum Save the Planet?
With corn-based fuels being blamed for the global food crisis, biofuel supporters are looking for non-food crops to be the...New Wind-Power Projects Becalmed
With oil prices setting new highs nearly every day, wind power is getting another look. But, like most weather reports,...Drought Persists Down Under
Australians had high hopes for the Pacific weather pattern known as La Nina. That periodic cooling of the eastern Pacific...Africa Reels from Illegal Fishing
Billions of dollars have been lost worldwide, and entire ecosystems are at risk from the effects of illegal fishing. Africa,...Where Have all the Songbirds Gone?
Songbirds fly thousands of miles to return to the northern hemisphere every spring, just as regularly as the sun comes...Look, up in the Sky! Urban Farming Puts Down Roots
UPDATE: According to the Las Vegas Sun, the NextEnergryNews story about a proposed agricultural skyscraper in Las Vegas is not...Virtual water and real thirst
The recent hike in the price of food worldwide is usually blamed on the price of oil or the conversion...Global Warming: Something to Sneeze at
As if deadlier storms, new diseases, compromised agriculture, rising sea levels and endangered polar bears weren't enough to worry about,..."Avoidable" Gaza Deaths Follow Medical Travel Bans
The World Health Organization said preventable deaths almost doubled in the Gaza Strip between 2006 and 2007, following the Hamas...Australian Labor's Nuclear Powers
Firmly established in power, Australia's Labor Party has opted to reinvigorate a plan from the previous government to expand uranium...Cancer in the Air, and in Your Hair
Two new reports identify byproducts of everyday life as culprits behind an increase in avoidable cancers and other health issues....From Bike Lanes to "Wildlife Highways"
The town of Cambourne in the United Kingdom is notable not just for its abundance of bike lanes and pedestrians,..."Enviropig": Less Pollution, More Questions
A little bit of genetic editing is all that's required to slash the environmental damage caused by sewage from industrial...Radiation on the Reservation
As the market booms for uranium mining in the American West, a Seattle newspaper took a new look at what...Beijing Olympics: It's the Water
A senior Chinese official has sharply criticized a multi- billion-dollar government plan to divert water from the Hubei and Shaanxi...London Shifts Gears to Favor Bicycles
Armed with a proposal to develop 12 major "superhighways" for bicyclists throughout the city, along with a daily "congestion charge"...Much Puffery About Air-Powered Car
An automobile that runs on compressed air got a boost this week with an investment from India's Tata Motors. MDI...Great Lakes Toxics Data Suppressed?
Millions of people in the Great Lakes region may face health problems from toxic pollution, but a study on the...The Melting Mountains
The Arctic ice caps and Antarctic glaciers are well-known barometers of global warming, but melting masses of ice in the...Genetically Engineered Trees Cut Down
An electric fence wasn't up to the task of protecting a field of genetically engineered trees in New Zealand. Twenty...Transplant Shortage Hits Minorities
Doctors all over the world are having difficulty finding matching donors for bone marrow transplants - a lifesaving operation for...Pesticide Fears Along California's Central Coast
Activists claim that hundreds of people became sick after officials sprayed a type of pesticide along parts of California's Central...Trouble at the Roof of the World
Water rights and free speech are the latest sparks that have inflamed protests in Tibet against the Chinese government. Hundreds...Fur Flies in Tiger Photo Fight
When Chinese officials declared this fall that a rare South China tiger had been photographed in the wild, it appeared...A Man, a Dam and a Salmon Plan
A federal judge has rebuked the government for its latest plan to restore salmon runs along the Columbia and Snake...Oil Industry's Amazon Frontier
Economic development and ecological conservation are once again at odds in the Amazon, where a remote region thick with rare...Here Comes the Flood
Heavy weather the world over is raising concerns about the potential of a flood-prone future, and what that means for...The Plagues of Uganda
Concurrent outbreaks of several diseases in Uganda have health officials there on the defensive, reports The Monitor in Kampala. Even...Cracks at the Seams? China Bolsters Three Gorges
Everything about the Three Gorges Dam seems larger than life. It was built at a cost of $15.6 billion, caused...The Twin Horns of a Co-Epidemic: AIDS and TB
Tuberculosis rates in South Africa's Western Cape villages are among the highest in the world, due to a burgeoning co-epidemic...Activists Seek Labels for Biotech Foods
Environmental groups in the U.S. and abroad continue to argue that food products containing genetically modified ingredients ought to be...Wildfires in Context: Why California Must Burn (reprise)
As the flames spread through San Diego County, Newsdesk.org looks back at our 2004 article on California wildfire ecology, why...Cancer is the Latest Chechen Scourge
Chechnya is experiencing a "cancer epidemic" never before seen in its history, according to the Institute for War & Peace...U.S. Water Pollution Laws Routinely Flouted: Report
For years, U.S. municipal governments, corporations, and even the EPA have circumvented Clean Water Act safeguards against industrial pollution. More...Girls, Pollution, Poverty: The Other Mining Disasters
Recent stories about workers trapped in mines often overlook an array of related labor, ecological and human rights issues. Most...A Nuclear "Renaissance"
Although it is a long way from becoming a reality, pundits are already predicting a "nuclear renaissance" in America for...Agribusiness Gets Another Record Harvest -- of Subsidies
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the latest federal farm bill would spend $280 billion on traditional subsidies for corn,...The Chemical Legacy Today
A host of chemicals created for use in industrial and commercial processes are having unintended effects on populations. The Guardian...Thousands Still Sick from Cold War Radiation
Government records show 36,500 Americans were sickened from exposure to uranium, plutonium and beryllium since 1945, most from building or...Biodiesel's Mixed Blessings
Biodiesel shows promise as an alternative fuel, but it presents substantial challenges to produce locally, efficiently, and in quantities to...Buy Me a River: Water Privatization Pushes Forward
Efforts to privatize water services throughout the world are facing determined grassroots opposition on several fronts, while other countries are...Back to the Beach, With Feces
With the heat of summer comes dangerous and often unexplained contamination of U.S. beaches by E.coli and fecal coliform. In...Green Mandate Sparks E.U. Lawsuit
Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia are suing the European Union after it tightened carbon quotas in...DARFUR: You Can't Go Home Again
Driven by environmental pressures and ethnic divisions, the violence in Darfur is reaching across borders to affect black African and...Officials Praise Cabbie's Plan for China's Water
Chinese officials say a Beijing cab driver's proposal on how to increase natural rainfall in north China is on the...Oil Spills Are Commonplace, Decried, and Tolerated
Far from isolated mega-catastrophes -- such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska's Prince William Sound -- oil spills...Green Hopes Pale as Energy Appetites Grow
As humanity's energy needs only grow, world powers are plumbing the depths of the Arctic Ocean for fossil fuels and...Bottled Water Revolt Gathers Steam
Green-minded cities are working to encourage residents to trade in their bottled water for tap water, which is often the...Asia's Plague of Cars
In spite of Asia's renown for producing the most advanced, gas-efficient cars on the planet, the growing popularity of car...It's Not Easy Being Green
If some aspects of "green" marketing and technology sometimes sound too good to be true, that's because they are. Kansas...Russia's Thirst for Oil
Russia has been single-minded in ensuring its hegemony over oil rights and delivery throughout Eastern Europe, and now seeks to...Poverty is a Plague for Africa's Children
A gangrenous affliction of the face called noma is surging among impoverished, malnourished children in West Africa, and now appears...Natural Resources Spur Pollution, Indigenous Rights Disputes
From fossil fuels to "blue gold," from uranium to offshore biodiversity, natural resources around the world promise riches but often...Carbon Trading Beset by Fraud and Doubt
A new report finds the most common system for trading carbon emissions, which allows rich European countries to continue polluting...Lupus Linked to Petroleum Exposure
Scientists in Boston and New Mexico have shown that exposure to petroleum is linked to the deadly auto-immune disease lupus....Biotech Plants, and Controversy, Take Root
The United States, Canada and Europe are grappling with standards for genetically modified plants, which promise economic and health benefits...The EPA Under Pressure
The Environmental Protection Agency has come under fire from activists and state officials for not enforcing laws to protect the...Mines, Factories and the Cost of Asian Growth
Investors breathed a sigh of relief when Indonesia dismissed charges against Newmont Mining, a U.S. firm accused of dumping mercury...The Disappearing Honeybee
A widespread honeybee die-off, known as "colony collapse disorder," has seen bees disappear from hundreds of thousands of hives around...Cost-Cutting Hits Fund for Nuclear and Chemical Workers
Two federal programs for nuclear workers with cancer and other diseases are under fire for cutting costs without regard for...THE ELECTRIC CAR: GM, Ford Pay the Price for Hype
GM is trying to lower expectations that their much-anticipated plug-in electric car, the Volt, will reach consumers soon. A prototype...FARMING FUTURES: Food Crops Struggle With Climate Change, "Green" Cred
Climate change over the past 20 years has already impacted production of staple grain crops, a new report finds. Wheat,...Record Earnings From Endangered Ocean Harvest
The fishing industry brought in a record $71.5 billion last year, most of it from ocean fisheries that lack ecological...A Brownfield Grows in Queens
Neighbors of an old lot targeted for a $50 million low-income housing and commercial complex were never told of the...Pollution, Race Linked in SF Bay Area
A new report finds that most people living within a mile of power plants, refineries and other pollution sources in...U.K. Plant Fined For Radiation Leaks
A Scottish nuclear plant operator was fined $273,000 last week for dumping solid nuclear waste in a public landfill, and...Autism's Spread Brings a Mystery and a Lawsuit
A new report finds that one in every 60 boys in New Jersey has autism -- nearly twice the national...A Flood of Trouble for a Thirsty World
Analysis by David Agrell, Newsdesk.org Unsafe water from New York to New Delhi, toxic rivers in China, drought in England...In China, Pollution Crashes the Party
News analysis by David Agrell, Newsdesk.org China's rapid economic growth has come at a cost: environmental degradation that stokes civil...The Glaciers Melt
Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org The melting of the world's glaciers is bringing new attention to the threat of global climate change....FOCUS: Overfishing -- Local to Global
Jodi Wynn & Newsdesk.org staff According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, overfishing is leading to a humanitarian...Budget Said to Shortchange Veterans
Mental Health Services May Fall Short
By Michael Standaert According to a recent Pentagon estimate, 30 percent, or about 100,000 troops, have or will develop mental...
FOCUS: Regulating Chemicals
The link between human health and our environment may be obvious, but the devil is in the details. In January,...FOCUS: Tsunami Ecology
Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern, and Michael Stoll, Guest Editor In response to the question of why stories about...FOCUS: Bhopal Anniversary
By Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern Bhopal, a city in central India, still suffers from a horrific gas leak that occurred...A Grassroots Battle over Biotech Farming
Local initiatives target genetic engineering
By Robert J. MullinsHaving failed at the federal level, activists around the U.S. seek to block genetically modified agriculture one county at a time.
Why California Must Burn
Fire ecology is bad news for sprawl
By Glen MartinThe disastrous southern California wildfires of 2003 have their origins in human planning and government policy ... and December's heavy winter rains will only make things worse.
Farmers Neglected at Home and Abroad
Critics trade blame over subsidies, WTO
By Michael StandaertAgricultural subsidies -- intended to save rural communities and feed the world's billions -- are blamed for poverty, hunger and environmental destruction.
'Rocket Fuel' Controversy Deepens
Federal regulations face long delays
By Jill ClayPerchlorate -- used for decades in rocket and missile fuel -- is leaching into groundwater and food supplies, as regulatory efforts drag on.
Overfishing Hits Industry and Ecology
License buyback may ease the pain
By Emily WilsonThe go-go years of the fishing business are long gone. A new program hopes to save what's left.
Resources from Wreckage
'Deconstruction' saves the whole house
By Jennifer HuangBuilding "deconstruction" saves valuable natural resources from the trash dump.