Opinion Environment Getting California Business to Clean Up Its Act August 31, 2006 • Melissa Block talks with Fred Krupp, director of the nonprofit group Environmental Defense. Krupp explains how California's new climate-change initiative will be implemented.
Environment California Lawmakers Adopt Tough Climate Rules August 31, 2006 • California's legislature has approved the country's first statewide cap on global warming pollution. The measure would require that the state reduce its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign it.
Environment Marketplace Report: Calif. Greenhouse Gas Push August 31, 2006 • The California state legislature approved a bill that would hold businesses responsible for reducing their output of so-called "greenhouse" gasses, primarily carbon dioxide.
Environment California to Pass Tough New Clean-Air Laws August 30, 2006 • California is poised to become the first state in the nation to require industries and residents to cut global-warming pollution. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined with Democrats who control the state legislature to announce the deal.
Environment Government Weighs Turtles' Habitat vs. Fishing August 30, 2006 • Federal fisheries managers are considering whether to allow gill-netting in the habitat of Pacific leatherback turtles. The endangered turtles live off the coasts of Northern Californian and Oregon. Dierdre Kennedy reports.
Environment In Nevada, Solar Power on a Massive Scale August 30, 2006 • In the desert south of Las Vegas, crews are assembling a giant array of curved mirrors. The Nevada Solar One project will use the sun to power a steam turbine that, in turn, will create electricity for 40,000 homes.
National Ernesto Worries Lake Okeechobee Residents August 29, 2006 • As Tropical Storm Ernesto bears down on Florida, one vulnerable population is the 60,000 people who live near Lake Okeechobee. A recent report found that the dike surrounding the lake could fail. An upgrade project is on hold because of problems found in a contractor's work.
Middle East Massive Oil Spill a Vestige of Lebanon Conflict August 28, 2006 • Israel's bombing last month of a Lebanese power plant has caused the largest oil spill ever recorded in the eastern Mediterranean. The Lebanese government, aid agencies and volunteers are now trying to clean it up. But the spill of more than 10,000 tons of fuel oil has already killed birds, blackened the sand -- and settled onto the sea bottom. Robert Siegel talks with Christopher Albritton, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.
World U.N. Panel Crafts Rights Paper for World's Disabled August 28, 2006 • United Nations negotiators finalize a convention to give human-rights protections to an estimated 650 million disabled people around the world. The treaty, several years in the making, will be taken up by the General Assembly in January.
Environment Crop Cops Take to the Sky August 28, 2006 • The USDA's National Agriculture Imagery Program is creating a computerized map of U.S. farmland using aerial photography to improve farming subsidy oversight and to better prevent instances of fraud.
Opinion Space Dwarfing Pluto Fresh Air August 28, 2006 • Our linguist Geoff Nunberg doesn’t profess to know much about astronomy. But when astronomers changed the definition of the word planet, they entered his territory -- language.
Environment U.S. Pollution Law Targets Canadian Smelter August 28, 2006 • An Indian tribe in Washington state has successfully sued a company whose smelter in Canada is fouling the Columbia River in the United States. The court says the U.S. Superfund law applies to foreign polluters, if the pollution affects U.S. territory. The ruling is being appealed.
Environment The Rise and Fall of the Chilean Sea Bass August 28, 2006 • Bruce Knecht's book Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish is the story of the Chilean Sea Bass. It's an ugly, oily fish that became a favorite dining option in upscale restaurants, until it was nearly fished out.
Obituaries Ingram, Father of Molecular Medicine, Dies at 82 August 27, 2006 • MIT biology professor Vernon Ingram died this month at the age of 82 after suffering a fall. Ingram made a breakthrough discovery in 1957, when he showed exactly how a mutant gene causes sickle-cell anemia. Until his death this month, Vernon Ingram was pursuing research into Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases.
Space Lightning Strike Delays Shuttle Mission August 26, 2006 • An electrical storm prompts NASA to delay Sunday's planned launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. Ironically, once the shuttle does take off, its main mission will be to provide the international space station with more electrical power.