Environment

Dust and Deception

"Last week," notes columnist Paul Krugman, "a quietly scathing report by the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed what some have long suspected: in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's collapse, the agency systematically misled New Yorkers about the risks the resulting air pollution posed to their health.

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EPA Failed New Yorkers On Post-9/11 Air Quality

Nearly two years after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general reports that the failure of EPA officials to properly inform New Yorkers of the dangers of the fallout can be traced to inside the White House. "The news that White House staff ordered the EPA to minimize potential health dangers near Ground Zero was bad enough," NY Daily News' Juan Gonzalez writes.

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Lumber Company Launches Greenwashing Campaign

"Pacific Lumber, the Northern California redwood logging giant whose clear-cuts have made it among the most vilified companies in the West by environmental groups over the past 15 years, is getting a makeover," the San Jose Mercury News writes.

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Soccer Field Critics Cry 'Foul'

A former landfill near Denver is being turned into soccer fields to be used yearly by more than a half-million people, the Denver Post reports. That has county officials spinning a success story for waste management. But public health advocates are crying "foul." The site, which is part of a several million dollar containment project, will also include a dog park and the county's hazardous household waste facility. "You'll be able to run your dogs, dump your hazardous waste and play soccer all in the same place," Jefferson County facilities manager Lee Suttie said.

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McDonald's Thinks It's 'Green'

Inter Press Service reports that "The recent appointment of fast food giant McDonald's to the advisory board of an environmental group has drawn accusations of 'green washing' from environmentalists and led one board member to resign in protest. Paul Hawken, a well-known activist and environmentalist respected for his strong opposition to corporate globalisation, resigned two weeks ago from the Green Business Network... .

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Nature Conservancy Does Damage Control

Responding to an in-depth Washington Post expose, The Nature Conservancy has hired Edelman PR Worldwide for damage control. The Post's multi-part article portrayed the environmental non-profit, which has $3 billion in assets, as a willing dealmaker for the benefit of its corporate supporters and trustees. According to O'Dwyer's PR Daily, the Arlington, Va.-based group is desperate to avoid Congressional inquiry into its activities.

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It's the Water, Stupid

"Conspicuously missing from the ubiquitous Iraq war critique was the subtle agenda of water rights in the parched Middle East region," writes Leah C. Wells. "The dialogue about access to clean water is commonplace in peace talks throughout the Middle East, but Western diplomats rarely broach the topic. An anonymous U.S. State Department official quoted in National Geographic said, 'people outside the region tend not to hear about the issue (of water).

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'Green Industry' Prepares For PR Fight

The trade organization Professional Lawn Care Association of America wants "to create a positive message about the benefits of a well-maintained landscape." Landscape Management, a landscape and lawn care trade publication, writes that PLCAA is sponsoring a meeting next month to address "threatening issues" faced by the "Green Industry. ... These include issues pertaining to pesticide and

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Networks Largely Ignore War's Long-Term Impact

"Media have been quick to declare the U.S. war against Iraq a success, but
in-depth investigative reporting about the war's likely health and
environmental consequences has been scarce," media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting writes. "Two important issues getting
shortchanged in the press are the U.S.'s controversial use of cluster

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Nature Conservancy Benefits Its Benefactors

In the last of its investigative series the Washington Post reports on how a multi-billion dollar environmental charity takes care of its own. For example, "on New York's Shelter Island, the Nature Conservancy three years ago bought an undeveloped, 10-acre tract overlooking its Mashomack Preserve ... just a stone's skip from the exclusive Hamptons. Cost to the charity: $2.1 million.

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