Cheryl Colopy

The Clean Air act requires reduced ozone and carbon monoxide in many urban areas. California, with nine of the ten most air polluted cities in the country, has some of the strictest air quality standards. To meet the standards, oil companies have reformulated gasoline using an additive called MTBE. MTBE has been used in gasoline […]

In California, the herbicide methyl bromide was to have been banned, but lobbyists won a five-year reprieve from the ban that may go even longer. Linked to cancer, nerve damage and other health problems, farm workers and others feel the state has made an error in continuing the agricultural use of methyl bromide, as Cheryl […]

In many places, leaking fuel from gas station underground fuel storage tanks is an environmental hazard threatening groundwater. In California, where clean-up has been a priority, use of a new cleaning method is starting to move ahead and it’s called bio-remediation. In bioremediation, microbes already existing in the soil go to work on the fuel […]

The mountains of Nepal funnel water to some of the most powerful rivers in southern Asia. Now, despite environmental and financial concerns, small-scale hydropower projects are supplying electricity to Nepalese villages, Buddhist temples and even Internet cafes. Reporter Cheryl Colopy has our story.

California is considering charging a fee to people who make their own electricity instead of buying it from utilities. Cheryl Colopy, of member station KQED, reports solar advocates are calling the idea an outrage, but regulators say they have a reason.