Cheryl Colopy

During the recent Presidential forum at Lake Taho, Clinton pledged money to preserve the ecosystem of the basin. He also promised to return some land to the Washoe Indians who lay claim to the whole lake. Cheryl Colopy reports.

California’s Endangered Species Act is modeled on the federal law, but there’s one important difference: The federal version spells out how and when to grant permits for construction projects that may “incidentally” harm an endangered species. California’s law doesn’t address this procedure, and that’s been causing problems. So the courts have thrown the issue back […]

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 […]