The notion of soft targets has been panned by opposition parties and environmentalists because it allows industries to continue polluting more as production increases. The Conservative government may abandon what is left of a Clean Air Act largely redrafted by opposition parties as it shifts focus to setting industrial pollution limits and financial penalties. A source close to the government's green file said a number of penalties for exceeding targets are being considered, including...

Local farming insures maximum adaptability to the water temperatures by the fish when they released into the lake, thus improving the Fishing Derby participants' chances of catching &#8220Mr. Organizers of this year's derby moved the event's date ahead, so that it would fall during spring break, thus giving parents the option of bringing their children to the derby without having to remove them from school. To register for the derby, participants can go online at...

A 20-pound wild turkey may not appear "big game" to casual onlookers, but in many other states, turkey are classified as big game. These three relatively recent big game additions join deer and turkey as Arkansas big game hunts. Wildlife professionals in Arkansas and other states consistently maintain that hunting is the most practical and effective means of population control. This will join bear hunting and elk hunting as additions to Arkansas' big game pursuits that have been added in...

SeaWorld officials have convinced members of San Diego Coastkeeper that their rockets' red glare -- and other fireworks -- are not adversely affecting water quality in the bay. The move against Sea World last summer was the first time that a fireworks show was cancelled over environmental concerns, officials said at the time. Environmentalists had said they thought hundreds of pounds of unexploded explosive powder and other harmful chemical leftovers from exploding rockets and shells was...

The city's storm water program to reduce pollution that ends up in the Santa Ana River was last renewed with the water board in 2002. The Associated Press NORCO -- The city is trying to avoid $10,000-a-day in fines threatened by water officials for polluted storm drain runoff that harms aquatic life downstream. The water board had set a March 21 deadline for Norco's response to the agency's critical 22-page report and draft a schedule and program to eliminate problems. The water board gave...

Wild hogs roaming through at least 39 states are lately alarming wildlife officials by their population growth in Michigan, Iowa and other northern states. The rooting and wallowing activities of the creatures, which tear apart the earth to search for food, have also forced some farmers to repeatedly replant fields. While feral swine have plagued warmer states for years, they are a recent problem in Iowa, with wildlife officials working to eradicate them since 2004. Under a national...

Ecology teaches us that forest fires can be a form of creative destruction. Will these clean-tech companiesand others like thempenetrate the marketplace and supplant older, bigger firms they are challenging? It's too soon to say, of course, but prospects are brightening (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/29/07, "Are You Being Greenwashed?") The materials produced by Metabolix (MBLX) will replace many of those now made from petroleum and natural gas, thereby challenging the $250 billion global...

Cogdill's plan is actually meant as an alternative to the air district effort, but we believe -- as do air district officials -- that both proposals have merit. The Valley air district has an ambitious -- and costly -- plan to do that, and that effort could be complemented by a measure from a Valley legislator now being debated. It's time to get gross polluters off our roads Cogdill bill, air district plan are both useful approaches to cleansing the Valley's skies. Cogdill is critical of...

Upgrades would allow the facility to reduce lighting, noise and air pollution by investing in new yard equipment, locomotives and trucks. The modernization plan seeks to double the facility's container-handling capacity while replacing nearly all the yard's diesel trucks and gantry cranes with electric-powered equipment. The plan calls for using special electric cranes to stack containers and employing hoods to direct light away from area homes. In recent years, operations there have drawn...