Endangered Earth Update Is the Planet on the Back Burner?

War and recession may be grabbing the headlines, but the relentless trashing of the world's air, land and seas continues apace

This could be the winter of discontent for environmentalists. As the threat of war rumbles in the Middle East and the U.S. economy tumbles into recession, preserving the planet's air, land and water is in danger of losing its place among the most pressing issues of the day. It's not that last April's Earth Day has been forgotten already: more and more people are recycling household waste, toting reusable shopping bags to stores and planting trees in their backyards. And after more than a decade of debate, Congress finally overhauled the Clean Air Act this fall. But these encouraging steps hardly...

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