monty-ross68

Q: How healthy is soy? I heard that, despite its healthy image, most soy is grown using chemicals like other crops and is even being genetically modified. A: Food products made with soy have enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Two decades ago, Americans spent $300 million a year on […]

Q: Is air quality in the United States improving or getting worse? Is it cleaner in some parts of the country than in others? A: Air quality across the United States has improved dramatically since 1970 when Congress passed the Clean Air Act in response to growing pollution problems and fouled air from coast to […]

Q: Vice President Joe Biden just announced a commitment by the Obama administration of $53 billion to high-speed rail. Isn’t it about time? Why is the U.S. so far behind other nations in developing environmentally friendly public transportation? A: There are many reasons why public transit hasn’t taken off in the U.S. as it has […]

Q: What’s being done to “green up” professional sports? I know that the last two Olympic Games both made some effort, but are there others? A: The last two Olympics were indeed greener than any before, but environmental awareness isn’t limited to the realm of international amateur competition. In just the last few years, all […]

Q: Global population numbers continue to rise, as does the poverty, suffering and environmental degradation that goes with it. Has the U.S., under Obama, increased or at least restored its family planning aid to developing countries that was cut when the Bush administration first took office? A: The short answer is yes. President Obama is […]

Q: I saw a TV ad for toilet paper with no cardboard core to save paper. I understand that green groups recently struck a deal with Kimberly-Clark to protect eastern U.S. forests from decimation for, among other things, toilet paper. Can you tell me if any efforts are under way to protect Canada’s boreal forest, […]

Q: What is happening to update and reform the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which I understand is considerably outdated and actually permits the use of thousands of chemicals that have never been adequately tested for safety? A: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental research and advocacy organization, upward […]

Q: Can you explain what “fracking” is with regard to natural gas exploration, and why it is controversial? A: Fracking is shorthand within the oil and gas industry for “hydraulic fracturing,” a process in which drillers blast millions of gallons of water, sand and hazardous chemicals at high pressure into subsurface rock formations to create […]

Q: Are the world’s amphibians still in decline? What’s being done to help them? A: Unfortunately yes, amphibians are still in serious trouble around the world. A recently updated worldwide population assessment by the nonprofit International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 32 percent of the 6,000-plus amphibian species left on the […]