Publication archives

News late last year of the merger of the third (VeraSun) and fourth (US Bioenergy) largest U.S. ethanol producers is not surprising, but it should serve as a warning to farmer and community-owned facilities.

When patients go to doctors with a lingering cold or the like these days, they are much less likely to receive an antibiotic prescription. The public and the medical profession are doing their parts to slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant germs.

Holiday shoppers this season may still worry if the toys they buy contain lead after more than 10 million children�s products were recalled this year for that reason. But some scientists are urging consumers to focus on a different problem: the lack of hazard information on the thousands of chemicals in everyday products.

JIM LEHRER: Now, the battle over the still-endangered spotted owl. NewsHour correspondent Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Broadcasting has our Science Unit report. LEE HOCHBERG, NewsHour Correspondent: When biologist David Wiens took us out to a forest near Eugene, Oregon, recently to photograph spotted owls, it was a frustrating experience.

Clark Haynes is hoping for a wet spring and more money from Congress. If both fail to materialize, the assistant director for the state Department of Agriculture's forest health protection programs says next year's gypsy moth season could be the state's worst.

A detailed analysis of soil samples taken from a forest ecosystem with artificially elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reveals distinct changes in the mix of microorganisms living in the soil below trembling aspen.

Oregon State University on Wednesday disputed the findings of state geologists who said landslides from recently logged clearcuts on OSU land set in motion the mud-and-debris flow that deluged U.S. 30 and nearby homes.

The trillions of mountain pine beetles eating their way through British Columbia's forests could also gnaw away a significant chunk of the province's economy, according to a new report commissioned by the Business Council of B.C.