Free Republic

            Pine trees may help create smog, acid rainThursday, 13 March  2003 Could pine trees be making things worse? Latest research suggests they contribute to smog  Rather than being a global warming solution, pine trees may be inducing smog and acid rain by releasing vast amounts of nitrogen oxide into the air, researchers have discovered. Under some circumstances, needles from Scots pine trees can release nitrogen oxides directly into the atmosphere, according to a report in today's issue of the journal, Nature. A team led by Professor Pertti Hari of the University of Helsinki...

_A. J. HIGGINS, OF THE NEWS STAFF Last updated: Saturday, January 4, 2003McGowan named to CabinetBaldacci asks prominent Democrat to head up conservation department AUGUSTA - Patrick McGowan, a longtime player in Maine Democratic politics, was nominated Friday by Governor-elect John E. Baldacci to serve as commissioner of the Department of Conservation.The 46-year-old York resident, best known for nearly defeating U.S. Rep. Olympia Snowe in 1992, is a strong proponent of state land acquisition. He spearheaded a $35 million bond issue for public land in the mid-1980s. Speaking with reporters Friday morning, McGowan said that, if confirmed by the Maine...

<p>The death of a 13-month-old Livermore boy who was struck by a sport utility vehicle backing out a driveway is the latest in a spate of needless fatalities involving large vehicles, child-safety experts said today.</p> <p>Jorge Ortiz-Castaneda was run over about 12:40 p.m. Monday by a Ford Explorer as it backed slowly out a driveway near Lambaren Avenue and North S Street in Livermore, police said.</p>