Who’s Minding the Soviet Environment?

Living on Earth

As the Soviet Union re-forms itself and republics loosen or cut ties to Moscow, few are talking about environmental problems which cut across political borders. A lone voice of concern is Nikolai Vorontsov, the Soviet environmental minister, who has called for a cut in the national defense budget to fund environmental cleanups. Vorontsov says as much as 35% of the territory of the former Soviet Union is environmentally compromised.

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