E Magazine articles from January 2005

E Magazine archives from January 2005

A mighty wind.(EWord)
January 1, 2005... Wind power is no longer a quaint, modest cottage industry, and it's not just some futuristic pipe dream, either. Wind energy, is online and producing significant amounts of power right now. If you want to know just how much, visit the website...

Standing for women.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... We just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful job that Melissa Knopper did on her story "Our Bodies, Ourselves" (cover story, September/October 2004). We appreciated her including information from the Women's Foundation of California's...

Standing against animal testing.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... You wrote between the lines of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" in your September/October 2004 issue an effective and inspired argument against biological research using animals. Opponents to these experiments argue that differences between human and...

Mercury is fishy business.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Your September/October 2004 cover story includes recommendations for women to be smart consumers and prevent environmental illness. But I'm disappointed in your suggestion that women should "limit canned tuna." Actually, according to...

Vegan dining?(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I was pleased to read about the greening of campus dining rooms ("Green Menus," Currents, July/August 2004), but disappointed by the seemingly liberal amounts of ham, eggs, dairy and other animal foods on the menus. For those of us who think of...

Consumption to blame, not Bush.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Fred Durso, Jr.'s article "Clean Energy Goes to College' (In Briefs, July/August 2004) was revealing about the consumption patterns of a future generation of energy consumers. Of course, people tend to politicize things by blaming the President...

A pilot's perspective.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I have read your recent coverage of aviation's contribution to global pollution ("Flying the Dirty Skies," Currents, September/October 2004). Being a private pilot myself, I can admit it's not the cleanest. I happen to know the fuel I put into...

From corn waste to bio-fuel.
January 1, 2005... What's the big deal about ethanol, anyway? Made primarily from corn kernels, it's mostly used as a gasoline additive that boosts oxygen content and reduces air pollution, but it has the potential to replace gasoline in passenger vehicles....

San Francisco builds green.
January 1, 2005... A quiet revolution is taking place in the San Francisco area. You can hear it in the whisper of school children at a public library when the air conditioning is turned off. You can see evidence in the demolition of a convention center where...

City kids learn about the land.(Hawthorne Valley Farm)
January 1, 2005... In the Berkshire/Taconic foothills of eastern New York State, Hawthorne Valley Farm is home to 60 dairy cows, a herd of heifers, some piglets and a team of biodynamic farmers. There's also a high-energy bunch of nine-to-15-year-old urbanites...

Hiding the bad gas.(capturing and storing carbon dioxide)
January 1, 2005... A Norwegian environmental group is defying mainstream environmental thinking by supporting the controversial process known as carbon sequestration as a short-term way of tackling climate change. The theory is that the major global warming gas...

Damming Tiger Gorge: Chinese environmentalists try to protect a natural wonder.(Currents)
January 1, 2005... In the land where 85,000 dams have bloomed, the builders of the mammoth Three Gorges reservoir in China are poised to begin another project. The giant hydropower company plans to dam China's famous Tiger Leaping Gorge, where the sheer cliffs of...

Marines and manatees: a proposed U.S. base in Okinawa threatens endangered dugongs.(Currents)
January 1, 2005... When Napoleon Bonaparte was told of the peace-loving Okinawan culture, whose values precluded maintaining a standing army, he scoffed. Surrounded by great and powerful neighbors, he opined, such a nation could not long survive. Years...

Building green: energy efficiency takes root at habitat for humanity.(Currents)
January 1, 2005... Can low-income home builders afford the luxury of going green? That question is being vigorously tested at some Habitat for Humanity affiliates. The most common green building approach used in Habitat homes--many of which are...

The absentee issue: could Kerry have won with straight talk on the environment?(Currents)(John Kerry's environmental policy)
January 1, 2005... On Election Day, beginning a few minutes after midnight in Columbus, Ohio, Bryan Clark was working to get out the greens for Sierra Club Votes. He and 45 volunteers were putting orange-colored voting-day reminders on the doorknobs of citizens...

Howling at the moon: learning to live with wolves in the Romanian foothills.(Currents)(Romania tourism industry)
January 1, 2005... Some 2,000 years ago, the barbarous Carpathian rulers known as the Dacians charged into battle against the invading Roman forces behind wolf-head banners. They were crushed and ultimately assimilated by the Romans. From this union of "wolf...

High noon for prairie dogs.(Updates)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The fate of that symbol of the plains states, he prairie dog, still hangs in the balance (see "Open Season on Varmints," cover story, July/August 2004). Last August the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed the black-tailed prairie dog...

Love Canal "clean-up"?(Updates)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... While the Bush administration considers the recent completion of toxic waste clean-up efforts in Niagara, New York's Love Canal neighborhood to be an environmental success story, Lois Gibbs (see "Be Safe! Lois Gibbs' New Campaign Urges Caution...

Refuges still at risk.(Updates)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... With military costs mushrooming, the Bush administration has had little cash to tend to the ailing national wildlife refuge system (see "Seeking Sanctuary," features, March/April 2003), according to a new report by Defenders of Wildlife. ...

Catching the wind: the world's fastest-growing renewable energy source is coming of age.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... At the base of the Sagamore Bridge, the gateway to Cape Cod, is a nostalgia-inducing fake windmill that looks like it belongs with tulips and wooden shoes in an image of Holland's colorful past. In fact, it's advertising for a Christmas tree...

Wind: a hard-blowing history.(wind power development)
January 1, 2005... Some people may think of wind power as a new concept, but in fact humans have been relying on wind for travel and power for nearly 7,000 years. We wouldn't be where we are today (literally!) if not for the energy derived from the wind. In...

Randy Swisher: a force for wind.(Conversations)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... Randy Swisher has been involved in the fight for renewable energy since 1975, when he served as executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). He has also worked for wind as a legislative representative...

Developing world wind: under construction.
January 1, 2005... Although Europe and North America remain the largest wind energy markets, the developing world is coming on strong, and many observers believe countries like India and China (with rapidly rising power demand and major pollution problems) have...

E walks the talk.(E/The Environmental Magazine)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... E/The Environmental Magazine isn't just writing about wind power, we're actually buying it. Through a partnership with Renewable Choice Energy, we're offsetting 100 percent of our electricity use for the next three years through the purchase of...

Heavy metal? Exploring the aluminum/Alzheimer's link.(Your Health)
January 1, 2005... In natural health circles, many people are tossing aluminum pans and using holistic underarm crystals instead of conventional antiperspirant. Their choices are fueled by an ongoing mystery surrounding aluminum. About 20 years ago, scientists...

Gluten-free cuisine: is avoiding the protein better for us?(Eating Right)
January 1, 2005... While perusing the lunch offerings at a local health food store recently, I overheard the chef say to a customer: "You have to try my vegetarian lasagna. It is gluten-free, which is better for you, of course." I had heard that wheat and gluten...

Clean heat: the geothermal energy beneath our feet.(House & Home)
January 1, 2005... As the need for electricity continues to grow faster than the average American waistline, people like Philip Clark are moving beyond the fossil fuels that heat our homes, light our stoves and illuminate our streets. Instead, they're tapping...

Changing the climate: investors have the power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.(Money Matters)
January 1, 2005... As human-induced climate change makes its ominous presence known, investors are starting to size up corporations on the basis of their preparedness for associated risks and opportunities. Indeed, savvy investors know that the companies that...

Red stripe, yellow curry and green hotels: sustainable tourism in Jamaica.(Going Green)
January 1, 2005... Stroll barefoot along Jamaica's white sand beaches, get acquainted with dolphins in crystal-dear water, and ascend mystical mountain peaks through rainforest pathways. But before you arrive, make sure the place where you stay has made a...

Not grandma's tableware: style and sustainability in the dining room.(Consumer News)
January 1, 2005... While many of us put great thought into the ecological impacts of the foods we set down on our tables, how much do we consider the impact of the glassware, cutlery and linens that decorate those tables? Housewares make up one of the biggest...

Love those lips.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(eco-friendly lip balms)
January 1, 2005... With the icy winter winds once again ravaging our lips, a variety of green products can bring eternal spring. Most conventional lip products are petroleum based, and any essential oils are derived from plants grown with chemicals. The petroleum...

Sooth that skin.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In the winter many of us become gluttons for Vitamin C. It nourishes our bodies and some believe it keeps colds at bay. Now, thanks to Jason Natural Cosmetics' Vita-C line of cleansers and moisturizers, it can pamper our skin as well. Since...

Launder cares away.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Year round, skin can feel punished by harsh chemicals in conventional laundry detergent. Mountain Green Skin Sensitive has developed a line of laundry products to keep clothes fresh and clean without irritating solvents, alcohols, perfumes,...

For those who shave ...(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Recycline, the company that brought you the Preserve recyclable toothbrush, now offers the Preserve razor. A company spokesperson tells E that the idea was to offer something that is more eco-friendly to those who still need or want a...

Woody's journey.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Woody Harrelson)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... It is exciting to see celebrities make films about environmental issues, so it was with great anticipation that I watched Woody Harrelson's documentary Go Further (Mongrel Media, directed by Ron Mann), which recounts his 2001 road trip down the...

Natural time.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Antenna)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Our experience of the seasons is one that no longer needs to be mediated by the antiquated Gregorian calendar. The San Francisco-based theater troop Antenna has created an ECOlogical calendar (Pomegranate Communications, $14.99) that follows...

Know what you're eating.(Diet for a Dead Planet: How the Food Industry is Killing Us)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The topic of food can be bleak, indeed. The past few years have produced a stream of books and articles exposing the nightmare that is the industrial food complex. Christopher D. Cook's Diet for a Dead Planet: How the Food Industry is Killing...

Aquatic follies.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... This isn't the first time in history that water has been scarce. For millennia farmers have had to stretch water resources to irrigate their crops. Some solutions were small; others were impressively large, lending glory to states and their...

Homestead, schmomestead.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... If you've ever indulged fantasies of selling off your belongings, moving to the country, and living off the land, Eleanor Agnew's new book Back from the Land: How Young Americans went to Nature in the 1970s and Why They Came Back (Ivan R. Dee,...

America vs. Europe.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... While Americans stubbornly pursue the ever-elusive American Dream, Europe is quietly and steadily creating its own vision for the future. In The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream (Penguin,...

An epic adventure.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In 1735 a team of French scientists set out for South America to answer one of the most pressing questions of the time: what is the precise shape of the Earth? Robert Whittaker's fascinating account of this expedition in The Mapmaker's Wife...

Finding hope.(The Impossible Will Take a Little While)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... In The Impossible Will Take a Little While (Basic Books, $14.95), editor Paul Rogat Loeb selects excerpts that provide hope, inspiration and solutions for citizens who feel powerless against the state of our society. This self-help book for a...

Corny tale.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Soon after Mark Kurlansky's book Cod was a surprise hit, a wave of copycat books descended from the heavens. There is The True Story of Chocolate, Salt: A World History (that one's by Kurlansky, too), The Potato and the prosaically titled Coal....

Idea man.(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... J.P. Harpignes gets around. He is the former program director of New York City's invaluable Open Center (and still organizes events there). He also helps produce the equally invaluable Bioneers Conference north of San Francisco. Political...

One clean breath ...(book)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Oxygen may not strike you as a lively protagonist for a book. Think again. In Gasp! The Swift & Terrible Beauty of Air (Shoemaker & Hoard, $26) a masterfully inventive biography of air, Joe Sherman weaves between geology and history, myth and...

Rising nut allergies and saving energy in the office.(EarthTalk: questions & answers about our environment)
January 1, 2005... What's behind the startling explosion in nut allergies among children? Is it changes in the kids, the nuts or the processing? --Lynne Whetzel, Ithaca, NY Recent research does in fact show that the incidence of nut allergies among...