E Magazine articles from January 2008

E Magazine archives from January 2008

Bringing it home.(E Word)
January 1, 2008... We tend to stay too long in that state of mind called "denial." By the time we realize something is terribly wrong it's too late to head off the dreaded outcome--just like when we finally install the stop sign at that dangerous intersection,...

Fashion conscious.(ADVICE & DISSENT: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... The emergence of eco-friendly fashions ("The Eco Fashion Revolution," cover story, September/October 2007) can be attributed to concern for the environment as well as to concern for animals. When I first went vegan, I didn't realize that the...

Real solutions are on the table.(ADVICE & DISSENT: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... I am so irritated and frustrated by so-called global warming experts (Al Gore, Leonardo DeCaprio and now Jay Walljasper ("Save the Planet In Your Own Backyard," feature, September/October 2007) totally ignoring the number one cause of global...

First comes maine ...(ADVICE & DISSENT: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... The article "Keeping America Cluttered" (Currents, September/ October 2007) states, "In 2000, California became the first state to include water bottles in its deposit system." This is not the case. In 1989, the state of Maine expanded its...

Corn: how sweet it is.(ADVICE & DISSENT: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... We read Jim Motavalli's article "Hold the Sugar and Salt," (Consumer News, September/ October 2007) with interest. We agree that a healthy, balanced diet based on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines is important for all Americans--especially children....

There's no such thing as "pollution free".(ADVICE & DISSENT: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... Recently I've seen a number of references to various electric-powered devices (lawn mowers, cars) that call them "pollution free" ("Buzz Cut," House & Home, September/ October 2007). It seems impossible that an environmental periodical is...

Venezuela's toxic gold rush.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The legendary search for El Dorado took place centuries ago, but for many in Venezuela's gold-rich southern region of Guyana, it is only just beginning. Hordes of illegal miners--from Guyana, Brazil and Colombia as...

Bold urban visions.(Re:Vision)
January 1, 2008... Imagine a city that functioned with the seamless ingenuity of nature: the interconnected systems--from school, to store, to street, to restaurant--benefiting and feeding one another without depleting resources. Re: Vision, a group that has...

Making sand from glass?
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Glass bottles tossed into recycling bins may one day bulk up beaches. Officials in South Florida are determining if finely ground glass is suitable for replenishing dwindling sections of sand. The glass bottles would...

Saving the Chesapeake with federal funds.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For many Virginia poultry and cattle farmers living along the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., federal funding is the key to keeping the water clean. The bay is suffering from algae blooms and a...

Blowin' in the wind: Texas ranchers turn to turbines.(CURRENTS)(electricity-generating wind turbines)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In sun-seared West Texas, oil and gas producers have driven the regional economy since the mid-1920s. Now there's a new player in town---electricity-generating wind turbines. The turbines are sprouting by the...

It takes an Eco-Village: green communities are spreading--with growing pains.(CURRENTS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1981, when 22-year-old David Tollas moved from Michigan to live in the middle of the Arizona desert as part of the Arcosanti community, his friends and family looked at him as a radical idealist. Located 65 miles...

Treading water: wetlands loss accelerates in Louisiana.(CURRENTS)
January 1, 2008... In late August and September 2005, the one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Louisiana Gulf coast and obliterated 200 square miles of wetlands. Since the 1930s, the Louisiana coast has lost the equivalent of a football field...

Considering cogeneration: clean power whose time has come ... back.(CURRENTS)
January 1, 2008... Behind the manicured lawns and spotless streets of the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Depot on San Diego Harbor rises a gleaming maze of pipes and towers. It's a 25-megawatt combined heat and power (CHP) electricity plant that recycles its...

The oil peaks.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... There is increasing evidence that the world has reached, or will soon reach, the worrisome condition known as peak oil (see "The Outlook on Oil," feature, January/February 2006). As Michael Klare reports in The Nation, such mainstream sources...

Burt's Bees sells out big.(UPDATES)(Clorox Company acquires Burt's Bees Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The Clorox Company, a name that for most people means "chemical bleach," last October bought privately owned Burt's Bees for $925 million in cash, a whopping endorsement of the company's attractive positioning, and of the promise of sustainable...

Bluefin tuna: going, going, gone.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Atlantic Bluefin tuna, rigorously pursued because of the high prices they command as sushi on the Japanese market, are being pushed to near-extinction from Holland to northern Norway, according to a new report in the...

Losing winter: as climate change takes hold, our coldest season is the first casualty.(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Marshall Heaven of Greenwich, Connecticut got tired of waiting for the snow to fall, so he bought two Backyard Blizzard snowmakers and can now promise 15-foot drifts as early as late November.... Even though it's...

Back when it snowed.
January 1, 2008... People are already nostalgic for winters past. And not just the old: timers. When E sent word to our colleagues that we were looking for remembrances of great winters past, the response was immediate. The coldest season is part of our...

Snowmobiles an public lands: unacceptable impacts on a winter landscape.
January 1, 2008... The editorial page of the Colorado Springs Gazette got pretty steamed up last winter. The move to limit snowmobiles in national parks, it said, is motivated by emotional, not rational concerns. Indeed, said the Gazette, "The targeting of...

SOS: save our snow: winter athletes take the lead in fighting global warming.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "And if the snow buries my neighborhood, And if my parents are crying then I'll dig a tunnel from my window to yours, yeah a tunnel from my window to yours."--The Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" "When I...

Balancing with nature: the Green Yoga Association gets practitioners on the green path.(Your Health)(Organization overview)
January 1, 2008... Near the door at my local yoga studio, a calligraphied sign reads, "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." The mantra reminds students to remain conscientious in all that they do, both inside and outside the studio. It's an...

The cooler kitchen: better appliances and smarter tips.(House & Home)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ever since humans discovered fire, our food preparation has involved consuming natural resources and releasing global warming gases by burning wood or fossil fuels. And now electricity prices are climbing. Luckily,...

Mad for millet: bringing whole grains back.(Eating Right)
January 1, 2008... Although things are slowly changing, 42 percent of Americans still eat no whole rains at all--and only seven percent of us get the recommended three servings per day. But when I serve millet or quinoa as a side dish or incorporated into a...

Retiring green: social(k) is the 401(k) that cares.(Money Matters)
January 1, 2008... If you have strong social and environmental values, chances are you want those values to carry over into your investment portfolio. That's easy to do these days as an individual, but what about your 401(k) retirement plan? A range of green...

Trail of the whale: tracking grey whales with EarthWatch in British Columbia.(Going Green)
January 1, 2008... As we paddle our double kayak between GPS way-points, Jennifer Wladichuk readies her underwater recording apparatus. Wladichuk is a marine biology Ph.D. candidate studying grey whales and the ecosystems that sustain them, and she's about to...

Melting away: can sustainable skis and snowboards save winter sports?(Consumer News)
January 1, 2008... Ski and snowboard companies are finally beginning to recognize the fallacy of relying on winter for business while simultaneously contributing to its destruction. From solar-powered factories to sustainable materials; carbon offsets to...

This little piggy wears organic.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Baby Blend Tees' t-shirts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Baby Blend Tees creator-mom Jennifer Leaphart gets cheeky with her organic infant and toddler clothing, which features messages like "world's cutest alarm dock," "happy camper," "little piggy," and "night owl" on 100 percent certified organic...

Drink a beer, save the ocean.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... It isn't often you can guzzle a beer for a good cause. But Alaskan Brewing of Juneau, which uses glacier-fed water in its stouts, porters and both winter and summer ales, is donating some of its profits to cleaning up the Pacific Ocean. One...

Made to fit.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(UJeans)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Eco-friendly tailored jeans of perfect size and personal style is UJeans' winning offer to consumers. It all begins with material selection. Cotton, the denim material for excellence, is a water-intensive crop, rich in pesticides and...

Eating well, eating right.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Sustainable Table)(Movie review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Watch Sustainable Table, the 2006 documentary by producer and director Mischa Hedges, and the question, "What's for dinner?" will take on a whole new meaning. By serving its audience a critical look at the modern food industry, Sustainable...

Eco footprints.(Tools: For Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Timberland Co.'s winter boots)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Winter boots just got greener with Timberland's holiday line of waterproof Earthkeepers made in the company's tough-looking, weather-ready style and crafted with 100 percent organic cotton canvas, with partially recycled outsoles and laces. The...

Latin rhythms.(Putumayo Records and Mujer de Cabaret )(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Putumayo Records' most recent release, Tango Around the World, is an album blending traditional Argentinean tangos with more contemporary rhythms, such as electrotango. The album celebrates multicultural integration and its sales will support...

Play hard, live green.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(63-North brand )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Under the "play hard, live green" motto, the 63-North brand brings an assortment of lotions and lip balms for the environmentally aware, outdoor, active consumer. The products come from Klabin Design, a company...

Touchable Tees.(Tools: For Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Tees for Change's t-shirts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We're so often caught up in the environmental rightness of buying organic, sustainable clothes (reducing pesticide use and water consumption, following fair trade values), that we sometimes forget that there's a...

Reflections in the water.
January 1, 2008... The disaster that was Hurricane Katrina brought one thing to the forefront of the national consciousness: the constant struggle of America's poor. Writer and death penalty lawyer Billy Sothern, author of the emotional account, Down in New...

Greene on green.(Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Dr. Alan Greene, the pediatrician, father of four and online parenting guru, has a perfect surname for launching his latest title: Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care (John Wiley & Sons,...

Diet for a small planet.(Hungry Planet: What the World Eats )(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... In the coffee table-friendly Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (Ten Speed Press, $24.95), authors Peter Manzel and Faith D'Aluisio travel the world and take photos, capturing families eating their everyday foods. Through this cross-cultural...

Painting perils & urban greenbelts.(EARTH TALK: Questions & Answers About Our Environment)
January 1, 2008... Dear EarthTalk: Are the rumors true that refilling and reusing some types of plastic bottles can cause health problems?--Regina Fujan, Lincoln, NE Most types of plastic bottles are safe to reuse at least a few times if properly washed with...