E Magazine articles from July 2003

E Magazine archives from July 2003

Feed the needy, not the greedy. (E Word).
July 1, 2003... Right up there with air and water, one of the last things in nature we should be tampering with is our food--at least not without due consideration of all the ramifications. And that, of course, means undertaking a full program of research, not...

Legal rights for animals. (Letters From Our Readers).
July 1, 2003... I support the growing movement for granting animals legal rights ("Rights from Wrongs," cover story, March/ April 2003), and believe it should be an integral part of being "green" If animals are given protection, indirect benefits result. For...

No safe refuge. (Letters From Our Readers).
July 1, 2003... Thank you for bringing attention to the threats facing our National Wildlife Refuge System ("Seeking Sanctuary," features, March/April 2003). Noticeably, however, trapping was missing from the list of activities that pose a threat to wildlife...

Power to the people. (Letters From Our Readers).
July 1, 2003... One of the best things citizens can do to make sure that our National Wildlife Refuges are, in fact, refuges is to make their voices heard in the new planning process. Under a 1997 law, each refuge must seek public comment in preparing a...

Smokey bear's squirrelly sister.
July 1, 2003... In the summer of 2002, amidst the worst fire season on record, an editorial cartoon ran in many papers across the country showing an indignant Smokey Bear, one paw wrapped around a mug of beer, the other pounding the bar. "50 years I've given...

Redesigning restaurants.
July 1, 2003... Ritu Primlani, founder of Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education, is on a remarkable mission. Through her brainchild, Greening Ethnic Restaurants (GER), Primlani reaches out to Indian and other Asian eateries with little...

Farming's brave new face.
July 1, 2003... It's a hot, dry night. A farmer wonders if his wheat crop needs watering. But it's a 10-mile drive away, and he can't expend all that time and gasoline every time his crop might need attention. So he goes on the Internet to find out the precise...

Esprit de Tompkins.
July 1, 2003... Has Douglas Tompkins, founder of Esprit, fallen victim to hubris? The former textile magnate, now a South American environmental crusader, is already owner of the world's largest private nature reserve. He shelled out no less than $55 million...

Climate change in the Carolinas.
July 1, 2003... When Carolyn Hess moved just south of Hertford, North Carolina 16 years ago, cypress stumps near the mouth of the Yeopim River hinted at a vanished island that a decade earlier had been substantial enough to provide shelter for a local recluse....

Be safe? Lois Gibbs' new campaign urges caution on toxic chemicals. (Currents).
July 1, 2003... Twenty-five years after pregnant women and children were evacuated from the neighborhood bordering the Love Canal toxic waste site, environmental health pioneer Lois Gibbs is poised to launch a national campaign aimed at redirecting the way...

Finding sanctuary: a refuge for Sri Lanka 's stressed elephants. (Currents).
July 1, 2003... Elephants have been a cherished part of Sri Lankan culture since ancient times, and their often heroic images decorate Buddhist and Hindu temples countrywide. At the revered Temple of the Tooth in Kandi, antique elephant tusks adorn the main...

Speaking for the trees: the old-growth timber battle heats up. (Currents).
July 1, 2003... "If you want to see what environmental terrorism looks like, just drive up Greenwood Heights Road," says Sparrow, a diminutive elderly woman who has been supporting tree-sitters in her neighborhood, called Freshwater, nearly 300 miles north of...

Rio Poco: the once-mighty Rio Grande has slowed to a trickle. (Currents).
July 1, 2003... For much of the past two years, crossing the U. S.-Mexico border had never been easier. You just strolled down Boca Chica Beach until you noticed that all of the cars parked on the beach had Mexican license plates. You'd just walked straight...

The smoke clears: ex-tobacco farmers kick the habit and go organic. (Currents).
July 1, 2003... From the outside, this looks like any other barn tucked into a sleepy mountain hollow of Stickleyville, Virginia in the Appalachians. Rows of tobacco plants skewered on wooden poles hang like dry-cleaning from the rafters while all around the...

Paper or cloth? (Updates).
July 1, 2003... Governments as far-flung as Taiwan and Australia are turning the ideal of zero waste (see "Zero Waste," cover story, March/April 2001) into reality for plastics. Taiwan introduced a new law in January to ban in-store distribution of plastic...

Salmon of a different color. (Updates).
July 1, 2003... While environmentalists have long bemoaned the ecological impacts of salmon farming (see "Our Living Oceans," cover story, July/August 2001), a recent lawsuit suggests there may be dangers to consumers as well. In April, class-action lawsuits...

Hydrogen for the future. (Updates).
July 1, 2003... The road to tomorrow's fuel-cell cars now includes a stop for drivers to fill up their tanks. The first commercial hydrogen fueling station opened on the outskirts of Reykjavik, Iceland last April. The new station marks a step forward in...

Food fight: genetic engineering vs. organics: the good, the bad and the ugly. (Cover Story).
July 1, 2003... AT A SUPERMARKET in the Midwest. Mary Lee Treter passes aisles of shelves stocked with countless products containing genetically engineered ingredients: cereal, muffins, milk, taco shells, frozen pizzas. Hawaiian-grown fresh papayas, hot dogs...

Bitter sweets: a politically connected industry devastates the Everglades.
July 1, 2003... Sustaining an otherwise cerulean sky, oily black smoke billows a mile high from more than half a dozen fires south of Lake Okeechobee. You can see the smoke from West Palm Beach, like the exhalations of detonated bombs. It is eerily quiet. ...

Sleep tight: natural alternatives to sleeping pills. (Your Health).
July 1, 2003... It happens to most Americans at some point in their lives--the sweet, blissful sleep of childhood is replaced by glaring at the digital clock at all hours and countless 3 a.m. pillow adjustments. Like the common cold, the origins of insomnia...

Farm fresh: local farmers' markets are a healthy choice. (Eating Right).
July 1, 2003... Howard and Mary Hall don't get much sleep during the summer. They start picking salad greens at sun up every Friday, harvest produce all through the day and cut flowers late in the afternoon. On a good day, they finish washing, sorting and...

Organic profits: natural foods superstores are doing well. (Money Matters).
July 1, 2003... Eco-conscious investors looking to put their money where their mouths are need look no further than natural foods supermarkets... and NASDAQ. Two of the three leading national chains, Whole Foods and Wild Oats, are publicly traded stocks that...

Suburban Shangri-la: better backyard living without chemistry. (House & Home).
July 1, 2003... When we bought our home in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, we knew the garden would be a long-term project. The house had been rented to unsympathetic tenants for the past several years, and they'd allowed the 50-by- 100-foot backyard to...

Undiscovered Florida: new urbanism meets old-fashioned hospitality. (Going Green).
July 1, 2003... Think Florida vacation and the mind turns inevitably to Disney World, which takes up 47 square miles of prime Orlando real estate and is as big as San Francisco. But there's another side of Florida, one that places you amid some of the nicest...

There goes the sun: when it comes to ultraviolet exposure, it pays to be pale. (Consumer News).
July 1, 2003... Catching rays, soaking up sun, baking on the beach--there are myriad ways to describe the typical summer tanning experience. The popularity of tanning continues, despite well-proven correlation between sun exposure and skin cancer. ...

Cleaning up cleansers. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... Heather Caro cleaned houses for more than 16 years, even putting herself through college. But after so much time scrubbing floors, she began to have dizzy spells from breathing in cleaning chemicals. Caro saw a need for effective natural...

Good riddance. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... Unlike household water that passes into the sewer system, storm drain runoff is neither treated nor filtered for toxins. The contaminated brew, which mixes with oil leaked from cars and trucks, streams directly into waterways. The EcoSense...

Travel trouble-free. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... As any vegan knows, it can be difficult to stick to your principles when on the road, where it's not so easy to find animal-friendly products. That's why Donna Zeigfinder, owner of Green Earth Travel, created VegTravel.com, a shop that provides...

Food to live for. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... Nothing Living Tree Community Foods sells has ever touched a stove. Living Tree is a supporter of the living food movement, which believes cooking robs food of its nutrients and subtle flavors. So the Berkeley, California-based company offers...

Mother earth meets Rapunzle. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... Nature's Gate, a veteran in the world of organic body products, is introducing a new line of hair-care items just in time for the sun-streaked days of summer. Nature's Gate shampoos and conditioners ($6.99) use 85 percent certified organic...

At the movies. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).
July 1, 2003... Whale Rider is an eerie, majestic movie that weaves together the ancestral legends of New Zealand's Maori tribe with the destiny of a contemporary young girl. The compelling tale underscores the need to preserve reverence for ancient ways. The...

The view from the Northwest.
July 1, 2003... The common thread that runs through all of reporter and author William Dietrich's writing is the environment of the Pacific Northwest. In his latest book, Natural Grace: The Charm, Wonder, and Lessons of Pacific Northwest Animals and Plants...

Gardening guru.
July 1, 2003... Ellen Sandbeck has compiled a lively collection of folk wisdom for the organic gardener in her book Eat More Dirt (Broadway Books, $10.95). Did you know that beetles flock like lemmings to drown in pools of vinegar? Slugs cannot tolerate...

Greening Africa, one tree at a time.
July 1, 2003... A lifelong career in activism and advocacy led to the extraordinary success of the Green Belt Movement, a nonprofit grassroots organization founded by Kenyan Wangari Maathai. In her new book The Green Belt Movement (Lantern Books, $15), Maathai...

Bonding with dolphins.
July 1, 2003... The relationship between humans and dolphins is at once magnificent and highly problematic. In their new compilation Between Species: Celebrating the Dolphin-Human Bond (Sierra Club Books, $24.95), editors Toni Frohoff and Brenda Peterson...

A feast of greens.
July 1, 2003... The vegan diet usually calls up images of austerity and abstention. After all, vegans must swear off meat, fish, dairy and eggs--ingredients most chefs rely on. Fortunately, Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza, co-owners of vegan bistro The Candle...

Forest through the trees. (Letters From Our Readers).
July 1, 2003... Your January/February 2003 article, "Behind the Label: How Well is the Forest Stewardship Council Protecting Trees?" (Currents), mentioned two certifications that have become controversial, but didn't stress enough the myriad successes that FSC...

Take a byte out of energy use.
July 1, 2003... I agree with the sentiment of your response to the question of whether it's better to leave a computer on or shut it off when it's not in use (Ask E, March/April 2003). But your citation on energy wasted isn't entirely accurate. While a...

What threats would oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pose to wildlife? (Ask E).
July 1, 2003... --Alexander Brower, Jefferson, WI The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service calls Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) "among the most complete, pristine, and undisturbed ecosystems on Earth." ANWR's Area 1002, the coastal plain where...

Do jet contrails cause climate change? (Ask E).
July 1, 2003... --Isadore Klevitch, Palatine, IL Condensation trails, which are also known as contrails, are formed when airplanes fly at high altitudes, where the air is extremely cold. The phenomenon is similar to exhaling in cold weather and "seeing...

Are there any environmental benefits of diesel-powered cars? (Ask E).
July 1, 2003... --Bill Darcy, Concord, NH The high fuel economy of diesel-powered vehicles, such as the Volkswagen Golf GL TDI, may seem like a no-brainer for environmentalists looking for a new car. But don't be fooled by the numbers. Though a...