E Magazine articles from March 2006

E Magazine archives from March 2006

The spotlight moves on.(E Word)
March 1, 2006... When Kanye West quipped on national television last September, as an astonished Mike Meyers looked on, that George Bush "doesn't care about black people," he was only partly right. George Bush doesn't care about white people, either. In fact,...

Coffee break.(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Over the years, I have used a lot of the information in E Magazine for my work in teaching recycling lessons in the local public school system and through the education program at McHenry County College (MCC) in Illinois. Thank you so much for...

Does chocolate really have caffeine?(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Your cover story article on coffee indicated that chocolate has caffeine. Actually, I've read articles stating that it may not. I also haven't been able to find any scientific studies proving that it does. Tony SlatonBarker via e-mail...

Gobble, gobble toil and trouble.(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... In regards to your recent article "Talking Turkey about Biofuels" (In Brief November/December 2005), I noticed that our local southwest Ohio newspaper ran the following on December 29: "Governor Closes Plant Due to Smell. Springfield, Missouri:...

Fun with hybrids.(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Jim Motavalli's article "The Hot Hybrids" (Consumer News, November/December 2005) is generally good, but I have a few comments. First, as EV World (www.evworld.com) recently reported, both Toyota and Ford have on several occasions tried to bury...

Hybrids vs. LNG.(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... I read your recent article about liquefied natural gas (LNG) ("Highly Combustible," Currents, November/December 2005). Using this fuel decreases pollution and is a great start to becoming less dependent on oil. However, according to the Energy...

Bursting the biodiesel balloon?(ADVICE & DISSENT: Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Regarding your recent article on biodiesel ("The Biodiesel Band Bus," In Brief, November/ December 2005), my friend says that, according to several sources he's seen, the production and refining of the fuel can cause more harm than the use of...

Thailand's booed zoo.(night safari, is yet to open)
March 1, 2006... Some environmentalists, and many animal rights advocates, believe zoos are inherently inhumane; others argue that if zoos use kind practices, they're valuable to society and help preserve wildlife. But in the case of the Chiang Mai Night Safari...

Good grub in Africa.(preservation of caterpillars )
March 1, 2006... The news that Espitas, a restaurant in Dresden, Germany, has lines around the block for its maggot ice cream and maggot salad was no surprise to entomologist Marc Kenis from Switzerland's CABI Bioscience, a nonprofit group that works on...

The evolution of Galapagos wind.(wind farms forces)
March 1, 2006... One of the world's most prized ecological zones will soon become a showcase for renewable energy in remote locations. Early this year, crews are expected to break ground on a wind farm on San Cristobal, the largest of four inhabitable islands...

Clean Air-Cool Planet: climate change in the Northeast.(environmental scope)
March 1, 2006... Facing a vacuum of federal leadership on the burning issue of climate change, Ted Smith and Bill Moomaw decided to turn to the Northeast. In 1998, they held a conference at Boston's Tufts University to develop the idea of starting a regional...

The ecology of fear: scientists say wolves are helping restore Yellowstone's ecosystem.(the preservation of environment)
March 1, 2006... For four years, they toiled in parallel wilderness laboratories a thousand miles from home, both quietly minding their own business, which is plant science. Bill Ripple and Bob Beschta were working in separate obscurity, attempting to explain...

The service economy: car sharing is the new consumer model.(CURRENTS)
March 1, 2006... On a Saturday morning, 27-year-old Michelle Debelak hops off a bus in downtown Portland, Oregon, crosses the street, and heads for a Honda Civic parked next to a sign reading "Permitted Car Share Vehicles Only." Pulling out a key card, Debelak...

Growing farmers: young professionals go back to the land.
March 1, 2006... Corie Pierce used to be solidly in the ranks of the young, urban professionals. A charismatic 31-year-old with blonde hair and warm blue eyes, Pierce spent most of the last decade as an educational entrepreneur, working at several start-up...

Waste away: towns that are scaling a mountain of garbage.(waste management through public involvement )
March 1, 2006... A puzzle that's plagued this nation for decades is what to do with our mountains of trash. We've dumped it into the ocean, burned it and buried it in landfills, always playing environmental roulette. We want it as far away from our homes, parks...

Fresh water from down under the waves.(CURRENTS)(Partnerships of Energetech)(Partnerships of H2AU)
March 1, 2006... Growing populations, increasing agricultural activities and new industries all need one thing: freshwater. And increasingly, they need more of it than is locally available. This is especially true for largely arid Australia. Because it is...

Collision on the high seas.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Although the International Whaling Commission has authorized a global moratorium on the sale of whale products since 1982, this has not stopped Japanese fleets from continuing to kill whales (under the banner of "science") and sell the meat and...

Trouble for cape wind.(UPDATES)(Cape Wind project)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Cape Wind Associates' plans to build a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts have been met with heavy opposition (see "Catching the Wind," cover story, January/February 2005). Offshore wind projects received a boost from the Energy...

Nuclear case dropped.(radiation release)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... The cases against Florida Power and Light (FP&L) brought by two families whose sons have rare cancers were dismissed without trial in January, nearly three years since filing (see "The Nuke Next Door," Currents, May/June 2004). U.S. District...

The storm this time: natural and unnatural disaster in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
March 1, 2006... I'm flying to New Orleans and the Gulf region by way of Ronald Reagan (Washington, D.C.) and George Bush (Houston) airports to see how "less government" functions in the face of a coastal catastrophe. But we already know the answer. There was a...

Diamond--in the rough after Katrina.(chemical affects)
March 1, 2006... For Margie Eugene-Richard, a longtime resident of Norco, Louisiana's Diamond neighborhood evacuations are a way of life. Diamond, in the heart of the petrochemical corridor known as Cancer Alley, was boxed in on two sides by the gas flares and...

Arsenic and old waste: the environmental legacy of hurricane Katrina.
March 1, 2006... Susan Cowsill, a singer-songwriter (and member of the famous 1960s singing family) says the culture of New Orleans is a big part of her music. But it was with some trepidation that she and her family recently returned home after a nomadic...

Business as usual: crony contractors cash in after Katrina.
March 1, 2006... On the surface, everything was fine. Federally contracted cleanup workers, hired by a Halliburton subsidiary at $8 an hour, were busily cleaning up the Belle Chasse Naval Base near New Orleans. But look a little closer, according to the German...

Big oil on trial: in the Ecuadorian rainforest, Cherron is charged as a major polluter.(environmental pollution lawsuits)
March 1, 2006... In a courtroom crawling with conga ants and abuzz with mosquitoes, Briceno Castillo waited his turn. Standing near a black, putrid-smelling mud puddle the 70-year-old peasant farmer watched the judge talk. Then he watched the lawyers talk. When...

Sugar or Sweetener? sucrose has its problems, but so do artificial substitutes.(Your Health)
March 1, 2006... Americans are known around the world for our voracious appetite for sugary treats. Our collective sweet tooth compels us to ingest mountains of candy and cookies, truckloads of ice cream and sodas, and many other confections. But we also...

The facts on fats: read the labels, because they're not all bad!(good and bad fats for consumption)
March 1, 2006... Health- and weight-conscious consumers are used to being on the prowl for products containing fat. We choose fat-free anything--cheese, peanut butter, salad dressings, even candy--thinking that these items must be better for us. If "fat"...

The ultimate flattery: learning from nature through biomimicry.(House & Home)
March 1, 2006... It used to be that the house of the future was thought to involve robots, and lots of them, doing all the tedious work, Jetsons-style. They would clean the kitchen, prune the bushes and wash the laundry, all without complaint, while we humans...

After the storm: community investing aids gulf coast.(Money Matters)
March 1, 2006... Even before Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters hit the Gulf Coast last summer, the region was suffering economically. But the one-two punch doled out by Katrina and then Hurricane Rita literally wiped out thousands of promising small...

Tenting tonight: getting in touch with the hunter-gatherer within.(Going Green)(Column)
March 1, 2006... Every so often we need to interrupt our regular lives and go off and live in a tent. I don t say this for the usual benefits associated with camping--the simpler living and getting close to the outdoors, though those things go far in renewing...

Biodiesel basics: how to run your car on used salad oil.
March 1, 2006... For financial, political and environmental reasons--including the fact that we may soon reach the peak of oil production, after which fossil fuels will get increasingly expensive--Americans are trying out biodiesel, both in their vehicles and...

Personal care, family style.(Kathy's Family personal care)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Bring Kathy's Family products into your home, and you can read about the colorful Swanson family on the fantastic product packaging as you wash your hair or soothe those chapped lips. The Swansons are a large Minnesota farming family, and their...

Hot and easy.(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Fit Kids Instant Oatmeal)(Product information of Country Choice Organic)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Concerned about what your kids are eating for breakfast? Worried that they aren't getting a wholesome start to their days? When you're in a hurry, try giving them Country Choice Organic's Fit Kids Instant Oatmeal (eight packets for $3.69). It...

Not your grandma's diapers.(disposable )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Environmentalists have been debating the relative merits of cloth vs. disposable diapers, not to mention diaper services vs. efficient appliances, for decades. Over the years, E has also added fuel to the fire (see "Bringing Up...

Feed your skin.(GratefulBody enhances skin care)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... The natural skin-care products company GratefulBody believes the "best way to have beautiful skin is simply to feed it well." With this mantra in mind, the Berkeley-based company has been creating an impressive line of delightful products since...

Lights, camera, advocacy!(Tools for Green Living: Resources for Eco-Awareness and Action)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... You're not likely to be bored watching Robert Greenwald's documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (Brave New Films, 2005). You're more likely to be outraged, saddened or frustrated at Wal-Mart's brutal onslaught, which can make...

Better than TV!(television)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... The concept of the glass-encased aquarium filled with exotic fish had a long and strange gestation, according to Bernd Brunner in his fascinating and beautifully illustrated The Ocean at Home (Princeton Architectural Press, $24.95). Brunner, a...

Fighting for oceans.(Chester River Associations)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... They say that all politics are local, and if your cause is protecting the seven seas (or at least your neighborhood beach) you'll want to be armed with The Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, a/k/a The Blue Movement Directory (Island Press,...

Beep, beep goes the veggie mobile.(book comment)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... In her advocacy-minded children's book Have Fries--Will Travel (New Society Publishers, $12.95), Linda K. Hempel takes young readers on a journey through the eyes of a delightful illustrated car. Children should enjoy the colorful pages,...

Vibrant spring.(Books)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... After months of short days and cold, snowy weather, many people look forward to spring. The season of rebirth and renewal is so important to one man that he decided to travel across the United States to witness spring in different states and...

Watching the world.(Books)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... For the past 23 years, the Worldwatch Institute has issued an annual State of the World report on environmental and social challenges facing society, as well as solutions. The State of the World 2006: China and India Hold the World in Balance...

Grants made easy.(foundations grow by grants)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Unless they're run by millionaires, most grassroots groups depend on raising operating money from foundations and individuals. It's a dirty job, and nobody likes to do it, but it's even harder to try and get by on membership dues, newsletter...

Debating digital music and bittersweet sugar.(EARTH TALK: Question & Answers About Our Environment)
March 1, 2006... What are the environmental implications of the proliferation of iPods specifically and digital music in general?--Mike Romano, San Francisco, CA The advent of digital music and other forms of entertainment downloaded over the Internet has...