E Magazine articles from May 2000

E Magazine archives from May 2000

Sprawling America.
May 1, 2000... The process by which well-defined towns and cities get transformed into corridors of strip malls and fast-food outlets, linked by smog-choked highways, now has a name: urban sprawl. Since World War II, American cities have been developing as...

ADVICE & DISSENT LETTERS FROM OUR READERS.
May 1, 2000... WHAT'S THAT SMELL? Congratulations to Damon Franz and Holly Prall for their fine article "Smelling Good But Feeling Bad" (Your Health, January/February 2000)! I would like your readers to know that they can write to the Food and Drug...

White Gold.(the ecological impact of shrimp farming)
May 1, 2000... The Social and Ecological Consequences of High-Intensity Shrimp Farming Lider Gongora knows this part of the Pacific like the back of his hand. The founder of the environmental organization Fundacion de Defensa Ecologica (FUNDECOL) stands...

Burning Biomass.(alternative energy sources)
May 1, 2000... Are We Overlooking Some of the World's Sustainable Energy Fuels? Ever since humans first huddled around a fire for warmth, people have burned logs, straw, wood and animal waste--otherwise known as biomass--to create energy. Indeed,...

Meeting in the Middle.(housing and environmental groups form coalitions)
May 1, 2000... Finding Common Ground on Housing and the Environment Thanks to colleagues at the Coalition for a Livable Future, Tasha Harmon, a housing advocate in Portland, Oregon, doesn't worry so much about missing regional planning meetings anymore....

THE YELLOWSTONE WOLVES WIN ONE.(appeals court overturns lower court, allowing wolves to remain)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The 300 gray wolves that roam the wilds of Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho won't be leaving anytime soon, thanks to a decision by Denver's 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. In January, the appeals court overturned a 1997 ruling that...

LOBSTER TALES.(lobsters disappearing from Long Island Sound)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... It began when lobstermen throughout the Long Island Sound began pulling up their pots empty last fall. As the climax to an especially productive decade, the fishery had spiraled in a swig and devastating collapse. The parasite now...

CRYING RIVERS.(Romania gold mine spills cyanide into rivers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... On January 30, an estimated 100,000 cubic meters of polluted mud and wastewater escaped from a break in the dam of the Baia Mare gold mine in Northwest Romania, and spilled into the adjacent Lapus River. From there, it swept through the Somes...

THE DRUMSTICK TREE: A NATURAL MULTI-VITAMIN.(moringa tree cheap solution to malnutrition in Africa)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Which tree grows quickly, provides tasty and nutritious food, is both resilient and common in tropical areas, and can even purify water--but has been overlooked by modern medicine? The Moringa or "drumstick" tree (moringa oleifera) "is an...

All-Terrain Destruction.(all-terrain vehicles are having serious impact on wildlife and forest lands)
May 1, 2000... Almost Everyone Agrees, ATVs Need To Be Controlled--But How? Few issues are raising more hackles in the nation s backcountry than the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The unexpected proliferation of these motorized, single-rider...

CROWDING OUT YELLOWSTONE'S BEARS.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The land that surrounds Yellowstone National Park is famous for its mountain vistas and wide open spaces, for its trout fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities. But as population shifts and development patterns bring in more people to a...

Take Back the Night.(controlling light pollution)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Light Pollution Is a Threat to Wildlife, Safety and the Starry Sky After hours of driving south in the pitch-black darkness of the Nevada desert, a dome of hazy gold suddenly appears on the horizon. Soon, a road sign confirms the obvious:...

RAISING THE STANDARD.(Department of Agriculture adopts standard for organic food labeling)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Some 275,000 mostly angry public comments later, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has finally redrafted the National Organic Standards --to exclude precisely the questionable practices that drew such widespread criticism in the first place....

COMMITMENT 101.(college graduates take environmental pledge)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... This spring, as students across the country receive their diplomas, many will also be pledging their commitment to environmental and social concerns in the workforce (see "Sustainability 101," November/December 1999). An increasing number of...

SALT WORKS?(plans for salt operation in Baja, Mexico canceled)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... After a five-year debate in which their breeding grounds hung in the balance (see "A Sea of Troubles," cover story, January/February 1998), endangered California gray whales will finally be able to blow a breath of relief. Mexican President...

The Fast-Moving Fight To Stop Urban Sprawl.
May 1, 2000... Sprawl happens. Louden County, Virginia, the third-fastest-growing county in the country, could easily become the outward-most link in the Washington, D.C. "edge city" corridor. The commute to the nation's capitol is only an hour and a...

Lost Eden.(a marine biologist reflects on the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill)
May 1, 2000... A Marine Ecologist's Search for Meaning In an Oil Spill March of 1989 was the first time I laid my eyes on Prince, William Sound, Alaska. Our research team, including myself and three other marine ecologists, had arrived a few clays after...

Makin' Bacon.(pork production carries high cost to environment and health)
May 1, 2000... Pork Production Is Linked to the Risk of Flu Epidemics and Infections Bacon in the morning may still smell great, but eating pork raises concerns about more than just the impact of all that fat and cholesterol on your arteries. Recent...

Got Organic Milk?
May 1, 2000... The Natural Dairy Business Is Going Mainstream Milk, cheese, butter, ice cream... all Bessie's bounty, for sure. But if you want to go organic, it means a trip to the health food store, right? Wrong. If you've steered your shopping cart...

Green Shares.(environmentally-friendly investments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Eco-Friendly Stock Choices for the Bold and the Cautious As I write these words, alternative energy stocks are hot. Solar panel manufacturer Spire Corp. (stock symbol: SPIR) recently saw its stock more than double in a day. Electric vehicle...

Painting Safe.(selecting house paint for the chemically sensitive)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Environmental Alternatives for the Chemically Sensitive--and the Chemically Concerned If you live in a house built before 1920, chances are the lead paint that coated its walls left a toxic legacy. Although today's paints have gotten the...

Path of Destruction.(the 'Leave No Trace' guidelines are at leat partially successful in wilderness areas)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The Limits of the `Leave No Trace' Philosophy Few hikers are tougher on wilderness than the Escondido Cougars high school football team. Before starting their 1999 fall season, 30 Cougars tackled the Sierra Nevada wilderness for pre-season...

Look for the Label.(many consumers look for environmentally oriented labels on products)
May 1, 2000... Greening the Marketplace, One Certified Purchase at a Time The ubiquitous product label, long a trusted source of information about safety and nutrition, has finally established itself as an effective tool for social and environmental...

TOOLS FOR GREEN LIVING.(environmentally friendly insect repellent, and other products are discussed)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... FEELING BUGGED? Does warm weather leave you deciding whether to be eaten alive by mosquitoes, use dangerous bug sprays, or stay inside? Bugs B Wear has a solution that will allow you to enjoy being outdoors. Simply fill its attractive...

Friends of the Earth ORGANIC Wine Guide.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... In Wine from Sky to Earth: Growing and Appreciating Biodynamic Wine (Acres, U.S.A., $24), French winemaker Nicholas Joly describes how he listens care fully to the rhythms of nature in creating fine wines. Abandoning the heavy chemical...

Wine from Sky to Earth: Growing and Appreciating Biodynamic Wine.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Those already convinced, but bewildered by the array of sustainably produced choices, may be wise to consult the Friends of the Earth Organic Wine Guide (Thorsons, $15). Monty Waldin, an independent wine critic, helps decipher how to buy and...

INVEST YOURSELF: The Catalog of Volunteer Opportunities.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... In a world where everything keeps speeding up, sometimes, you just have to make the time. Invest Yourself: The Catalog of Volunteer Opportunities describes thousands of full- and part-time volunteer positions throughout North America and the...

GARDENING FOR THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... "The key to the future of the Earth lies in gardening." So begins Howard Yana-Shapiro and John Harrison's Gardening for the Future of the Earth (Bantam Books, $19.95). The book is based on the sustainable gardening practices of Seeds of Change,...

A Child's Organic Garden.(Brief Article)(Review)(Children's Review)
May 1, 2000... For the young gardener, Lee Fryer and Leigh Bradford offer A Child's Organic Garden (Acropolis Books, $9.95). The book tells the story of a grandfather and granddaughter team who use age-old farming techniques to convert their backyard into a...

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Published on the 100th anniversary of the shooting of the last passenger pigeon, Hope is the Thing With Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds by Christopher Cokinos (Tarcher/Putnam, $24.95) is a powerful and beautifully written new...

SHOW ME THE GREEN MONEY.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Need funding for environmental projects? The Environmental Grantmaking Foundation's 2000 Guide is here to help. The eighth edition of the best-selling guide to over 875 independent, community and corporate foundations gives environmental groups...

The Official Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair.(Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... With the possible exception of former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, only Denis Hayes could have written The Official Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair (Island Press, $11.95). Hayes, who along with Nelson organized the original Earth Day in 1970,...

Rainforest Revenue, Safe Siding and Toxic Trash.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2000... The Scoop on Saving Land, Analyzing Asbestos and Burning Garbage I've heard that you can buy the "development rights" to rainforest land in order to protect it. How does one go about that? Chris Marlowe, Scotch Plains, NJ Several...