E Magazine articles from May 2003

E Magazine archives from May 2003

Charade. (& Word).
May 1, 2003... I was in shock (but not awe) watching President Bush announce on TV, during the first wave of large peace demonstrations, that we were going to war in Iraq despite all the opposition... but that the protests in the streets demonstrated the...

Car trouble. (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... E's cover package on the hydrogen economy (January/February 2003) provided some thought-provoking ideas and information. However, the stories also promoted the conventional and wrong-headed view that automobiles are okay and fuel cells will...

Alternate energy. (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I greatly appreciated the hydrogen economy cover story. However, I have one serious caveat: Although energy systems will surely evolve, trying to guess and then force one certain technology can result in expensive failures. If every...

Is hydrogen risky business? (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Using hydrogen gas to store intermittent renewable energy supplies sounds so wonderful, but the plans may be fatally flawed. This scenario may result in the loss of hydrogen to space through leaky pipes and storage containers and through...

Gemini, not Apollo. (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... "The Hydrogen Economy" incorrectly explained the historical use of fuel cells. You wrote, "General Electric developed workable proton-exchange membrane cells for use as power supplies in the Apollo and Gemini space missions." Actually, Pratt...

Pushing the pill. (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Although in general E does very good reporting, I disagree with one piece of advice in your article about drugs in water supplies ("Drugging Our Water," Your Health, January/February 2003). Although it goes without saying that people shouldn't...

Hoosier hoopla. (Letters From Our Readers).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I enjoyed a good laugh to see my fair city of Hammond, Indiana featured in an article entitled "Cities That Smell" (Currents, January/February 2003). To add another plug for Hammond, we were the only U.S. city to send a delegation to the UN...

Sustainable islands.
May 1, 2003... Rita Schenck of the largely rural island of Vashon, Washington, wants the Seattle suburb's 10,000 residents to be completely energy-independent--producing their own renewable power--within a few years. Soon, her nonprofit Institute for...

Throw it out at the old ballgame.
May 1, 2003... With a new baseball season under way, fans will once again enjoy their peanuts and crackerjack. And then, in that same grand old tradition, they will simply drop their garbage on the floor. A single hot dog wrapper might not seem like much,...

Seeds of doubt: Monsanto in court.
May 1, 2003... Did Canadian canola farmer Percy Schmeiser intentionally plant patented, genetically engineered (GE) seed on his Saskatchewan farm in 1997 and 19987 Chemical giant Monsanto says he did; he says he didn't. The question is important, because...

Spilt ink.
May 1, 2003... Chances are that the dirt-cheap printer you bought a year or two ago has been paid for twice over with the purchase of costly ink cartridges. And that's no accident. Printer manufacturers realize that while the printer is a one-time purchase,...

Heavy weapons: the army's depleted uranium shells pierce armor--and also make people sick. (Currents).
May 1, 2003... Early in Operation Desert Storm's four-day ground war, the story goes, an American Abrams M-1A1 tank got bogged down in Iraqi mud. Its fast-moving unit, the 16,000-member 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, continued its push toward Basra,...

Here comes civilization: Alaska's Prince William sound braces for non-stop tourism. (Currents).
May 1, 2003... The cool mist feels like someone opened a refrigerator, and in the distance appears a tiny rocky island. As you approach closer by boat, however, you can see the brown rocks are alive. Steller sea lions lumber around the rock outcropping, while...

A clear connection: empowering women results in smaller populations that preserve biodiversity. (Currents).
May 1, 2003... In and around the Kiunga National Marine Reserve on Kenya's northern coast, basic services such as running water, electricity and health care are hard to come by. Post-primary education, especially for girls, is scarce. Pushed by poverty and...

Clean and green: New Zealand is a study in environmental contrasts. (Currents).
May 1, 2003... To the people of Colorado-sized New Zealand, Mike Ward may be best known as the guy who makes and sells jewelry on the streets of downtown Nelson. But now you have to add another title to his portfolio: Green Party Member of Parliament. In...

Environmental heroes. (Updates).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Every year, the Goldman Foundation searches the globe for outstanding grassroots activists (see "Green Warriors," Currents, May/June 2001). Goldman Award winners receive a $125,000 cash stipend as well as honor and prestige. This year's...

Feet to the fire. (Updates).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... No fewer than seven state attorneys general are taking the Bush administration to federal court to force it to stop violating the Clean Air Act, particularly when it comes to global warming (see "Hot and Bothered," cover story, September/...

Save the dolphins. (Updates).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The discovery 50 years ago that yellowfin tuna school below pods of dolphins was a boon for the tuna industry--and a bane for those playful, personable mammals. When word got out that the nets used to catch tuna also trapped and drowned...

Ship recycling: a cleaner, greener way to scrap large boats. (Currents).
May 1, 2003... Scrapping or breaking up ships is a labor-intensive business that for cost reasons is often carried out in Asia with little or no regard for the environment or worker safety. But that will change if the growing field of "green shipbreaking"...

Getting out the vote: with polluters holding the upper hand in Congress, a green electoral strategy is gaining traction.
May 1, 2003... For the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Earth Day is Election Day. "You can invest all you want in public education campaigns," says Scott Stoermer, LCV's communications director, "but if the men and women on Capitol Hill aren't making the...

Ellen Miller: show me the money. (Conversations).(Interview)
May 1, 2003... Ellen Miller is currently publisher of the online opinion journal TomPaine.com. She was the founder and former director of both the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks electoral spending, and Public Campaign, which pushes for campaign...

Religious wrong: a higher power informs the Republican assault on the environment.
May 1, 2003... Jubilant Republicans may imagine that the most significant harbinger for America's future was the banging of a gavel on January 6, opening the 108th Congress. Finally, GOP partisans may conclude, they call the shots. But it may be that the...

Measuring risk: vaccines save lives, but also cause health problems. (Your Health).
May 1, 2003... Once upon a time, smallpox was a demon, killing more human beings than all the wars in history. The virus could not be cured by antibiotics--those only work on bacteria. The only effective attack was prevention. Through a series of vaccines, by...

Happy eggs: "free range," "cage free," "organic"--what's the story? (Eating Right).
May 1, 2003... In the past 10 years, the egg has undergone a remarkable transformation, from a humble provider of protein, vitamins and minerals to an all-purpose edible conduit through which beneficial nutrients or potentially harmful chemicals can pass into...

Going the extra mile: the green alternative to AAA road service. (Money Matters).(Better World Travelers Club)
May 1, 2003... Most Americans have lovehate relationships with their automobiles. While cars do offer mobility, the open road is full of potholes--the literal ones and the environmental reckoning of congestion, global warming and declining air quality....

Getting warmer: the ABCs of greener water heaters. (House & Home).
May 1, 2003... Americans love their hot water. But what most folks don't realize is that their hot water heater is the largest energy gobbler in the home, after their heating and cooling units. According to Jay Burch, a solar specialist at the National...

Paradise in Punta Cana: greening the Dominican Republic. (Going Green).(Hotel Review)
May 1, 2003... As the plane skids to a stop on the tarmac of Punta Cana International Airport, the first impression of the Dominican Republic is of openair breezeways and thatched roofs. According to Kelly Robinson, environmental affairs specialist for the...

Screen and green: a survey of environmentally themed video games. (Consumer News).
May 1, 2003... For computer nerds, the most satisfying twist of the last five years is the emergence of video games as a major market force. If you don't know a confessed video game player, and if the very thought of video games makes you break out in hives,...

Is your wood mulch tired? (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The wood mulch commonly used as ground covering in yams can be a hassle to keep up. Wood chips tend to rot, splinter, attract termites or even float away during rainstorms. Plus, conventional mulches generally need to be replaced annually. Try...

Earthpads. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Most personal care products on the market use conventional cotton, which is typically full of pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers and defoliants. These products may also contain rayon and wood fluff, which is chemically derived from tree pulp...

Luscious lipspreads. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... This summer, bring a little of the tropics to your life with delicious, organic lip spreads from the islands of Hawaii. Mama Coco's is an Earth-friendly, cruelty-free company based in Honolulu that offers lip balms made in the time-honored...

Dr. Bronner's all-in-one soap. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... If you want an all-natural, vegan-friendly soap that will clean everything from your skin to your socks, that 1960s icon, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, is for you! A pure vegetable oil-based soap, Dr. Bronner's is made in a one-step process that...

Down to earthwear. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... In the late 1990s, mainstream designers began using environmentally friendly fibers, such as organic cotton and hemp, in their clothing lines. It was this marriage of upscale fashion and environmental responsibility that inspired two...

The gourmet bouquet. (Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Most Mother's Day gifts include two things: the requisite bunch of flowers and something sweet to nibble on. Now, someone finally got around to combining the two. Dr. Sandra Perlingieri, founder of Renaissance Herb Shoppe, has created edible...

Monkey see, monkey do. (Books).('Okomi The New Baby')(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Children, with their fascination for wildlife, cherish books with animal characters--Curious George, Babar, The Berenstain Bears, and more. But few fiction books present the reality of the animal kingdom, sans funny hats and human speech....

Not in brochures. (Books).('Cruise Ship Blues')(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Advertisements for vacation cruises are covered with appealing images of sparkling blue skies, private islands and luxurious amenities. However, Ross A. Klein has exposed what he calls "the underside of the cruise industry" in his new book...

Freedom of the road. (Books).('Pacific High')(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Award-winning author Tim Palmer shares the adventures of his nine-month road trip from Baja to Kodiak Island in his new book Pacific High (Island Press/Shearwater Books, $28.) The book is a jarring juxtaposition of the majestic beauty of the...

Living light in the city of angels. (Books).('Extreme Simplicity')(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Christopher and Dolores Nyerges took to heart the Native American saying, "Live lightly upon the land." Extreme Simplicity (Chelsea Green, $16.95) chronicles their mission to build a self-sufficient homestead that minimizes waste and maximizes...

A green dream--on paper. (Books).('Tilting at Mills: Green Dreams, Dirty Dealings and the Corporate Squeeze')('Bronx Ecology: Blueprint for a New Environmentalism')(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... It was a bright, shining dream in a sea of blight: A plan for a state-of-the-art paper recycling plant in the heart of the impoverished South Bronx, a partnership between a do-good community group and one of the nation's largest environmental...

Airplane pollution, reusing shoes and biomass energy. (Ask E).
May 1, 2003... Do airplanes contribute significantly to air pollution?--Neil Gladstone, New York, NY Airports cause as much pollution as power plants, incinerators and oil refineries, although they are subject to less regulation, according to the Natural...