E Magazine articles from November 2004

E Magazine archives from November 2004

Conservation health.(E Word)(Conservation medicine)(Column)
November 1, 2004... It's called "conservation medicine," but perhaps a better name would be conservation health," implying a preventive approach that embraces the precautionary principle. The basic idea is simple, but it's seldom observed: "When an activity raises...

Fired up over prairie dogs.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... I wanted to commend you on the fairness and accuracy of your cover story on the plight of prairie dogs (Open Season on Varmints," July/August 2004). I also wanted to thank you for putting the prairie dog message out there to a public who thinks...

Speaking for the animals.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... As a long-time animal activist and someone who loves and appreciates our planet, I wept after reading your July/August 2004 cover story and feature on the Exxon Valdez disaster ("Caught in a Net"). To watch an otter scratch out his eyes in...

Raw food reality.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... I am disappointed by the content of the article about raw food and its wild claims about being the most environmental diet you can choose ("Que Se-Raw, Se-Raw, Eating Right, July/August 2004). Unless they live in Florida, Southern California or...

Pinpointing acupuncture.(Advice & dissent: letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... I would like to share, some thoughts on "Everybody Hurts" by Melissa Knopper (Your Health, July/August 2004). It is very beneficial to the general public to be exposed to well-researched and meaningful information about therapies other than...

Ashes to ashes.(ash borer threats to the nation's forests)
November 1, 2004... For years the killer stalked Detroit and its suburbs undetected. Now it has unleashed an epidemic that will kill millions. The killer is an insect, the emerald ash borer, and the victims are ash trees. "The emerald ash borer, without...

Damming Belize.(Belize's government set on building a dam on the Macal river)
November 1, 2004... Belize's western mountains are an ecotourist's dream: a largely uninhabited region of dense tropical forests, wild rivers, cave complexes, Maya ruins and bountiful wildlife. While many of its Central American neighbors were clearing forests to...

Department of environmental corruption.(Department of Environmental Protection)(www.peer.org.)
November 1, 2004... Sometimes the most interesting environmental stories occur on the state and local level, where their implications tend to be ignored by the media. In a story that got little play outside the capital city of Hartford last July, Anne Rapkin, a...

Womb pollution?
November 1, 2004... If you're pregnant and living in one of our many cities with unacceptable air quality, consider this: A study released last June by the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health demonstrates that developing fetuses are more...

The drug war on the Amazon: Colombia's national parks threatened by aerial fumigation.(Currents)
November 1, 2004... If you were standing in the Amazon jungle in the south of Colombia, you would be in one of the most bio-diverse regions on the planet, home to one-sixth of the world's bird species, more than 45,000 different kinds of tropical plants, and...

Frozen crystal balls: ice cores offer clues to the climate.(Currents)(European Project for Ice Coring in the Antarctic)
November 1, 2004... At a site called Dome C on the eastern side of the Antarctic continent, the European Project for Ice Coring in the Antarctic (EPICA) recently removed cylinders of ice from a depth of nearly two miles. When the crew returns in December to finish...

Flower power: with an entrepreneur's jump start, the organic market blossoms.(Currents)
November 1, 2004... Gerald Prolman has always liked big challenges. Several years after graduating from college, he jump-started Made in Nature, one of the first organic produce distributors in the U.S. He sold the company to Dole and then helped the giant grower...

Code blue: mobilizing to save the oceans.(Currents)
November 1, 2004... Two high-level commissions have issued a clear message in the past year: Americans are unintentionally destroying the oceans through pollution, over-development and over-fishing. These reports have generated a tidal wave of marine metaphors,...

Has the bald eagle landed? Environmentalists are split on delisting America's national symbol.(Currents)
November 1, 2004... Just 30 years ago, the once-abundant bald eagle--America's national symbol--was in danger of extinction in its primary habitat across the contiguous 48 states. DDT poisoning, plume hunting and sprawl had conspired against the majestic raptor,...

Taking out the trash.(Updates)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Computer waste can be a hazardous addition to garbage dumps, spreading lead, mercury, chromium and other compounds into the ground (See "Buffalo Burgers, Trashed PCs and Dirty Cotton," Ask E, July/August 2002). While it may seem obvious that...

Papering over a brownfield.(Updates)(tree-free papermaking)(www.visionpaper.com.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Kenaf, a long-fiber plant that was deemed "the best option for tree-free papermaking in the U.S." by the USDA, has slowly been gaining supporters (see "The Paper Chase," cover story, May/June 2004). Vision Paper is currently in the process of...

Genetic engineering's fishy results.(Updates)(http://news.uns.purdue.edu)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Public debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has largely focused around their benefits and drawbacks to human beings (see "Food Fight," cover story, July/August 2003), but a recent study conducted at Purdue University is likely to...

Connecting the dots: the emerging science of conservation medicine links human and animal health with the environment.(consortium for conservation medicince)
November 1, 2004... Last June, Jeff Kaminski was a promising graduate student in Virginia Tech's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Services, conducting field studies in Appalachia on the effects of logging on small mammal populations. In July, he was dead of...

Peter Daszak: exploring disease pathways.(Conversations)(Consortium for Conservation Medicine )(Interview)
November 1, 2004... Peter Daszak is the executive director of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine (CCM), but he's also a working scientist. His credits include identifying the first case of a disease causing the extinction of a species, discovering the...

Mary Pearl: looking for hot spots.(Conversations)(Interview)
November 1, 2004... Mary Pearl is the president of Wildlife Trust, which makes connections between the health of ecosystems, animals and humans. She has been with the New York-based Trust since 1998, following a stint at the Wildlife Conservation Society. A Yale...

Too darn hot: global warming accelerates the spread of disease.
November 1, 2004... Heat stress is probably the most obvious thing people think of when the idea of global warming comes up. A heat wave in Europe during the summer of 2003 killed more than 10,000 people in France alone. Many of the dead were elderly; the group...

Safe and sound: protecting kids from environmental hazards.(Your Health)
November 1, 2004... Expectant mothers are notorious worriers. As the nesting instinct kick in, they will lower their bellies down to the floor to scrub every corner with a toothbrush. This craziness makes them climb tall ladders to organize a messy closet shelf....

To be green, eat green: discovering the benefits of leafy vegetables.(Eating Right)(Column)
November 1, 2004... As a kid, the only salads I liked came from my grandma's organic garden: Give me glossy A bright leaves of romaine and curly leaves of chicory along with fresh tomatoes and I was in heaven. At restaurants I was always disappointed by salads:...

Good cooking: a green retrofit for your kitchen.(House & Home)
November 1, 2004... When lifelong environmentalists Kim Wells and Bob Scheulen set out to renovate their kitchen in Seattle, they wanted to be as green as sensible," but feared putting their values first would mean draining their bank account. But instead they...

Greening venture capital: are clean technologies the next new thing?(Money Matters)
November 1, 2004... In the wake of the dot-com bust, forward-thinking investors have been in search of the next big thing to revolutionize the economy while lining their own pockets. Many venture capitalists seem to be banking on the so-called "clean tech"...

Peru's wild life: touring the Amazon basin.(Going Green)
November 1, 2004... With hundreds of species extinct every day in the world's tropical rainforests, eco-travelers need to see Peru's cradle of the world's biodiversity while there are still intact tracts. Posada Amazonas, an eco-lodge along the Tambopata River...

Perks for pets: nutritional supplements for Fluffy and Fido.(Consumer News)
November 1, 2004... There's little question that Americans love their pets dearly. A recent survey by the American Animal Hospital Association reveals that four out of five pet owners consider their pets to be their children. And just as parents try to provide the...

As sweet as syrup.(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)
November 1, 2004... Coombs Family Farms has spent seven generations producing maple syrup while maintaining a commitment to quality, environmental stewardship and sustainable forestry. Coombs products are free from artificial flavors, preservatives and dyes, and...

An apple a day ...(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)
November 1, 2004... Looking for a fresh, different gift this holiday season? Arizona-based Valley Farms will send you, and anyone else on your shopping list, a 10-pound box of delicious organic apples this season, and every season for the next 20 years. When you...

Great gifts.(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)
November 1, 2004... California-based EcoExpress offers great gifts for the eco-conscious. The company boasts a wide range of delightful items, from stationery and toys to gourmet foods and wine, for a wide range of occasions, from birthdays to anniversaries. The...

Better gift wrap.(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)
November 1, 2004... Lagniappe Girl Wrap sells reusable gift bags made completely from natural fibers. These striking bags come in several design lines, including fun patterns for kids, the holidays, and a separate line of bags made of organically grown cotton. New...

Lunchtime learning.(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)(www.laptoplunches.com)(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2004... The New York State Department of Conservation estimates that one student taking a disposable lunch to school every day will create as much as 90 pounds of garbage per year. Two rooms from California, Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring, created...

Take time for tea.(Tools for green giving: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2004... I drink several cups of herbal tea a day, so I make sure that my tea supports both my health and the health of the Earth; it's also integral that the tea is picked and processed by people who are treated fairly. Zhena's Gypsy Tea deliciously...

Wise use in the saddle.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The War Against the Greens (Johnson Books, $19) first appeared in 1994, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were in the White House and the environmental movement was seemingly in the ascendancy. But author David Helvarg was perceptive enough to feel...

Colorful cuisine.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The new book Vegan World Fusion Cuisine (Thousand Petals Publishing), by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi, is more than just an incredibly colorful and innovative guide to vegan food preparation. The book contains a handy glossary of vegetarian and...

Eco-living 101.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Trash Talk (Publish America) by Dave and Lillian Brummet starts off with this alarming fact: "North Americans account for only eight percent of the world's population, yet we produce 50 percent of the world's garbage, and consume more than 33...

Becoming world citizens.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Planetary Citizenship (Middleway Press, $23.95) is a written dialogue between acclaimed thinkers Hazel Henderson and Daisaku Ikeda. Their discussion charts the events, choices and people that led each of them to envision, and advocate for, a...

Better buildings.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... When it comes to building design, the ancients had it right. They constructed their habitats using materials that were locally available--earth, wood, sand and straw--so their buildings blended with the landscape. Today, building technology is...

From the Sahara to the Gobi.(Books)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Though the landscape may be barren, deserts harbor some of the most extraordinary flora and fauna on the planet. Introducing fish equipped with lungs for survival when the water dries out, plants whose strip-like leaves can continue to grow for...

CDs and DVDs find new life and hybrid vigor hits the road.(Earth talk: questions & answers about our environment)(Compact discs)(digital videodiscs)
November 1, 2004... How can I recycle my unwanted CDs and DVDs? --Mike Wells, Oswego, IL Compact discs (CDs) and digital videodiscs (DVDs) have become the de facto standards for media storage and playback for millions of consumers and businesses around...