E Magazine articles from September 2002

E Magazine archives from September 2002

If you come, they will build it. (E Word).(development of a viable market for green products)(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... It's a no-brainer, really: You get the big guys--governments, hospitals, universities, big corporations, everyone who buys in volume--to demand green products and attributes. As a result, suppliers are forced to green up their products if they...

Toxic teeth. (Advice and dissent: letters from our readers).
September 1, 2002... Thanks for your article "Heavy Metal Harm" (cover story, May/June 2002) on mercury. We are being subtly poisoned in this culture. No one else is putting it on the front cover. I discovered mercury as the major factor wrecking my health in 1998....

Does the ADA need a root canal? (Advice & dissent: letters from our readers).
September 1, 2002... "Heavy Metal Harm" was well written, clear and concise. However, there is one point that bears closer examination. On page 31, you write, "The American Dental Association (ADA) denies that there are any safety problems with dental amalgam....

Greener money? (Advice & dissent: letters from our readers).
September 1, 2002... I read your article "The Color of Money" (Money, Matters, May/June 2002). I agree alternative currencies provide several community benefits. However, I disagree that a reason for using such money is to move towards a sustainable economy by...

Solid science? (Advice and dissent: letters from our readers).
September 1, 2002... Your article "Raising the Alarm" (Your Health, November/December 2001) quotes Dr. Ross Adey as criticizing the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) for rejecting the findings of our international review panel and...

Correction.
September 1, 2002... The photo caption on page 29 of the July/August 2002 issue should have read www.johnmaclean.com.

Chile's salmon stakes.
September 1, 2002... The provincial outpost of Puerto Montt is home to one of Latin America's fastest-growing industries: farmed salmon. If everything goes as scheduled, over the next five years an estimated $8 billion in salmon exports will flow from this sparsely...

Dracula lives, but his theme park sucks.(citizens block building of theme park, Sighisoara, Romania)
September 1, 2002... The taint of Nicholas Ceausecu's dictatorship still lingers over Romania like a stubborn odor. The present is not much better: 44 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Corruption is taken for granted in Romania, but there are...

New York City reneges on recycling.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... New York City's recycling program has suffered the biggest setback since its inception in 1989. In mid-June, at the 11th hour in budget negotiations, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council agreed to suspend the collection of plastics for...

Green for the Greens--finally.(Green Party member Jonathan Carter raises big bucks from taxpayers, Maine)
September 1, 2002... Forget about Ralph Nader. The Green Party candidate to watch this fall is Jonathan Carter, who's running for governor in Maine. It's not that Carter is a household name nationally like Nader became two years ago. What makes Carter important...

Green havens: urban community gardens fight to save their space. (Currents).
September 1, 2002... In the heart of downtown Manhattan, peeking out from between towering brick high-rises, is a little green oasis called the Liz Christy Garden. Inside, urban sojourners can watch fish and turtles glide beneath the surface of a pond. For others,...

The Sun Valley experiment. (Currents).(harnessing rainwater, preventing flooding, Los Angeles County, California)
September 1, 2002... Winter flooding in the Los Angeles area is often so severe that lives and homes are routinely lost in mudslides. Yet, the thirst for a stable water supply has defined this desert city. In 1913, the local water company built an ingenious but...

Flying clean: airline recycling is a hit-and-miss proposition. (Currents).
September 1, 2002... Call it a fly-by-night operation. A flight attendant zips down the aisle, grabs an empty soda can from an airline passenger, mumbles any old answer when asked if it will be recycled, and stuffs the can in a trash bag. There's really no way of...

The burning west: after a series of tragic fires, loggers go on the offensive. (Currents).
September 1, 2002... Wildfires ravaging the American West have citizens, civic leaders and environmentalists searching for answers. Many blame our country's past attitude towards fire, and a U.S. Forest Service (symbolized by the venerable Smoky Bear) that has been...

A little less mercury. (Updates).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Mercury campaigners won a major battle in the fight to keep the toxic heavy metal out of the environment June 10, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Vermont's 1998 labeling law (see "Got Mercury?" cover story, May/June 2002). The National...

Apocalypse cow. (Updates).(mad cow disease)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Despite widespread concern about the epidemic of mad cow disease that began in Great Britain (see "It Could Happen Here," feature, July/August 2001), this virulent killer has continued to spread internationally. Japan and Israel, the two...

Four if by sea. (Updates).(personal watercraft industry introduces greener products )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Personal watercraft (PWCs), including Jet Skis, have long been the scourge of environmentalists because of the high levels of noise, air and water pollution they generate. As a result, PWCs have been banned from 66 of 87 national parks, Lake...

Buying green: harnessing the incredible procurement power of governments, hospitals, colleges and America's biggest corporations to protect the environment.
September 1, 2002... It's right there in President Clinton's 1998 Executive Order 13101. "Agencies," it says, "are encouraged to use all of the options available to them to determine the environmentally preferable attributes of products and services..."...

Ill winds. (The Chemical Plant Next Door).
September 1, 2002... From the time I was eight until I was 10, I lived in a pea-sized town down the road from the chemical plant and the munitions factory. Buffalo, Illinois had a bank, a grocery store, a post office and a park. And enough houses to hold three...

Battling blood sugar: environment and diet are factors in rising adult-onset diabetes. (Your Health).
September 1, 2002... Seventeen million Americans have diabetes, and the incidence of new cases has increased 32 percent since 1990, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People are being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Experts are...

Easy does it: the slow food movement takes on the fast food culture. (Eating Right).
September 1, 2002... The sun was setting for the Delaware Bay oyster. Once a prominent cash crop for harvesters along New Jersey's southern shores, mismanagement, parasites and pollution depleted the river's raw bar and decimated a once-thriving trade. This seafood...

Burned! Avoiding environmentally focused investment scams. (Money Matters).
September 1, 2002... Now that Internet stocks have boomed and busted, wonder how to get in early on the next big thing? Investors aren't the only ones looking for the next darlings of Wall Street--stock market con artists are also busy inventing the next hot stock....

Smoke gets in your eyes: wood stove pollution is a burning issue. (House & Home).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Before tossing those aromatic wood chips on the barbecue, using the fireplace to celebrate that first brisk fall day or lighting a campfire in the great out-of-doors, you might want to consider this: Wood smoke can literally take your breath...

The high desert: Taos is more than great skiing. (Going Green).
September 1, 2002... It was nearly 50 years ago that Swiss-born Ernie Blake flew over the Taos mountains in his Cessna 170, and noted that it offered skiing comparable to his native land. The Taos Ski Valley resort, now named as one of the top 10 destinations in...

Pretty in plastic: pleather is a versatile, though controversial, alternative to leather. (Consumer News).
September 1, 2002... Just when you were getting used to "fake" meat, faux fur and drinking milk from a plant, along comes "pleather," also known as "plastic leather." Before you hit the runway in your new non-leather jacket, however, you should know why some...

Cycling for soap. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(from Just Soap)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Tired of harsh and chemical-laden soaps that are rough on your hands as well as the environment? Try eco-friendly and cruelty-free handmade soaps by Just Soap. Interested in "bicycles, alternative energy and human-scale production," founder...

Green-bag lunches. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(ECOBags Products Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... As kids head back to school, they can now ditch their traditional paper, plastic and metal lunch carriers for a natural cotton canvas sack. The Think Green Lunch Sack Set ($22.95 each) is the latest innovation from Eco-Bags, which has given us...

Cat cares. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(from Pet Care Systems Inc.)
September 1, 2002... Your cat wants you to protect the planet; she wants you to think about Pet Care Systems' Swheat Scoop Natural Wheat Litter (seven pounds for $6.80). In the U.S., 34 million households have feline companions, and two million tons of...

Coffee with a cause. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(from Destinations Coffee and Tea)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... To taste the difference and make a difference, start your morning with a cup of rich triple-certified coffee. Cafe Canopy gives its customers access to excellent green and roasted coffee from eight countries, including Peru, Costa Rica and...

Sweet and salty showers. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(from Inara, Trillium Herbal Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... After a summer in the sun, wind and saltwater, your skin could probably use some pampering. Turn your home into a spa with a lavish, completely organic sugar rub from Wild Earth's Inara line. The rubs harness the soothing properties of babassu...

Greener rivers. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Tom's of Maine Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Despite water's vital role in personal and ecosystem health, human and industrial activities have significantly diminished the quality of our waterways. In the U.S., it is estimated that 210 million people live within 10 miles of a polluted...

Save our river. (Books).(To Save A River )(Book Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... To Save A River (Aperture, in association with the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, $50), tells an extraordinary story about the conservation of Maine's Ducktrap River, home of one of the last remaining salmon runs in the eastern United States. An...

Fun Vegan vittles. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(How it all Vegan! Irresistible Recipes For An Animal-Free Diet )(Book Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... With its fabulous '50s flare, How it all Vegan! Irresistible Recipes For An Animal-Free Diet (Arsenal Pulp Press, $15.95) will tempt vegans and non-vegans alike. Appetizing and nutritious recipes are not the only topics in this colorful and...

Got milk? (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Nature's Perfect Food: How Milk Became America's Drink )(Book Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Milk has long commanded a central importance in the American diet, culture and imagination. E. Melanie DuPuis tackles this absorbing topic in Nature's Perfect Food: How Milk Became America's Drink (New York University Press, $17.95). Linking...

Money makes the world go round. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(New Economy of Nature)(Book Review)
September 1, 2002... E readers know, of course, that the environment is vital, life-sustaining--and very much at risk. But financially profitable? That is the premise of The New Economy of Nature by Gretchen Daily and Katherine Ellison (Island Press/ Shearwater...

Orca odyssey. (Tools for Green Living: resources for eco-awareness and action).(Listening to Whales)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Orcas have fascinated human beings long before the likes of Shamu or Free Willy. In Listening to Whales (Ballantine Books, $26.95), Alexandra Morton recounts her life with whales and dolphins. From her years of research with these majestic...

Deadly beauty, nontoxic news and corporate conscience. (Ask E).
September 1, 2002... Do major brand perfumes contain toxic chemicals?--Sara Morris, Houston, TX One rarely thinks of cosmetics as toxic substances. However, as author Kim Erickson writes in Drop-Dead Gorgeous, "Many of the poisons that pollute our...