World Watch articles from July 2005

World Watch archives from July 2005

Bluejeans.(LIFE-CYCLE STUDIES)(Levi Strauss)
July 1, 2005... Introduction The bluejeans story begins in that hotbed of haute couture, Bavaria, which also gave the world leather hotpants (lederhosen). Levi Strauss left southern Germany for the United States in 1847 and by the 1870s was running a...

Live fat, die young: the upside.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
July 1, 2005... Overheard one morning in a U.S. Senate cafeteria... Lobbyist: Glad you could meet with me, Senator. Senator: Not a problem, anything for one of my biggest campaign contributors. How are things at Majorfoods, Inc.? Lobbyist:...

Leanne Mitchell: Sri Lanka, after the deluge.(WORLDWATCH FIRST-PERSON)
July 1, 2005... The road from Colombo to Galle has always been treacherous. Two narrow lanes most of the way, it snakes along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, transporting a river of buses, trucks, cars, three-wheeled tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and bicycles, all...

Windows on the world.(GROUNDWORK)(Ecology)
July 1, 2005... A survey by the National Science Foundation and the European Commission in 2001 found that a quarter of Americans and a third of Europeans believed that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Galileo must have been apoplectic, given the price he...

Ricochets.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... It appears risky to assume, as you do in the essay "Mug Shot," that by taking small steps we can gradually prevent global "suicide." It loses sight of the facts that (1) we no longer have the luxury of time, (2) adverse changes at the macro...

Bad chemistry.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... In the third paragraph of ["The Truth in Beauty," Green Guidance, May/June] is the sentence, "These include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which are 'much less likely than [chemical] sunscreens to penetrate human skin,' according to...

Ranking rankings.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... In your latest issue ["Nordic Countries Are World's Sustainability Leaders," Environmental Intelligence, May/June] you cite a study by an organization ranking countries by various parameters (not specified). Bolivia and the Central African...

Cultivating clean water.(GREEN GUIDANCE)(Protection of clean drinking water)
July 1, 2005... Summer is a thirsty time for us all, but we can't all safely quench our thirst. Worldwide, more than one in five people--1.2 billion in all--does not have a regular supply of clean drinking water, according to the World Health Organization....

More evidence of Antarctic melting reported.(ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)
July 1, 2005... Scientists have released the most compelling evidence yet that certain glaciers in Antarctica are melting rapidly. In April, researchers with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the U.S. Geological Survey reported that 87 percent of 244...

Chinese villagers protest local environmental damage.(ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In a defiant display of community activism, rural farmers in China's Zhejiang province blocked roads and clashed with military forces earlier this year to draw attention to local industrial pollution. The farmers alleged that toxic gases...

Wal-Mart pledges to conserve habitat in United States.(ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)
July 1, 2005... Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has pledged to spend US$35 million to offset the loss of wildlife habitat under its thousands of stores, parking lots, and distribution centers across the United States. Under the new "Acres for America"...

Washington state, Canada set greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles.(ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)(Environmental standards in automobile industry)
July 1, 2005... Following action by the state of Washington and Canada, more than one-third of vehicles sold in North America after 2009 will have to comply with regulations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In mid-April, Washington became the ninth U.S....

Cambodia goes organic.(ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE)
July 1, 2005... The Cambodian government recently announced plans to become the "green farm of Southeast Asia" by supporting organic farming. The shift, which is receiving funding and technical support from the European Union (EU), was prompted by concerns...

Laos dam lines up support.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... See "Nam Theun Dam," May/June 2005, p. 27 Sixteen Thai and international banks have agreed to long-term loans totaling US$1 billion to support the Nam Theun 2 dam, to be built in Laos but meant to supply electricity mainly to Thailand. The...

Study: Chinese farmers benefit from GM rice.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... See "Brave New Formula," May/June 2004, p. 10. A study of Chinese farmers using insect-resistant genetically modified rice, reported in Science, says they benefit from both higher yields and less pesticide exposure. The study examined two...

Ecotopia is 30.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... See "What Is Sustainability, Anyway?" September/October 2003, p. 10 Ernest Callanbach's novel Ecotopia, which has sold almost one million copies, has been reissued in a 30th-anniverary edition. At least one review (in the online magazine...

Is polio back?(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... See "Polic Is Nearing Eradication," March/April 1999, p. 29 Time recently looked at the re-emergence of polio in Africa, Indonesia, and the Middle East, due in part to religious pilgrimages and reluctance to accept vaccinations. In the...

India's military battles AIDS.(UPDATES)
July 1, 2005... See "HIV/AIDS in the Military," March-April 2003, p. 16 The government of India has reached an agreement with UNAIDS, the United Nation's AIDS agency, to address the spread of the disease among Indian military and paramilitary personnel. An...

Solar power, Lakota empowerment.(Lakota tradition (history and present, past has not changed a lot))(Solar heating)
July 1, 2005... Cleo Weasel Bear smiles widely as she shows visitors the cluttered living room of her trailer home on a bright March day. "This is where I make my star blankets," she says, and picks up one of her prized creations, an antique-white quilt with a...

Falling water, rising wind: seeking answers to problems of drought and economic stagnation, Indian tribes in the American West are listening to the wind.
July 1, 2005... Water has always been the lifeblood of the arid American West, and electricity--the primary byproduct of U.S. federal government water management in the area--is the current that powers urban and rural life after a century of settlement. But...

Diesels versus hybrids: comparing the environmental costs.
July 1, 2005... High fuel prices and concerns about climate change are boosting the popularity of gasoline/electric hybrid cars in the United States and abroad. However, environmentally minded motorists have another choice--diesels--which account for 45...

Bikes of burden.(TALKING PICTURES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... From the crowded alleyways of Asia to the river trails of Europe, people have found creative uses for their bicycles. Bikes are a great option for short-distance transport, for navigating areas where nimble transportation is required, and for...

Buy now, and save! Preserving South American wilderness--by buying it up.(Philanthropists who buy national parks in order to save them (new project))
July 1, 2005... The U.S. millionaire couple Douglas and Kris Tompkins have just donated two new national parks to Chile and Argentina. So why do so many people there wish they would just go home? The answer is a complex blend of anti-American sentiment,...

Why business needs government action on climate change.(ESSAY)
July 1, 2005... When Ronald Reagan famously said that "Government isn't the solution to our problems; government is the problem," many in business cheered. But what if Reagan had it wrong? What if business is shackled by forces far more powerful than...

Intakes and outcomes.(MATTERS OF SCALE)((Un)healthy lifestyle and its outcomes)
July 1, 2005... Intakes and Outcomes China per-capita beef consumption, kilograms, 2002 4.6 U.S. per-capita beef consumption, kilograms, 2002 43.2 Percent of Chinese men who smoked in 2003 59 Percent of U.S. men who...