World Watch articles from March 2006

World Watch archives from March 2006

Batteries.(markets)
March 1, 2006... Introduction Electricity is the most useful form of energy ever harnessed, and the wish to have it always on tap has inspired a long search for storage methods, which have included pumped water, compressed air, thermal devices, flywheels,...

Evolving into more intelligent designers.(recent battles over evolution )
March 1, 2006... The recent battles over evolution in the classroom reveal that many people in United States still view evolution as an unsatisfactory, even ungodly, worldview. That's a shame. Evolution grew out of the kind of peaceful, naturalistic...

Lisa Mastny: are Americans really xenophobes?(WORLDWATCH FIRST-PERSON)
March 1, 2006... The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. --St. Augustine Every year, I try to immerse myself in a new culture. It seems fitting, as a Worldwatcher, to leave the cocoon of my home town on occasion and experience...

Climate heat.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... The essay by Eban Goodstein ["Climate Change: What the World Needs Now... Is Politics," January/February] was a masterpiece of nonsense. One of the things that puzzles me is that no one is considering the role that particulate matter in the...

Capitalism.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Concerning Gar Alperovitz's "You Say You Want a Revolution?" [November/December 2005], I certainly agree that we need to build democracy at the grass roots, but it cannot be done through "market economics." The problem is this: "the...

Taxation.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... Thanks for printing Edward Dodson's letter in the January/February issue calling for equal rights to the world's resources--clearly an essential element for creating a just society. This would go a long way toward healing the current friction...

Corporations.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... According to Erik Assadourian ["When Good Corporations Go Bad," May/June 2005], much of the influence from corporations can be regarded as "pernicious and even dangerous." Further, transnational corporations (TNCs) maximize profits primarily by...

Spinning vinyl: companies kick out the PVC.(polyvinyl chloride)
March 1, 2006... When vinyl meant slabs of music in well-designed sleeves, it was more alluring than threatening. But these days, health concerns linked to this ubiquitous plastic material mandate greater caution. Sportswear giants Nike and Adidas and...

Car sharing grows.(membership fee and hourly rates)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Car sharing in the United States and Canada appears to be growing rapidly as increasing numbers of people, especially those living in cities with good mass transit systems, seek ways to avoid the costs and hassles of owning a car. Unlike...

"Green" medal for Torino.(Environment Programme)
March 1, 2006... At this year's Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, some of the most remarkable achievements took place before athletes and spectators even arrived. With several years of help from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Torino...

Some antibiotics with your vegetables?(research)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Residues from animal antibiotics are cropping up not just in chicken, pork, beef, and other animal products, but also in vegetables, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that spreading the raw manure from...

Extinction risks pinpointed.(Alliance for Zero Extinction)
March 1, 2006... As many as 794 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and conifers are on the brink of disappearing, according to a study by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE), a coalition of 52 leading conservation groups. The study, published...

Climate developments.(global temperature)
March 1, 2006... According to analyses by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), 2005 was at least tied with 1998 as the hottest year ever recorded. However, GISS researchers give the edge to 2005 because the 1998 average global temperature was raised...

Biotech food ruling expected.(biotech crops and foods)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... See "Farming's New Feudalism," May/June 2005, p. 10, and "Brave New Formula/Silent Winter," May/June 2004, p. 10 In February the World Trade Organization is expected to rule on the legality under international trading rules of European...

Ocean sludge dumping conspiracy.(MSC Ship Management pays fine)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... See "Trade and Consequences," Nov/Dec 2005, p. 23 Hong Kong-based MSC Ship Management agreed in December to pay a $10.5 million fine for dumping tons of oil sludge into the Atlantic and then conspiring to conceal the crime. The MSC Elena...

Climate change extinctions.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... See "Amphibia Fading," July/August 2000, p. 12 A study published in Nature in January substantiates fears that climate change is increasing extinction rates. The study concluded that an infectious fungus lethal to harlequin frogs and golden...

Bottled trouble.(carcinogen has been found in bottled water)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... See Life-Cycle Studies (inside front cover) and Green Guidance (p. 8), March/April 2004 A likely carcinogen has been found in bottled water given to Ohio and West Virginia residents living near a DuPont chemical plant earlier discovered to...

The view from a Space Station.(TALKING PICTURES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... "Sunglint" may not be a common word in our terrestrial lexicon, but to astronauts looking out the windows of their space craft, it is a familiar and illuminating phenomenon. A search of NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth...

Incident at Jilin: wake-up call or business as usual?(Jilin disaster yielded major political fallout)
March 1, 2006... On November 13, 2005, an explosion at a state-owned chemical plant in northeastern China's Jilin province released 100 tons of benzene and other pollutants into the region's Songhua River, killing five people and injuring 60 others. Within two...

The evolving corporation: next steps for the business community; Last of a series.(SEE Change)
March 1, 2006... In September, a group of large U.S. corporations announced a new initiative: SEE Change--short for Society, the Environment, and the Economy. According to the press release, participating companies "will adopt sustainable growth strategies...

Ecuador, in search of natural balance.
March 1, 2006... On the world's waistline, the trees drip not only with rain but with treasures in feathered form. Like a kaleidoscopic plasma, a mixed feeding flock expands and contracts through the treetops--40 or so green gold, red, blue, purple, and yellow...

Science and democracy: can this marriage be saved?(Essay)
March 1, 2006... The modern ideal of democracy--a constitutional polity governed by thoughtful citizens who decide on policy after public consideration of alternative courses of action and their consequences--emerged in the 18th century, riding on the coattails...

Bicycle frame.(MATTERS OF SCALE)(transportation statistics)(Chart)
March 1, 2006... Bicycle Frame Bicycles per 1,000 people in the United States (mid-1990s) 385 In Germany 588 In the Netherlands 1,000 ...