World Watch articles from March 2008

World Watch archives from March 2008

Bananas.(LIFE-CYCLE STUDIES)
March 1, 2008... Introduction Bananas have been called "the world's most perfect fruit." They're high in potassium, low in fat, and a good source of vitamins and fiber. They're also one of the few fruits available year round. Today's sweet yellow banana is...

Population, sustainability, and balance?(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I'm interested in all the topics listed [in our recent survey], but halting human population growth, then reducing population, is of overriding importance. I would like to see Worldwatch Institute conduct research and make specific proposals on...

Obstacle course.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Your World Watch at 20 issue [November/December 2007] reinforced several unfortunate truths: (a) The core facts regarding our current crises have been known for a long time and available to anyone willing to look and listen; (b) Those with a...

Can "Dumping Soda" mitigate global obesity trends?(EYE ON EARTH)(Global Dump Soft Drinks Campaign)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Consumer groups on five continents are promoting a new "Dump Soda" campaign to educate people about the links between soft-drink marketing and rising childhood obesity. "Multinational giants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are flooding the world...

Study: policy trumps technological change in beating greenhouse gas emissions.(EYE ON EARTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A new study finds that policy changes, not technological advances, are necessary to stem rising greenhouse gas emissions. And the amount of climate-changing pollutants released could grow more quickly in the next 50 years than the last 50,...

New African reserve protects bonobos, stores carbon.(EYE ON EARTH)(Sankuru Nature Reserve)
March 1, 2008... In November, conservation groups and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) established a new reserve to protect the bonobo, a great ape found only in the DRC's vast tropical forests. "This is a monumental step towards...

New certification scheme aims to protect socially responsible companies.(EYE ON EARTH)(B Lab)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... More and more businesses across the globe are finding that they can be successful while also being environmentally and socially responsible. But in some cases, the companies are so successful that they end up being bought out by larger...

Pollutants implicated in births of more girls than boys.(EYE ON EARTH)(emissions and dioxins associated with inverted sex ratio)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A recent study found that residents of Canadian communities who were exposed to emissions from nearby polluting industries gave birth to more females than males, a reversal of the normal sex ratio. This is likely due to high levels of common...

U.S. emissions reductions may be cheaper than thought.(EYE ON EARTH)
March 1, 2008... For years, the United States has resisted mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions because of the perceived cost. But a new report suggests that significantly reducing U.S. carbon emissions could cost far less than the trillions of...

More cars or more transportation alternatives: what will the world choose?(EYE ON EARTH)
March 1, 2008... As Tata Motors, one of Asia's leading automakers, prepares to tap into India's middle-class market by releasing the "world's cheapest car," other countries with a long history of car dependence are grappling with ways to limit the social,...

Tropical invasion.(UPDATES)(warming climate associated with dengue incidence)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... See "Climate Change, Coming Home," May/June 2007, p. 8. Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical illness that resembles the flu, has been reported in Texas and could spread northward as temperatures warm, according to U.S. health officials....

Not-so-big easy.(UPDATES)(Hurricane Katrina victims are choosing not to return to their city)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... See "Race and the High Ground in New Orleans," September/October 2006, p. 40 Thousands of former New Orleanians forced out by Hurricane Katrina--many of them black and poor--are choosing not to return to the damaged city. Elections last...

Biofuels backlash.(UPDATES)(boosting the use of biofuels)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... See "A Burning Issue," July/August 2007, p. 22 Europe is pressing ahead with measures to boost biofuels despite rising concern about the fuels' environmental impacts. The EU aims to derive 10 percent of its transport fuel from biofuels by...

Capsizing caps.(UPDATES)(melting of ice caps in Antarctica)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... See "Living With Climate Change in the Arctic," September/October 2005, p. 18 The Arctic isn't the only polar ice cap that's shrinking. According to NASA, ice loss has also accelerated in Antarctica, home to 90 percent of Earth's ice....

Bird barriers.(UPDATES)(U.S. government border fence devastate bird habitat)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... See "Conservation Biology in the U.S.-Mexican Border Region," November/December 2004, p. 36 Construction is proceeding on a new 700-mile border fence in southern Arizona that the U.S. government says is needed to stem the flow of illegal...

India's Janadesh 2007: in a place where land means life, the landless rural poor march for justice.
March 1, 2008... Protest marches are no rare occurrence in India. Since Mohandas Gandhi added the padyatra (foot march) to his repertoire of nonviolent tools with the 1930 Salt March to Dandi, leaders and activists across the world's most populous democracy...

The year in flames.(TALKING PICTURES)(pictures of famous people and politicians burned)(Brief article)(Calendar)(List)
March 1, 2008... Selected effigy burnings in 2007: George Bush, Delhi, India, 12 January Wong Kan Seng, Bangkok, Thailand, 29 January Tony Blair, Delhi, India, 31 January Lady Maslenitsa, Suzdal, Russia, 18 February Kim Jong-il, Seoul,...

Special place or special zone? The future of Aqaba: this 10,000-year-old settlement has endured countless changes. Now it faces economic globalization.(City overview)
March 1, 2008... Aqaba, a small city at the southern tip of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, perches at the margin of the desert and the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, and would seem to be an out-of-the-way place to be attracting global economic attention. Early...

Coal use rises dramatically despite impacts on climate and health.(VITAL SIGNS)
March 1, 2008... World coal consumption in 2006 reached a record 3,090 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), an increase of 4.5 percent over 2005, and accounted for 25 percent of world primary energy supply and 32 percent of fossil fuel energy. Due to its high...

Grain harvest sets record, but supplies still tight.(VITAL SIGNS)
March 1, 2008... After several years of decline, the world's grain output reached a record 2.316 billion tons in 2007, a 4-percent increase over the previous year. Yields rose 95 million tons in response to near-perfect weather in major growing areas and an...

Hot times for solar energy: utility-scale solar thermal power may be poised for the big time.(concentrating solar power)
March 1, 2008... Fly into the surreal rainbow glow of the Las Vegas strip at twilight and it becomes clear why the state of Nevada has become a metaphor for the energy crossroads confronting the United States. The city's hunger for electricity, like its...

All wet.(MATTERS OF SCALE)(consumption of embodied water)(Table)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... All Wet Amount of water embodied in (required to produce) a 40 slice of bread (liters) An apple 70 A hamburger 2,400 ...