World Watch articles from May 2005

World Watch archives from May 2005

Carpet.(LIFE-CYCLE STUDIES)
May 1, 2005... Overview The human impulse to put something pleasant beneath our feet must be almost as old as the one to erect shelter over our heads, and carpets have been lying around for at least 6,000 years. They also function as art, insulation,...

GMOs and the Cartagena Protocol.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... I would like to applaud Claire Hope Cummings' work exploring the complex scientific and political dimensions surrounding modern biotechnology ("Trespass," Jan/Feb issue). However, I do not share her pessimistic view of the future. The extent to...

Mental Meds not frivolous.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... I always enjoy reading "Matters of Scale," and your most recent one titled "Aid and Comfort" was no exception--until I reached the bottom where the amount of money Americans spend on various luxuries or frivolities was listed. I was appalled to...

Soy beats meat?(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... According to USDA's Economic Research Service, Americans were consuming 11 percent more food per capita in 2003 than in 1985. However, meat consumption during the period rose by only 7 percent, for a net 4-percent loss of the food market share....

Tracking hunger.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... In the name of historical accuracy, I want to protest the inaccuracy of the first sentence of the article "The Price of Hunger" [March/April, Environmental Intelligence]. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] did not begin "keeping...

[H.sub.2] $.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2005... Your article on hydrogen fuel ["California Drives the Future of the Automobile," March/April] neglects one of the most important pieces of information: cost. On an equivalent energy value, industrial hydrogen costs about 10 times the price of...

Mug shot.(ESSAY)(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... The other day one of the Worldwatch staff gave a talk on global climate change to a small Green Sanctuary church group. As is usual with these talks, a handful of people lingered afterwards to offer private comments or questions. The questions...

The truth in beauty.(methods to protect your skin)
May 1, 2005... Not for nothing did our ancestors worship the sun, the source of Earth's fertility and associated revels. What the ancients didn't understand, however, was the link between sun exposure and skin cancer. Whether you celebrate the season on a...

Organic farming pays.(ENVIRONMENTAL Intelligence)
May 1, 2005... One reason that organic farming is expanding rapidly in Asia, according to a new study, is because organic farmers can make more money. The United Nations-affiliated International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) reports that the...

Healthy coastlines mitigate disasters.
May 1, 2005... Studies of the environmental impacts of last December's Indian Ocean tsunamis point to the vital role healthy coastal resources play in reducing disaster risks. Places that had relatively intact natural barriers, including coral reefs,...

Unocal settles in Burma human rights case.(ENVIRONMENTAL Intelligence)
May 1, 2005... Eight years after filing suit in the United States against the multinational energy corporation Unocal, a group of Burmese villagers learned in December that they would be compensated for human rights abuses--including forced labor, rape, and...

Nordic countries are world's sustainability leaders.(ENVIRONMENTAL Intelligence)(Environmental Sustainability Index)
May 1, 2005... Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland ranked among the five most "sustainable" countries in a recent survey of 146 nations. The 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), released in January, rates nations on their ability to integrate...

Everybody talks about the weather ... and now they're suing, too.(U.S. Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corporation)(nongovernmental organizations)
May 1, 2005... In April, the first lawsuit concerning climate change is due to be argued in U.S. District Court. The suit, filed in 2002 by major NGOs, affected citizens, and several U.S. cities, charges the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private...

No binding UN cloning ban.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... See "Beyond Cloning" special theme issue. Jul/Aug 2002 No binding UN cloning ban The UN General Assembly voted in March to accept only a declaration condemning all human cloning rather than a legally binding global ban. Assembly members...

Perchlorate again: found in breast milk.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... See "A Little Rocket Fuel With Your Salad?" Nov/Dec 2003, p. 12 Perchlorate again: found in breast milk Perchlorate, a toxic chemical used in rocket propellants, has been found in samples of breast milk and retailed cow's milk in 23 U.S....

Paying for (more) people.(UPDATES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... See "Population and Its Discontents" special theme issue, Sept/Oct 2004 Paying for (more) people Italian officials are so worried about the country's declining population that they are paying people to have babies; one village offers...

Global warming increasing drought.(National Center for Atmospheric Research)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... See "The Irony of Climate," March/April 2005, p. 18 Global warming increasing drought A study from the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research suggests that total drought-stricken area worldwide has expanded from about 12 percent in...

Farming's new feudalism: Percy Schmeiser and other casualties of industrial agriculture's drive to own it all.
May 1, 2005... Like thousands of others in southern Germany in the late 19th century, Karl and Anna Schmeiser worked long, hard days farming a baron's vast tracts of land to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. The baron owned the land, the...

The evolving corporation: when good corporations go bad; Part 1 of a series.
May 1, 2005... The modern corporation is the dominant form of business organization in the world today. Corporations' reach, however, is not limited to the business world. As they have multiplied in number, size, and power, corporations have also begun to...

Picture their world.(TALKING PICTURES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Whatever their circumstances or the state of their environment, children live in a different world than adults. Adults can look at these photos (all but one taken by children themselves) and see their vulnerability to the future we imagine. The...

The shape of forests to come?(genetically modified plants in forest ecosystem)
May 1, 2005... At the turn of the last century, nearly one out of every four trees in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States was an American chestnut. Averaging 30 meters tall and 2 meters wide, these majestic beauties ranged from Maine down...

Nam Theun dam: the World Bank's watershed decision.(People's Democratic Republic )
May 1, 2005... For the last thousand years, as kingdoms and countries have fought for sovereignty over Laos' Nakai Plateau, the people there have learned the lessons of the grasses--to bend before the wind. Life has been relatively predictable, marked by...

Food concentrates.(Illustration)
May 1, 2005... Share of world's top 100 national (as GDP) and corporate (as revenues) economies that are corporations, 2003 51 Rank of Belgium among top 100 economies, 2003 18 Belgian GDP, 2003 ...