World Watch articles from September 2002

World Watch archives from September 2002

About world * watch.
September 1, 2002... WORLD WATCH is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine that tracks key indicators of the Earth's well-being. We monitor and evaluate changes in climate, forest cover, population, food production, water resources biological diversity, and other key...

Trees, not talk.(reducing forest loss)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... Curbing forest loss was a high priority at the 1992 Rio summit, but since then international negotiations to stop the ravaging of forests have generated only vague proposals and little government action. The shocking rate of natural forest loss...

Out of touch. (Note From a World Watcher).(inventions and mediated experience)
September 1, 2002... Half a century ago, industry brought us a plethora of "time-saving" inventions. As many wry observers have noted, the ultimate effect has been to leave us with less time than ever. What ever became of all the time that was saved by our washing...

From readers.
September 1, 2002... DDT and Malaria control In her article "Malaria, Mosquitoes, and DDT" (May/June), Anne Platt McGinn suggests that DDT, when used indoors against malaria vectors, is a "poison to our soils, our waters, and ourselves." However, though this...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2002... In the commentary by Paul R. Billings, M.D., on page 16 of the July/August issue, the last sentence should read: In fact, if such understanding discourages irresponsible scientists who seek to "improve" humans through basic genomic changes...

Occidental Petroleum drops drilling plans in Colombia. (Environmental Intelligence).(in response to U'wa tribe protests)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum on May 3 announced that it would abandon its controversial efforts to drill for oil in Colombia's Siriri (formerly Samore) oil block. The oil block lies on lands historically controlled by the U'wa...

Study affirms benefits of organic farming. (Environmental Intelligence).(less pesticide residue)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A recent study confirms what proponents of organic farming have long argued: that organic foods carry less pesticide residue than conventionally grown foods. Organic standards prohibit farmers from using synthetic pesticides, but few studies to...

Kyoto Protocol close to entering into force. (Environmental Intelligences).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Both the European Union and Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol this spring, bringing the climate change treaty's emissions reductions several steps closer to entering into force, despite the staunch opposition of the United States. The protocol,...

Costa Rica launches environmental initiatives. (Environmental Intelligences).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Costa Rica's new president Abel Pacheco announced in June an extensive plan to "transform Costa Rica into an ecological power," declaring a moratorium on new open-pit mining projects, cracking down on illegal logging, and designating new...

U.S. and Canadian water pollution jumps 26 percent. (Environmental Intelligence).(Commission for Environmental Cooperation report)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... The amount of industrial pollution dumped into U.S. and Canadian rivers, lakes, and streams rose 26 percent in the period from 1995 to 1999, according to a report released in May by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The report...

Genetic research is not benefiting developing countries. (Environmental Intelligence).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A new World Health Organization (WHO) report warns that developing countries do not stand to benefit from current genetic research. Increased understanding of the genetic composition of pathogens, disease vectors, and humans could lead to...

Crimes of (a) global nature: forging environmental treaties is difficult. Enforcing them is even tougher.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Last February, armed troops and fisheries officials on two Australian navy ships and a helicopter boarded and seized the Volga and the Lena, Russian-flagged fishing vessels operating near Heard Island, some 2,200 nautical miles southwest of...

Logging illogic.(illegal logging)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Money doesn't grow on trees, but some trees might as well be pure gold. The world's voracious (and growing) appetite for wood, paper, and other forest products is driving a stampede to mow down forests. Much of this logging is illegal....

Remember Rwanda?
September 1, 2002... The genocide of 1994 seemed inexplicable. But a study of links between extreme environmental degradation and the enormous violence that occurred between Hutus and Tutsis could have important implications for stressed populations in other...

The hunger for profit. (Book Review).(Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle)
September 1, 2002... Marion Nestle, Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002). After reading Food Politics, I visited a local McDonald's restaurant to see for myself how food companies...

Population matters. (Interview).(Thoraya Obaid)(Interview)
September 1, 2002... The Bush administration in July cut $34 million in funding for international family planning. Plans for the Johannesburg World Summit in August failed to address population growth as an environmental issue. Here, Thoraya Obaid, the Executive...

Climbing a steep Summit. (Essay).(World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In June I traveled to Rio de Janeiro for an event marking the 10th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit. Hosted by Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, "Rio Plus Ten" included meetings on climate change and biological diversity and a...

Mexican government backs off controversial airport. (Update).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... When the Mexican government announced its decision in October 2001 to build a new international airport at Texcoco, an important wetland area dotted with several small towns outside Mexico City, environmental groups and community leaders...

Matters of scale.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... MATTERS OF SCALE OFFICIAL REPORT CARD Progress Report of Planet Earth, from Rio to Johannesburg, Grade _____ SUBJECT 1992 Share of the world's 10 percent coral reefs damaged by human pressures and...

A day at the beach.(Ukraine)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2002... On the industrial shores of an inland lake near Slavjansk in the Ukraine, people gather to bathe in the effluent of local factories. With its high salt content, the water is said to have curative properties. So the aged and infirm-together with...