World Watch articles from September 2007

World Watch archives from September 2007

Pets.(LIFE-CYCLE STUDIES)
September 1, 2007... Overview Human domestication of animals probably began with dogs about 17,000 years ago, although some experts believe the association is much older. Dogs got an assured supply of food and shelter, and in return they offered ingrained...

Let there be light.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Your May/June 2007 issue's article, "World Governments Adopting Bright Idea," reminds me of a recent weekend visit to a friend's house and my thickheaded housewarming gift. Forget the flowers, wine, cake, candy, cookies, or other "idea that...

Goldman good.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... I'm a bit behind in my reading but just got to the July/August 2006 issue of World Watch and in addition to the great scientific articles I've come to expect I also found two positive stories that gave me some hope. The short bios on the...

Easy debt and the environment.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Jim Cochran ("Carbon on Credit," May/June, p. 14) points us to a corner of the global economy not well understood by most of its participants and a good many of its analysts. Few economists are able to accurately forecast changes in any...

No place to go.(FROM READERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... I was stunned, and then offended, to read the July/August "Matters of Scale" chart of statistics, and see it quoting WHO/UN ICEF as reporting that 100 percent of people in the United States have access to "adequate" sanitary toilets. One can of...

South Pacific to be protected from destructive fishing.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... More than 20 nations in the South Pacific have agreed to restrict bottom trawling, an invasive form of fishing that can devastate marine habitats, in areas with vulnerable ecosystems. Fishers will be prohibited from using the practice, which...

Biodiversity can provide mental health benefits.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... Biological diversity in city parks and green spaces can have psychological benefits for humans, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. The researchers found that visitors to city parks with a greater diversity of birds, butterflies,...

Computer sector cooperates to save energy.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... More than 35 organizations, including computer manufacturers, chip makers, environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, and government agencies, have joined together to promote greater energy conservation in computing. In June, they...

Solar power reaches 100,000 in rural India.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... A solar photovoltaics pilot project in India has transformed the lives of some 100,000 people living in poverty-stricken rural regions. The goal of the $1.5 million project, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is to...

Innovative waste-to-energy project profits community.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... In a new partnership, 13 municipalities in Argentina have agreed to send their refuse to an innovative waste treatment facility that will turn it into electricity, biodiesel, water, and animal feed. The communities, in turn, will receive half...

Meteorologists add climate change to their forecasts.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... As the United States wakes up to the realities of climate change, global warming has made that most ordinary of conversation topics--the weather--a hot topic. And increasingly, meteorologists across the country are incorporating tips on how to...

UN refugee agency turns to tree planting.(EYE ON EARTH)
September 1, 2007... The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has pledged to plant more than 9 million trees in areas of human displacement this year, enlisting both refugees and host communities to meet this goal. By distributing seedlings of various species in...

Shippers sued.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... See "Trade and Consequences," November/December 2005, p. 23 U.S. conservation groups are filing a lawsuit against several shipping companies that have discharged untreated ballast water into the Great Lakes in violation of the U.S. Clean...

A flawed model.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... See "Nam Theun 2," May/June 2005, p. 27 The Nam Theun 2 project in Laos has fallen short of its goals, according to both the project's managers and advocates with the International Rivers Network. The US$1.25 billion project, now halfway...

Organic holds up.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... See "Can Organic Farming Feed Us All?" May/June 2006, p. 18 A new study from the University of Michigan says organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming in developing countries and hold its own in...

Bearly birthing.(UPDATES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... See "Living with Climate Change in the Arctic," September/October 2005, p. 18 As the Arctic warms, pregnant polar bears foraging offshore must now wait up to a month longer than they did even a decade ago for new sea ice to form so they...

Tar sands fever! It's about water, sand, and oil--but this is no day at the beach.
September 1, 2007... It's well known that the United States consumes more oil per capita than any other country in the world, absorbing two-thirds of global oil production. This heavy dependence has often, and aptly, been described as an addiction; even U.S....

Katrina: unlearned lessons; Two years on, it's clearer than ever that this was a manmade catastrophe. Is anyone getting the message?
September 1, 2007... Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005, created the costliest disaster in U.S. history, and one of the deadliest. After two years and dozens of post-mortem analyses, it makes sense to ask if we've learned anything from...

Boys with Toys.(TALKING PICTURES)
September 1, 2007... Top left: David, Panama. Tor right: Taguig City, Philippines. Right: Myitkyina, Burma. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Left: Lahore, Pakistan. Right: Koln, Germany. ...

Patching up paradise: Sri Lanka struggles to recover from conflict and disaster.
September 1, 2007... The port city of Galle fronts the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, a teardrop-shaped island nation in the Indian Ocean. Gleaming on a promontory in the bright sun, the whitewashed buildings and stooped palm trees of its Fort neighborhood...

A new capitalism.(ESSAY)(Viewpoint essay)
September 1, 2007... I'm a businessman. I believe society should reward successful initiative with profit. At the same time, I know that profit-seeking activities have unhealthy side effects. They cause pollution, waste, inequality, anxiety, and confusion about the...

The deadly century.(MATTERS OF SCALE)(Table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The Deadly Century Estimated number of people who died during the 20th 4.13 billion century, all causes Estimated deaths from smallpox 300 million From influenza 20-100...