Carpet Highs and Whoas
A typical carpet contains 120 different chemicals, including such carcinogens as formaldehyde, toluene, xylene & benzene.
COMMENTARY: Ten Things Wrong With Sprawl
In the next thirty-four years, we 300 million Americans will be joined by another 92 million. Where will all these people live, work, play, worship, buy, sell, and serve? Where will 40 million additional households be located? What sort of built environment will we produce, and what will be the results for the nation’s and the environment’s well-being? The prevailing form of land development is popularly known as sprawl or exurban sprawl. Sprawl is characterized by low density development that rigorously separates residential uses from other land uses, and that relies entirely or almost entirely on automobile transportation. There are strong reasons to prefer that the nation’s future development does not reproduce this pattern—reasons that have nothing to do with the price or availability of gasoline.
Oscar Goes Lean, Clean and Green
Sustainability played a large role in the Oscar night festivities last week, and environmentalists hope it represents a wider awakening in green consciousness across the nation. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" Laurie Ziskin teamed with leading nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on a number of initiatives to green the events surrounding the awards.
Wall Street Financiers Scrap Proposed TXU Coal Binge
Some environmentally enlightened Wall Street heavy hitters stepped up to the plate last week to take a crack at reducing carbon dioxide emissions by buying out an ailing Texas-based utility, TXU. The company planned to build 11 new coal-fired power plants across Texas. The new investors, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group, say that after consulting with environmentalists they will scuttle plans for all but three of the proposed plants. The new company will make up for the prospective loss of future supply by encouraging customers to reduce demand through energy efficiency upgrades.
Protecting the Prostate
New and better information is coming to light every day about ways to prevent prostate cancer, which struck an estimated 234,460 American men in 2006. An estimated 27,350 die of it each year, according to American Cancer Society estimates. Since doctors are getting better at catching it early, fewer men are dying of prostate cancer.
Some Crust
A whole host of companies are now offering pizzas with all-natural and organic ingredients. So following in the wake of our road test of frozen organic lasagna, E decided to stack up the frozen pizzas. Do all-natural ingredients really make a frozen pizza taste homemade?
With a Little Help
Growing a garden, however, not to mention learning to prepare the food one grows, can be a daunting proposition. Enter co-gardening, the act of gardening with friends, family and neighbors. Co-gardeners plan, till, plant, weed, water and even cook together. Like urban community gardeners, they share garden space, and like Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSAs), they share produce.
Sun Shines
The rise of solar energy as a viable technology contributing to a clean electricity future is exciting enough, but equally compelling is the industry’s ability to create well-paying, life-enhancing jobs.
Trash Talking
Each year, we humans generate 20 to 50 million tons of electronic "e-waste," containing such toxic chemicals as lead, mercury and cadmium as consumers toss out their quickly outdated cell phones, computers and televisions in favor of more high-tech models <a href="https://emagazine.com/view/?3172">(see "How to Recycle Practically Anything," feature, May/June 2006).</a>
Global Warming Votes
With the popularity of An Inconvenient Truth and the news that 2006 was one of the warmest years on record, climate change is likely to be one of the major issues in the 2008 presidential debates <a href="https://emagazine.com/view/?3257">(see "Warm Planet, Cool Ideas," feature, July/August 2006).</a>