The one-two punch doled out by Katrina and then Hurricane Rita literally wiped out thousands of promising small businesses—and the jobs that went with them—all the way from Texas to Alabama. Several socially responsible community investment projects are helping shoulder the daunting burden of getting the local economy back on its feet.
Every so often we need to interrupt our regular lives and go off and live in a tent. I don’t say this for the usual benefits associated with camping—the simpler living and getting close to the outdoors, though those things go far in renewing our perspective. More importantly, we need to spend time away from home, constructing a shelter at night, taking it down in the morning and moving on, because that gets us close to a truth we usually deny. We are merely passing through this life.
For financial, political and environmental reasons—including the fact that we may soon reach the peak of oil production, after which fossil fuels will get increasingly expensive—Americans are trying out biodiesel, both in their vehicles and (mainly in the Northeast) for home heating.
Simply put, El Niño and La Niña are different stages in a cyclical pattern of climate turbulence otherwise known by meteorologists as the Southern Oscillation. First noticed by 16th century fishermen on the Pacific coast of South America, these phenomena were not scientifically
If “fat” has become a dirty word in your nutritional arsenal, you should know that all fats are not the same. Some may be harmful, but others are helpful—even necessary—for proper functioning of our bodies. The key is choosing the right fats.
Many environmentalists and well-educated idealists have moved to Portland, Oregon, in recent years, drawn by the pristine natural beauty of nearby areas, by wild salmon splashing in clear mountain streams, thundering waterfalls, elk wandering through old-growth forests, snow-capped mountains and wildflowers dotting the meadows. But after arriving, many were soon numbed by the diversity of threats to the wilderness by man’s consumption: majestic forests cut to stumps to make toilet paper, rugged mountains flattened to extract coal and metals and woodland streams turned green with pollution.
Consumption of sweeteners in the U.S. has risen from 113 per person per year in 1996 to 142 pounds per year in 2004. What’s wrong with sugar (and artificial sweeteners) anyway, and what’s it doing to our health?
Seven years after the Clinton administration declared that our nation’s symbol, the bald eagle, was no longer endangered, the federal government is finally getting around to removing endangered species protections for the majestic raptor. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its bald eagle delisting proposal for public review.
The Christian Science Monitor is reporting that increased concern about global warming in many of the so-called "red" states, which ushered George W. Bush into the White House, will make it tougher for conservative politicians at all levels of government not to favor stronger reductions in carbon dioxide emissions in future elections.
Do government “Energy Star” ratings for major appliances take into account their “cradle-to-grave”
