Treading Lightly in Alaska
The Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge, only 10 miles from the fishing village of Homer, Alaska, was world’s away from the rat race I was leaving behind….
Extreme Makeover: Green Edition
Knowing what’s truly environmentally responsible and what’s just hype (or greenwashing) can be tough for the average American. Now there are lifestyle experts for regular folks and movie stars alike to help you find fabulous green stuff when you need it.
Big Cities, Big Problems
I found your September/October 2005 cover story “Cities of the Future” informative and well done. I believe, however, that some of the information regarding Jakarta, where I lived for several years in the early 1990s, is dated, and in some cases superficial. Jakarta had the “three passengers in one car” policy for vehicles traveling into […]
The Hydrogen House: Fueling a Dream
In Scottsdale, Arizona, Bryan Beaulieu, an engineer and inventor with 20 patents in structural systems, recently built a $2 million solar-and-hydrogen-powered "dream" house. Though not Scottsdale’s most expensive residence, the 6,000-square-foot luxury home is—by far—the most environmentally sustainable.
Mining Trouble
In recent years, high commodities prices, lax national laws and corrupt governments have intensified interest in mining Latin America’s vast ore lodes. But miners are increasingly pitted against indigenous movements demanding, sometimes violently, social investments and environmental protections.
Good Neighbor Alcoa
When John von Gonten came down with sinus & respiratory problems & severe headaches, he suspected Alcoa, located eight miles from his property.
Can Hurricanes Be Stopped?
Peter Cordani’s plan is to fly planes into the eye of a hurricane, cutting a triangular swath to the center while dumping his absorbent “hurricane powder.” As the polymer powder absorbs the hurricane’s moisture, in theory it would slow down the rotation and cool the storm, thus taking much of the force out of it.
The Jaguar Man
Wild jaguars in the U.S.? What sounds implausible was proven true in 1996 when two male jaguars were photographed, first in southern New Mexico and then in Arizona. Until that time, experts had concluded that our hemisphere’s biggest cat had disappeared forever from America.
What’s Killing Seabirds?
More than 100,000 seabirds of various species washed up on Pacific beaches from central California to British Columbia this past summer—at a time when they should have been in peak condition. Was climate change a factor?
In Defense of Mountains
Activists at Coal River Mountain Watch and other organizations connect a record of environmental disasters with the issue of mountaintop removal mining, a practice routinely used by Big Coal in Appalachia.