Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time to begin thinking about how the kids will spend those precious two months away from the classroom. For many, the solution means finding a new place where a child can learn new skills, make new friends and interact wit hthe natural world. Translation? Summer Camp.
The Endangered Species Act is the most innovative, wide-reaching and successful environmental law that has been passed in the past quarter century. I can cite case after case: the resurgence of the American alligator, the fact that the skies are once again graced by many bald eagles, and that Peregrin falcon is moving from near extinction to the threshold of de-listing. The opponents of the Endangered Species Act know these facts. So they have come at us in a different direction, advocating a new and radical concept–that any government action lowering the value of someone’s property creates a right to be compensated by the U.S. Treasury. For example, H.R. 1388, styled as the :Just Compensation Act of 1993," would require federal agencies to compensate property owners "for any diminution in value" caused by any regulatory action taken under environmental laws, including, right at the top, the Endangered Species Act.
The carpet under your feet may look harmless enough, but tell that to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staffers who suffered breathing problems and flu-like symptoms after new carpet was stretched over the floors of their Washinhton, DC headquarters back in 1987. Some collapsed. Some were rushed to the hospital, dizzy and nauseous. The building was evacuated several times. A University of Arizona study, ironically tucked inside the EPA’s file cabinets, suggested a possible cause: the new carpet smell, caused by 4-phenylcy-clohexene (4-PC) in the glue that holds carpet fibers together. Sure enough, those most effected worked in areas where 4-PC levels were highest. The EPA ripped out the carpet in 1989–and decided that future carpets would be 4-PC-free.
The summer is travel season, and in keeping with the calendar we’re providing an excerpt from the eco-travel chapter of our new book, <I>Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth</I>, just published by Plume. The information below is just a fraction of the travel information contained in the book, which also offers "news you can use" on topics ranging from the healthy home to planet-friendly cars. Click on the link below for further information from the book, and for a handy online order form.
It’s everywhere. In health clubs. At work. At home. In backpacks. At conferences and althetic events. Once considered a yuppie refreshment, bottled water has become a liquid asset for today’s active consumer–and a gushing $2.7 billion-a-year national industry. One out of six people in America is drinking more than eight gallons annually of bottled water–five times more than a decade ago. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), 60 percent of those who drink bottled water do so for taste. But the perception that it’s purer, healthier, and safer also boosts sales, especially in parched California, which drinks up 36 percent of the market share.
Aside from wind power, which seems to be gaining in acceptance, what are some other promising sources of non-polluting renewable energy?
Near tax filing day this year I heard some economists on TV discussing “green taxes” that can benefit the environment. Can you enlighten me?
I have my own personal little battle going with plastic. Every time I open the cupboard above my sink I get konked on the head by Tupperware containers and lids, dozens of which are haphazardly collected there. The bright side is that, if they were glass, I’d really get konked and, to boot, they’d shatter all over. Also, the fact that they’re in the cabinet at all is because, well, like their more treacherous glass counterparts, they’re reusable–and we do get a lot of used out of them between packing lunches and storing leftovers.
Thousands of Americans are probably by now preparing for their exotic summer vacations in the Mediterranean. But they’re not the only ones–chances are, an illegal fleet of Italian driftnetters is, too.
"Homeless people are not ‘those’ people; they are my neighbors and friends," says Marilyn Kaufman, who lives in Washington, DC. Her dream of creating real jobs for homeless people recently found a suitable vehicle–a solar-powered ice cream vending cart. Incorporating a new, super-efficient insulation, the carts will be the rolling stock of "DC Kool Ice," Kaufman’s start-up venture that employs the homeless as vendors. Cooled by solar power instead of dry ice, the carts save about $20,000 in yearly energy costs for a fleet of 12, which allows Kaufman to pay her vendors a realistic living wage of $10 and hour.
