Return of the Native
Agriculture, urban sprawl and fire suppression have left Iowa with less than one-tenth of one percent of its native prairies.
Shrinking Cities, Growing Populations
Taking a tour of historic sites in the old city of Baltimore can be a rewarding experience—until you turn a corner in the central business district and find—devastation. What was described in the guidebooks as a block of pubs with architecture reminiscent of London is now mostly rubble and boarded-up bars. What happened to Baltimore? […]
Two if by Sea
Invasive Species are Changing the Ocean Environment For decades, the coastal United States has been under siege from an invasion of foreign animals and plants (see second feature this issue). New species arrive daily, and in a variety of ways. According to the Pew Oceans Commission, ship ballast water is the primary carrier of marine […]
Mercury Falling
Like four of his five brothers, my grandfather was a family dentist, and in his semi-retired years he practiced out of his home in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a child, his office fascinated me, with its old-fashioned porcelain dental chair that weighed a ton, and the vintage wooden instrument cabinets that were fitted with little […]
Heavy Metal Harm
The Fight Against Highly Toxic Mercury in the Environment Has Just Begun
Ritual Mercury
Bad for What Ails You
Going, Going… Exotic Species are Decimating America’s Native Wildlife
In one corner of the United States, mountain goats traipse across the fragile alpine flowers that speckle the snowline of Washington’s craggy Olympic Mountains. They look beautiful, but the goats don’t belong there. Seattle newspaperman E.B. Webster and his mountaineer club 80 years ago pushed to introduce the shaggy-bearded animals to the majestic mountains to […]
Monkeying With Nature
Pink flamingos are synonymous with Florida, just as tumbleweeds say “Nevada.” But did you know both are foreign species? Yup. Don't assume everything you see in the wild belongs there, even if it does become a state bird like the ring-necked pheasant in South Dakota. “I'm fascinated by the way so many exotic species become […]
Diet for a Small Pet
Bring Out the Animal in Your Dog or Cat With Healthy Food Alternatives The wild dogs and cats that roamed the Earth thousands of years ago were the direct ancestors of the “domesticated creatures” we share our homes with today. As our pets, they’re “civilized,” but their physiology has remained remarkably unchanged from that of […]
Snack Attack
Chocolate chip cookies. Buttery popcorn. Chips and dip. Snacking is an American pastime. Indeed, Time.com has called us “a nation of committed Twinkie eaters,” while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have announced that the obesity rate is at an all-time high. Sixty-one percent of American adults are overweight or obese, a condition linked to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and some cancers, which kill 300,000 a year.