Environmental Degradation and Civil War in the Gem Trade Gleaming gems shining from plush velvet cases in quiet jewelry stores make it easy to forget that some of these symbols of love and prosperity originated in distant lands, deep in the soil of conflict. Romancing the stone: Everyone agrees that gems, like these uncut diamonds, […]
The United States is the world’s largest producer of soybeans, although you wouldn’t know that from the American diet, which mostly takes in soy from soy sauce. But soy can serve as an alternative to meat or milk, create new organic inks and prevent certain kinds of cancer. Asians have known about these benefits for […]
By cleaning up your diet to get rid of all the nasty stuff—persistent organic pollutants (POPs), saturated fats, additives and food colorings—you may be cutting out the iodine that you need. That doesn’t mean you should go back to eating unhealthy foods, but you need to make sure you have good sources of iodine, since […]
Alternative Treatments to Control Termites If there"s wood in your house, chances are at some point you"ll have unwelcome houseguests: termites. Treatments to get rid of these trespassers can be environmentally nasty. Infestations in which the entire house is implicated are usually attacked with chemical fumigants. But concerns about ozone depletion and health risks associated […]
Several forward-thinking states are stimulating consumer demand for alternative energy by offering cash back on photovoltaics, small wind turbines, fuel cells and solar thermal systems installed in homes. Likewise, a wide range of regional conservation incentive programs is taking root as utility deregulation continues to drive energy prices higher from coast to coast. By Roddy Scheer"> <META NAME=
It is peaceful on Nonsuch Island, a 14-acre nature preserve at the eastern entrance to Bermuda’s Castle Harbor. Migratory songbirds flit through canopy trees, their calls disturbed only by the distant and distinctly incongruous whine from a motorcycle track on the mainland. With its Bermuda palmetto, olivewood and cedar forests, scuttling Sally Lightfoot crabs and nesting Bermuda petrel seabirds just offshore, the island represents a rare opportunity to experience Bermuda as its first visitors saw it.
The thick chaparral of a remote region in the Sespe Wilderness, part of the Los Padres National Forest, in Ventura, California, has concealed a lost herd of desert bighorn sheep for more than five years. But now they’re out in the open. The desert bighorn sheep of the Sespe Wilderness in California had been given […]
Despite the breathtaking vistas of its unique, semi-arid mountain-desert, the Namaqualand region of northwestern South Africa is woefully impoverished. But a handful of progressive Connecticut educators are working with African communities to build a foundation for global sustainability. Jerry Birdsall (right) directs Connected Cultures’ outreach programs, bringing South African students to the U.S. and building […]
Nova Scotia’s Solar Sewage Solution One of Bear River, Nova Scotia’s biggest tourist attractions is its sewage treatment plant. Pleasing to the eye and almost completely odorless, the 80,000-gallon facility is located right in the heart of the small town’s tourist district. Every year, close to 2,000 people visit the plant. Bear River became the […]
Native Americans across the continent continue to struggle against environmental and social injustice. Tribal lands are disproportionately ravaged by mining and forestry industries, and every site in America currently proposed to store nuclear waste is on Native lands, according to the advocacy group Honor the Earth. Along with the destruction of traditional culture and the […]
