Cruising the Green ‘Net

Internet visionaries like to paint pictures of effortless cruising from one exciting, information-packed site to another, but the reality can be more like the "Life in Hell" cartoon showing a zoned-out surfer falling asleep at his keyboard while a file downloads. The good news is that most prominent environmental sites are thoughtfully set-up and include key tools for turning surfers into activists. Space prohibits a complete listing of environmental Websites, but here’s a selected rundown: <hr>

A Paperless Future?

Back when the first PC was plunked down on the first desk, the futurists began talking about the "paperless office." That dream has not been fulfilled, but rising costs are forcing a dramatic reassessment of paper use–made possible by the awesome capabilities of the modern computer.

The Virtual Environment

In his office at WebWorld in Seattle, Roger Adams is working on the United Nations Environment Programme’s on-line action guide for community organizations. He e-mails drafts to the working groups, and is told that the guide needs more material on sustainable agriculture. Adams writes a quick query on his Macintosh and "uplinks" it into a "listserve," which automatically sends it on to 2,000 environmentalists around the world. He goes back to working on his document, with the e-mail program working in the background. Within an hour, a listserve subscriber in South Africa has sent him the material he needs. Adams copies the material into his document, attributes it, and completes a new draft, which he immediately e-mails back to the working group.

A Net Gain

Just a few years ago, Internet purists were arguing that cyberspace should be kept totally free of vulgar commercial content. In 1995, with 30 million users around the world (76 percent of them in the U.S.), it’s the ad-driven part of the World Wide Web that’s growing the fastest. In 1994, there were only 588 commercial Web sites; now there are more than 15,000, with 73 new ones added every day. Some 66 percent of Internet "servers" now handle commercial traffic exclusively.

The Sludging of America

Linda Zander, a dairy farmer in Lynden, Washington, says that she and her husband are seriously ill from the sewage sludge spread on a neighbor’s farm. Zander, who now heads Help for Sewage Sludge Victims, recently won a civil suit which found that the sewage had fouled her air and contaminated her well. Patti Baker of Elkrun, Ohio was cheering her victory. The former runner says she can hardly walk upstairs after sludge fertilizer, spread on a nearby stripmine, seeped into her well.

Living With Predators

Rosalind Wallace and Gretchen Roffler were both lucky and smart when they encountered a mountain lion in the remote reaches of Olympic National Park last summer. The two park employees, who were doing spotted owl surveys at the time, did everything right. They stayed upright, always above the lion. They stood their ground and didn’t even think about running. They looked the cat directly in the eyes. Most important, they made sure not to act like prey.

Stewart Brand

If ever there was an environmentalist perfectly comfortable with technology, it is Stewart Brand, the founding editor of the legendary Whole Earth Catalog and later, The Whole Earth Review. Sympathetic with the plight of the plundered Earth since studying biology at Stanford University in the late ’50s, Brand has always been an enthusiastic proponent of putting tools into the hands of worthy users. Anyone who’s gotten their hands on those catalogs–whether they’re from the ’60s or the ’90s–knows Brand believes wholeheartedly that putting the right tools in the right hands can change the world for the better. "We are as Gods and might as well get good at it," he wrote in the 1968 edition of the catalog.

Clean Sex, Wasteful Computers and Dangerous Mascara

Chris Murphy Do condoms represent a significant portion of beach litter? Are there environmentally friendly condoms? —Wendy M., Olympia, WA Condoms are often found discarded on beaches along with straws, bottles and other trash. About 900 condoms were found on Florida’s beaches during a three-hour litter collection campaign in 1996. That’s five condoms per minute. […]

‘Fridges, Fabric and Fowl

I understand that there is a ban in place on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Where can I purchase a CFC-free refrigerator?

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