By some measures, Switzerland is the greenest nation in the industrialized world. Not only does it boast one of the densest rail systems, it also leads Europe by recycling 50 percent of all household waste. Annual garbage production is just 880 pounds per person—half the U.S. figure. These municipal recycling bins in Interlaken, Switzerland separate […]
A burly grizzly bear strode across a meadow in Yellowstone National Park last spring, barely noticed by grazing herds of elk and bison. The bear, weak from hibernation, was focused on procuring an easier meal, such as scavenged bison carcasses and the tiny white blossoms that speck the forest edges. A keystone species in several […]
As Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Society of Lane County, navigated the congested Oregon Interstate 5 traffic near Portland, he was taken aback by mountains of broken pop bottle green glass unceremoniously dumped by the roadside. Destined to end up as dangerous litter or landfill waste, the glass was what […]
Far off America’s beaten path—with no trails, roads or development, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) consists of 19 million acres of mountain, tundra and coastal plain in Alaska’s northeast corner. For lovers of teeming wildlife, vast open spaces and snowy vistas, a visit to the Arctic Refuge could be the trip of a lifetime. And given recent political sentiment to exploit the oil reserves below the Refuge, this coming summer may provide a final opportunity to visit the area while it’s still in pristine condition.
For nearly a century, cattle and antelope competed for grazing rights in southeast Oregon on what is now Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. In 1994, after a long court battle by environmental groups, the federal government stopped cattle grazing on Hart Mountain for a 15-year study period. The result has been a natural paradise. Pronghorn […]
Atlanta, once a "city of trees," has lost some 20 percent of its forest cover in the past quarter century. Now an estimated 50 acres of greenspace disappears daily to development in the metro area. The city is so choked with gridlocked traffic that the Clinton Administration withheld federal highway funds. According to the Trust […]
With rustic cabins, sailboats bobbing in the mist and brilliant sunsets over sandy beaches, the University of Michigan Biological Station looks, at first glance, like a sleepy summer camp. But the researchers at this Northern Michigan retreat are making waves in the field of global climate change. The Michigan team began studying the impact of […]
Every year, thousands of birds are electrocuted when they collide with power lines. Leo Suazo, special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in Colorado, says bird electrocutions have been documented in all 50 states, but they may be worst in the West, where there are fewer trees for birds to perch on. […]
A Kinship With Chimps © Jane Goodall Institute Primatologist Jane Goodall, Ph.D., CBE and UN Messenger of Peace, needs little introduction, because her work with chimps in Tanzania is known throughout the world. Fifty years of intimate contact with these close human relatives gives her authority to speak on everything from their value systems to […]
The Bushmeat Crisis is Emptying Africa’s Forests Deep in the heart of the Congo River Basin, the tropical forest is lush and full of life. Immense Sapelli and Okoumé trees tower over the forest floor, and small antelopes called duikers plunge through the undergrowth while the calls of bonobos and sooty mangabeys sound from the […]
