Global Warming Threatens Caribbean Corals
The Associated Press reports that temperatures in the Caribbean Sea have reached record highs two months before the usual summer peak, and that this warming trend threatens already at-risk corals.
E Magazine Categories
Natural Aging
In this, the year Paul McCartney turns 64, a new wave of senior citizens is upon us. The natural health industry anticipates robust sales, since many aging Boomers are buying herbal hair-loss remedies and organic face creams in their quest for the fountain of youth. The Natural Marketing Institute estimates that 60 million adults now turn to herbal supplements as part of their anti-aging strategy. So where to start with this new, natural approach to aging?
The Power of the Proxy
In the wake of corporate scandals at Enron and elsewhere, stock market investors are becoming increasingly aware of the power of voting their "proxies." Anyone who owns a single share of stock in a publicly traded company can weigh in on a variety of resolutions on corporate governance and social and environmental issues. Proxy voting is an increasingly important tool to nudge companies toward cleaner and greener behavior.
Air Today, Trouble Tomorrow
Another prenatal precaution has been added to the running list: don’t breathe! A number of studies have concluded exposure to air pollution, such as that found routinely in major American cities, can adversely affect fetal development (see "Womb Pollution?" In Brief, November/December 2004).
Forever Wild in Alabama
In 1992, Alabama faced a unique situation—a surplus of income from offshore drilling. Voters overwhelmingly backed a plan that would use the money to save the state’s rapidly vanishing landscape. The program was called Forever Wild and since its inception it has purchased more than 100,000 acres of land and wetlands.
CDs Play a New Tune
After being unable to find an acceptable CD replication service to mass produce his music, Craig Minowa founded Earthology Records in 1997. From the start, Minowa knew that he would build his company with the core value of living lightly on the Earth. The record company boasts a wind-powered recording studio that is also geothermally heated, built with recycled materials and set within an organic farm.
Tax Relief for Organic Growers
Woodbury County, Iowa became the first government in the U.S. to financially support organics when the board of supervisors voted last year to give a property tax rebate to farmers transitioning to organic. Since then, Woodbury officials have also passed a law that requires the county’s food service contractor to purchase organic food grown and processed within 100 miles of the county courthouse whenever available.
Semana del 02/07/2006
<B><U>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U> ¿Cuáles han sido los impactos ecológicos más graves del huracán Katrina en Nueva Orleans?</B>
<B><U>Querido DiálogoEcológico:</U> ¿Causan las celebraciones con fuegos artificiales mucha contaminación?</B>
The Gas Price Blame Game
Record gas prices have prompted heated debate about the root causes, leading some to point their fingers at ethanol, which in the U.S. is usually made from corn (see "Grass to Gas," Currents, May/June 2005). Congress had recently mandated replacement of the groundwater pollutant methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) with ethanol, another additive that decreases pollution when blended with gasoline.
Prairie Dog Power
Prairie dogs are keystone species that endangered black-footed ferrets depend on for survival. But a century of mismanagement has reduced prairie dogs to five percent of their historic numbers (see "Open Season on "Varmints,"" cover story, July/August 2004). "The political climate for prairie dog conservation remains abysmal," says Erin Robertson of Center for Native Ecosystems.