Eating Your Way to Better Health The medical profession has come a long way since Hippocrates first said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Perhaps it’s time to take a few steps back. A full third of the 563,000 cancer deaths the American Cancer Society predicts for 1999 will be nutrition-related. […]
Researchers Find a Connection Between Parkinson’s Disease and Pesticides The herbicides and pesticides many people trust enough to spray on their gardens and crops have been increasingly linked to the onset of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder that turns the simplest movement into a battle between the brain and the nerves. The first connection […]
As the American economy continues to lag, more and more socially and environmentally responsible investors are looking south to find promising venture capital opportunities. While much of the rest of the world is bogged down in recession and cowed by the specter of terrorism, Latin American businesses are operating in a relatively safe and fast-growing economic climate friendly to sustainable development and still rich in virgin natural resources. A small cadre of environmentally conscious venture funds—most of which feature a nonprofit component—have already invested almost $2 billion in sustainable forestry, organic agriculture, renewable energy and other green businesses in the region, and are poised to make significant returns over the coming decades. Individual investors are still welcome to invest in many of these funds.
Alternative Currency Promotes Fresh Thinking About Sustainable Economics The angry people crowding the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina last January were armed with casseroles and wooden spoons and making a hell of a ruckus. Unemployment was at historic highs, crime had skyrocketed, and the political system was on the verge of collapse. What was responsible […]
The 10 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic In 1984, Elizabeth Ryan bought a farm in New York’s mid Hudson Valley. The farm and orchard had been managed conventionally for many years, but Ryan decided to severely restrict the use of chemical pesticides. Her farm is now run under a preventive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) […]
When Richard Metteer began publicly pitching his vision for raising hundreds of thousands of hogs amidst some of Alaska’s most treasured ecosystems, he was met with protests from a diverse coalition of area residents.
Ironically, China’s only real dragon—the Chinese alligator—may become extinct in the wild in 2000, otherwise known as the Year of the Dragon. One of only two remaining alligator species in the world, this reptile has the dubious distinction of being the planet’s most endangered species. The Chinese alligator—called “Tu Long” or “earth dragon”—and the mythical […]
The Mapimí Biosphere Reserve is a loosely defined 425,000-acre expanse of land in the center of Mexico’s Chihuahua Desert. It’s home to at least 300 vascular plants, 30 types of cacti and 249 vertebrate species, including mountain lions, bobcats and weasels. Much to the chagrin of Reserve scientists, however, it’s also a destination for hundreds of tourists with no interest at all in the natural environment.
In September, conservationists applauded as the U.S. Congress passed the Sustainable Fisheries Act (S. 39), which amends and reauthorizes the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. (See "The World’s Fisheries: A State of Emergency," July/August and September/October 1996). The bill limits catch numbers in federal waters, and ties allowable fish harvests to levels which will maintain productivity.
The 300 gray wolves that roam the wilds of Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho won’t be leaving anytime soon, thanks to a decision by Denver’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. In January, the appeals court overturned a 1997 ruling that called for the removal of the wolves that had been introduced to Yellowstone and […]
