E Magazine back issues from January 2004:
Caring capacity.(E Word)(population control)
Jan 01, 2004; ... We've written about overpopulation many times in these pages because we think it is a profoundly important environmental issue. Yet its one that the green movement largely ignores, primarily for fear of alienating a public that may associate family planning with abortion or see attempts to ...
Bottled water blues.(Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Your cover story "Message in a Bottle (September/October 2003) draws ironic similarities to the SUV craze. Americans are not buying purity in a glass or open road freedom. They're buying urban cowboy images and feel-good escapes as they consume regular water and sit in regular traffic ....
The industry fires back.(Letters from our readers)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Don't be drawn into the bottled water versus tap water debate as presented in E's article "Message In A Bottle:' The few carefully edited quotes from the bottled water industry included in the rather slanted article did not accurately represent the facts. Consumers are not uniformly ...
Water quality watchdogs.
Jan 01, 2004; ... When Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, the goal was to force industries to reduce the flow of pollution into the nation's waterways. Thirty years later, new applications of the law are raising questions. For instance, what happens if the pipe from which the pollution flows is up ...
Journey to Eden.
Jan 01, 2004; ... Described as a "living theater of plants and people," the Eden Project is an international visitor at traction set in a former clay quarry in Cornwall, England. The focus of the 280,000-square-foot gardens is on the two giant greenhouses, which simulate Mediterranean and tropical climates ...
Prevent "toadal" loss!(subway for frogs to cross road)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Armed with good humor and lots of insect repellant, a group of Cornell University students, staff; faculty and assorted herpetologists spent last summer building a "toad tunnel" to allow amphibians safe passage across a preserve near campus. Cornell Plantations, the college ...
Saving Washington's forgotten river.(Anacostia River)
Jan 01, 2004; ... For many Washingtonians, the Potomac River is a symbol of patriotic charm and serene beauty. Slicing through two states, it's the envy of both Marylanders and Virginians, who still carry on a century-old legal battle over which state can have "control" of the river. Sadly, the ...
Bench marks: the Bush administration packs the courts with anti-environmental judges.(Currents)
Jan 01, 2004; ... For more than 30 years, environmental laws ranging from the lean Air Act to the Endangered Species Act have provided a formidable weapon for activists and ordinary citizens trying to protect the environment. While the environment does not always prevail in court, litigation has become an ...
Europe's scorching summer: was global warming responsible for the deadly heat?(Currents)
Jan 01, 2004; ... By the end of Europe's staggering summer heat wave, Budapest's ornate bridges were looking strange. They stood high above the water, their supporting foundations exposed, looking as if they were all standing on tiptoes. Rarely seen boulders jutted out from the brown surface of the Danube ...
Dumping on history: a radioactive nightmare in Concord, Massachusetts.(Currents)
Jan 01, 2004; ... The waitress at the ice cream shop in Concord: Massachusetts was surprised. "A Superfund site?" she asked, incredulous, "on Main Street?" Not just a Superfund site--a Superfund site that a cleanup contractor has dubbed "near the tip of the peak in terms of [cleanup] difficulty." A ...
Driving clean: fighting the auto industry for low-emission cars.(Currents)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Which environmentalists do the auto companies fear most? Is it Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clean air regulators? Congressional fuel economy watchdogs? Neither one, actually. The principal worry is a little state agency in California, the Air Resources Board (ARB), which sets ...
Big Sugar bullies?(Updates)(water pollution, sugar company)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Big Sugar has won another victory in its opposition to cleaning up the mess it's made in the Everglades (see "Bitter Sweets," feature, July/August 2003). Legal wrangling over how to clean up the phosphorus-polluted Florida waterway, and who's going to pay for it, has dragged on for 15 ...
Getting burned by flame retardants.(Updates)(polybrominated diphenyl ethers and marine life)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2004; ... While the toxic heavy metal mercury already has a record for contaminating seafood (see "Heavy Metal Harm," cover story, May/June 2002), a new class of chemicals has emerged as a cause for concern: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Also known as brominated flame retardants, they are ...
Above the law.(Updates)(Bush administration, rollback of environmental laws )(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2004; ... The Bush administration is gaining momentum in its rollback of environmental laws (see "Scorched Earth Policy," features, May/June 2001). Last November, with full White House cooperation, Congress voted to exempt the Department of Defense from complying with the Endangered Species Act and ...
The numbers game: myths, truths and half-truths about human population growth and the environment.
Jan 01, 2004; ... There's a minefield in the American environmental movement, and its name is population. Because negotiating that minefield is so dangerous, many environmental groups and leaders have stopped trying to cross it. But to ignore population as a central issue while talking freely about sprawl, ...
Oh, Canada! Does the great white north deserve its green reputation?
Jan 01, 2004; ... The widely held notion that Canada is taking excellent care of its wild, pristine lands far better than the gluttonous citizens in the United States is nothing more than a misperception approaching myth. Americans, or Yanks as they are often called up north, are frequently verbally ...
Farming infertility: country living may be hazardous to your potency.(Your Health)
Jan 01, 2004; ... When epidemiologist Shanna Swan began comparing fertility in urban versus rural men, she thought she knew what she would find. Just as corn, sorghum and soybeans grow better in central Missouri's hills and hollers than in a polluted parking lot in urban New York, Los Angeles or ...
Just juice: all-natural choices avoid synthetic additives and refined sugar.(Eating Right)
Jan 01, 2004; ... A dizzying array of ingredients and brands are available to consumers who are simply trying to find the healthiest juice. In your grocer's cooler today are energy drinks, smoothies, blends, "old-fashioned" styles, herbals, all-natural juices and frozen juice from concentrate. What do you ...
Mobile adventure: history and an abundant ecosystem combine in coastal Alabama.(Going Green)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Mobile, Alabama, in the heart of America's south coast, has a long history, a rich culture and a reputation as a popular tourist destination. It is the birthplace of American Mardi Gras and home of Wintzell's oysters. The people of coastal Alabama identify themselves by their proximity to ...
Joining the club: greening corporations with socially responsible investment groups.(Money Matters)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Understanding the wooly world of socially responsible investing (SRI) can be a daunting task for people who want to leverage their financial assets for the environment. But more and more enlightened investors are banding together in clubs, which allow them to divide up research and ...
Fabulous feng shui: it's certainly popular, but is it eco-friendly?(House & Home)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Feng shui is popping up all over popular culture, but is it environmentally friendly? At its core, experts say, feng shui (literally "wind and water") is a way of life that helps us live in harmony with the environment. With roots in ancient Chinese philosophy that saw human beings as part ...
Under the table: eco-friendly furniture that's beautiful and functional.(Consumer News)
Jan 01, 2004; ... If you were to dissect a typical living-room couch, you'd likely find an environmental disaster: a frame made of unsustainably harvested wood treated with formaldehyde and varnishes that can pollute indoor air; unrecyclable foam cushions dosed with flame-retardant chemicals that accumulate ...
Warm up by the fire.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)
Jan 01, 2004; ... With winter upon us full-force, many people are drawn to their fireplaces or wood-burning stoves. This year, rather than depleting your local forest, try all-natural hearth products from Hearthwise. The Massachusetts-based company offers fireplace logs produced from mill waste that would ...
Brave new beauty.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Organics reach a whole new level with derma e's salon-style line of bodycare products. The cosmetics contain a combination of natural ingredients, including vitamins, herbs and food extracts to beautify the skin. The company offers lotions, cleansers, masks and oils sure to give positive ...
Truly natural, truly delicious.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)
Jan 01, 2004; ... In its line of all-natural baked goods, Wholly Healthy says "no" to many standard baking ingredients such as bleached flour, hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, preservatives and flavors. In stead, the company uses organic evaporated cane juice and unbleached and unbromated flour in a ...
Personal protection.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)
Jan 01, 2004; ... From washable menstrual pads to sea sponge tampons, Lunapads offers women ecologically and environmentally responsible products that reduce waste and cost less. Available in conventional or organic cotton, washable lunapads come in three sizes and several colors. They make traveling ...
It's a dog and cat world.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Fido and Muffins may be lovable, loyal members of your family, but they aren't too good at cleaning up after themselves. Thankfully, natural cleaning company Earth Friendly Products has rolled out the big guns in the war against errant paw prints and litter avalanches. To commemorate the ...
Musical messengers.(Tools for green living: resources for eco-awareness and action)(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Uplifting Afro-pop beats and emotionally provocative instrumentals have been compiled to create a soundtrack recording for the recent IMAX film Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees ($15). The compilation was created to benefit the Jane Goodall Institute and strikes a chord not only with the ...
Explore the arctic.(photographic voyage)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book speaks volumes. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land (The Mountaineers Books, $22.95 paperback, $35 hardcover) by Subhankar Banerjee is a photographic voyage through Alaska's famous wilderness. Although this land ...
Epidemic or "Ecodemic"?(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... In what might look like a scenario out of a horror movie, the occurrence of deadly and contagious diseases are on the rise around the world. In his book Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them (Island Press/Shearwater Books, $22), Mark Jerome Waiters explores the theory that human ...
Stand up for women's health.(books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Share the painful journey of a woman frustrated with the state of modern medicine as she searches for answers about the origin and treatment of female health problems. The Uterine Crisis (self-published through 1stBooks Library, $24.95) by Ilya Sandra Perlingieri, Ph.D. is a powerful ...
Speaking for trees.(books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Technical reports, no matter how precise and scientific, won't end clear-cutting, but good writing just might. Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests by Derrick Jensen and George Draffan (Chelsea Green Publishing, $15) is an impassioned manifesto to stop timber industry ...
An eco-futurist's toolbox.(books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2004; ... Perhaps most famous for hosting rocker Axl Rose at his progressive farm, Elliott Maynard, Ph.D. is a renaissance man who made his mark as a sought-after futurist, marine biologist, educator, artist, photographer, researcher on conscious ness and management consultant. His Sedona, ...
Who are the real rats?(Letters from our readers)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 01, 2004; ... While the National Park Service calls the poisoning of rats a "success" in helping native seabird populations rebound ("Getting Rid Of Rats" In Brief, September/October 2003), the project was little more than an exercise in deliberate animal cruelty and a threat to the environment and ...
How much do urban gardens contribute to our food supply?(Ask E)
Jan 01, 2004; ... --Wayne Chow, New York, NY The United Nations Development Program estimates that urban gardens, like the ones springing up all over New York City and Seattle, provide 15 percent of the world's food supply. They also create sorely needed jobs in neglected neighborhoods and ...
Are there any natural carpets that don't produce the strong odors and health concerns of conventional synthetic materials?(Ask E)
Jan 01, 2004; ... --Denise Purdy, via e mail Carpets made from all-natural materials are now readily available. Companies such as Earth Weave and Natural Home boast attractive carpets that are entirely biodegradable and are made of wool, jute, hemp and rubber and are free of dye and moth-proofing ...
How can I recycle my old propane gas tank that can no longer be refilled?(Ask E)
Jan 01, 2004; ... --Bruce Krasnow, Santa Fe, NM If you have an older propane gas tank that has been denied refilling by retailers, it is probably because it lacks an Overfilling Prevention Device (OPD). As a of April 2002, the National Fire Protection Agency's (NFPA) safety code requires an OPD ...