Go Back: Home
Local News from All Over
Local News from All Over
AFRICA Reuters, Finbarr O’ReillyThe more trees people cut down for fuel, the worse the soil becomes, which eventually means less food for people to cook. A Sliver of Hope Talk about a vicious circle: People in Niger chop down trees to use for cooking fuel, but the more wood they chop, the worse the soil becomes, which will eventually mean less food available for people to cook. Deforestation allows the sun to…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Spring 2008
Letters
Bird Damage In “Buy the Numbers” in the Winter 2008 issue, you report that wind turbines account for a relatively low number of bird deaths. If buildings, cats, cars, and power lines are taking such a huge toll on bird populations already, I believe it is irresponsible to knowingly add wind turbines to the kinds of death traps, even if their impact is “tiny” in comparison. Wendy James Berkeley, CA Population Calculation…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Spring 2008
Moving Mountains
The Human Costs of Our Coal Economy
Vivian Stockman/www.ohvec.org West Virginia author (and one-time third party candidate for governor) Denise Giardina once observed: “Mountains imprint themselves upon the souls of those who know them as children.” It remains to be seen how the dead mesas left behind by the coal industry will imprint themselves upon those who witness the obliteration of one mountain after another. The Appalachians are among the oldest mountains in the world, more ancient than the…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Autumn 2007
Brower Youth Awards
Former Earth Island Journal editor Gar Smith noted that as a mountaineer, “Dave Brower learned how to balance personal daring against gravity to overcome daunting obstacles.” He took that courage into his life as a conservationist, working tirelessly to create national parks and seashores, keep dams out of the Grand Canyon and other wild places, establish the National Wilderness PreservationSystem, and more. To honor his legacy, Earth Island Institute created the Brower…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Autumn 2007
Aaron Lehmer
As a young boy, Aaron Lehmer lamented as the cornfields outside his family’s suburban home in Des Moines, Iowa gradually were paved over to make way for more housing. Lehmer could not fathom how while agricultural land disappeared, people still believed that their food supply somehow would not. Perhaps it is this early memory of illogical expectations that began Lehmer’s interest in guiding people to a greater understanding of our connection to…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Autumn 2007
Trouble Brewing
Caffeine addicts beware: Climate change may end up making it harder to get your morning fix. A new study warns that temperature increases could wipe out the entire coffee crop in Uganda, an African nation that depends on coffee exports for half of its revenues. If average temperatures were to increase 3.6°F, Uganda would be unsuitable for coffee growing; the International Panel on Climate Change predicts global temperatures to rise between 2.5°F…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Autumn 2007
Will Nuclear Power Split the Green Movement?
Istockphoto.com Situated on a tall sea cliff above pounding waves, the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant enjoys the kind of stunning ocean view typical of Central California’s rugged coast. Rolling hills – bright green in winter, fading to gold by summer – surround two Westinghouse reactors that generate electricity for 1.6 million homes. Pacific Ocean waters cool the uranium rods that power the plant’s 4-Loop turbines. Voles, coyotes, and bobcats roam the…
» Read more
by: coyotl – Autumn 2007