Dan Dagget

Restoring Life to Damaged Land

In the central Nevada desert, near the tiny almost-ghost town of Mina, lives a couple who are the most effective restorers of ecosystems I have found in more than twenty years of searching. Over the past few years I have been trying to figure out why so few people know about them. Tony and JerrieContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

David Schoenbrod

Irresponsible Environmental Policy

  Although Congress enacts all federal environmental statutes, these statutes leave the making of most federal environmental laws –commonly known as regulations– to the Environmental Protection Agency. The difference between Congress making laws (as the U.S. Constitution instructs it to do) and leaving that job to the EPA is a critical one. If Congress votedContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Advertising for Clean Water

By Carol Ferrie Every year, corporations spend about $150 billion on advertising, says Paul Polizzotto, but very little of it goes to improve quality of life. Polizzotto — surfer, businessman, and environmentalist– has figured out a way to harness some of those advertising dollars through the Adopt-A-Waterway program. "You don’t have to take the oathContinue reading "Advertising for Clean Water"

Daniel Griswold

Wreaking Environmental Harm

  While many farmers are conscientious stewards of the environment, the incentives of U.S. agricultural policies can lead to practices that damage the environment. Agricultural price supports and trade barriers stimulate production on marginal land, leading to overuse of pesticides, fertilizers, and other effluents. A central if unstated purpose of U.S. farm policy is toContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Brijesh Nalinakumari, Richard MacLean

The Shifting Roles of NGOs

  Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) used to be gadflies and outsiders challenging businesses and governments (think Greenpeace and Public Citizen, for example). Today, however, NGOs are moving in new directions. Some, for example, are acting increasingly like government agencies, issuing a new generation of de facto regulations in the form of standards, guidelines, and certifications. OthersContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Linda Platts

Chili Power

African elephants are not only majestic animals, but also cropraiding nuisances, endangering human lives and livelihoods. Conservation groups have determined that in order to protect elephants it is necessary to protect the people who are sharing the land with them. It is a complex situation that in some areas has been solved by the simpleContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Linda Platts

At Home in Debris

Typically in the past, rural and suburban landowners had no trouble taking care of their seasonal accumulations of brush, branches, dead leaves, and other organic debris. They piled it in the backyard and set it alight. Now, many towns and counties ban outdoor burning as the smoke can cause health problems. The alternative is toContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Linda Platts

Down on the Farm

In a 100-acre Iowa farm field, hemmed in by electrical fencing, 2,000 pigs are contentedly doing whatever pigs do. The farmer who owns them, Paul Willis, refers to them as his “free-range” pigs. His good humor, however, does not extend to those who raise their pigs in containment buildings with the aid of steroids, hormones,Continue reading "At Home in Debris"

Linda Platts

Your Pants Are Made of What?

What is the world coming to when Diane Von Furstenberg, Halston, and Oscar de la Renta are using materials made from wood pulp, bamboo, corn fiber, and Japanese leaves that contain anti-allergens. Clothing derived from these strange sources was assembled into “eco-outfits” and featured in the windows of Barneys New York, a high-end specialty storeContinue reading "At Home in Debris"

Daniel Benjamin

A Cautionary Tale

Over the last decade, the precautionary principle –“better safe than sorry”– often has been invoked to justify government regulatory action. According to advocates of this principle, we must protect ourselves from potential environmental threats –such as greenhouse gases, nuclear power, or arsenic in drinking water– even if we are not sure exactly what will beContinue reading "At Home in Debris"