health

It's Report-Card Time

The timing is unbearable. Here on my desk in the middle of the blooming, buzzing month of May is the best report yet on the state of the world’s ecosystems. Best not because it contains good news — it doesn’t — but because it’s short and clear and blunt. The report evaluates the health of […]

Waiter, There's a Fly Gene in My Soup

Wet's the Matter?

1.1 billion — the number of people worldwide who lack an adequate and safe supply of water for their daily needs, approximately one in five 5 million — the number of people, mostly children, who die each year from illnesses caused by poor-quality water supplies 5 — the minimum number of gallons of water needed […]

Can We Measure Sustainability?

Every year at the peak of the Alpine ski season, the world’s movers and shakers, the heads of the largest corporations and wealthiest governments, head for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This year an event occurred there that was largely unreported but possibly historic. The attendees were presented with a ranking of the […]

It's the Pits

It's Everywhere You Want To Be

What do the Internet, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Visa International, the organization that brings us the Visa card, all have in common? You can find them just about anywhere on earth, that’s one common thing. They have not spread through unrelenting market push, like Coca-Cola. Rather they are pulled by demand, because they meet real needs […]

The Dirt on Pesticides

4.1 billion pounds of pesticides are used throughout the world each year 30 times more pesticides are used today than were used in 1945 30 percent of insecticides are believed to be carcinogenic 60 percent of herbicides are believed to be carcinogenic 90 percent of fungicides are believed to be carcinogenic 23 of the 28 […]

The Deep Six

Months ago, the United Nations decided to make an event out of the fact that the human population meter would soon click over another billion. They picked an arbitrary date — October 12 — and declared it the Day of 6 Billion. What kind of event should this be? A day of repentance? A celebration? […]

Protecting the Apples of Our Eye

Citing health risks to children, the EPA yesterday restricted the use of two pesticides widely used on apples and other crops. But enviros say the agency has bowed to industry pressure and failed to crack down on the most dangerous pesticides. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups plan to sue the EPA […]