contents
Onearth magazine
volume 35 number 4 winter 2013/2014
FE ATUR ES
d e part m ents
8 From the Editor 14 WHERE ONEARTH
38 The River and The Road
by Gretel Ehrlich
A snorkeler’s-eye view of the majestic, magnificent Great Barrier Reef can render one dizzy.
Float down the remote Kobuk River and you’re likely to en-
17 FRONTLINES
counter grizzlies, salmon, bald
Wind, solar ... and pizza? Anaerobic digestion may take “waste not, want not” to the next level. Plus: meet the proudest fellow in the oyster parade.
eagles, and caribou. Oh—and open-pit mines, if the governor of Alaska gets his way.
Q&A Ted Genoways talks to the mayor who challenged Big Oil to a public showdown over bringing tar sands to his small town in Maine.
46 Aquifer Alert by Kristen French and Jim Kopp
24 the synthesist
Stretching across eight states, the Ogallala aquifer is the lifeblood of agriculture on the Great Plains. But can it survive a future of drought,
cover story
28
pollution, and pipelines?
48 A World Away by Jocelyn C. Zuckerman
That palm oil listed in the ingredients of your favorite candy bar or lipstick: more and
From the preschool parking lot to the playground, from the TV room to the kitchen table, young children are exposed to a daily barrage of chemicals that have toxic effects on the developing brain.
more of it comes from the vanishing forests of Africa, razed by multinational corporations.
Generation ToXic by Florence Williams
inside n rd c
10 view from nrdc by Frances Beinecke
12 the deans list by Bob Deans
60 dispatches
The supermarket dating game, cleaning L.A.’s water; and more.
A generation ago, after federal regulations steadily eliminated lead from the environment, we breathed a collective sigh of relief that our kids would be safe from the threat of this potent neurotoxin. Now, new scientific research suggests that an array of chemicals in common use may pose a threat every bit as great.
Cover and above: Photographs by Clarissa Bonet
by Kim Tingley The mysterious patterns known as fractals exist where nature, art, and higher math all meet. They may be clues to a hidden natural order.
26 think again
by Elizabeth Kolbert As we race toward the Next Big Sustainable Idea, it’s worth pausing to check the rearview mirror.
56 reviews
The global trade in scrap is a $500 billion industry. Filthy as it may sound, it’s also an exercise in recycling on a massive scale.
64 open space
by Sharman Apt Russell Remember the spotted owl? Out in the forests of New Mexico it’s still possible to meet one. Or even two.
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winter 2013/2014
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