Community & Lifestyle

Untitled Document Who is addressing the incredible waste generated by the nation’s bottled-water industry? The plastic waste spawned by the recent astronomical growth in the bottled-water business is significant. Environmentalists especially decry it because the water from our taps is usually as good as if not better quality than what’s inside the bottle (and, indeed, […]

Untitled Document Gel hand sanitizers can help lower the risk of illness, especially during cold-and-flu season, but these products can pose a risk to children if ingested. Are there safe alternatives that work just as well? A 2005 study from Children’s Hospital in Boston compared illness rates across a study group of 292 families; half […]

Untitled Document Vegetarians and vegans argue that eating meat is bad for the environment. How true are these claims? There has never been a better time to go vegetarian. Mounting evidence suggests that meat-based diets are not only unhealthy but that just about every aspect of meat production — from grazing-related loss of cropland, to […]

Untitled Document What’s the environmental impact of personal computers — and are “greener” PCs available? Online gamers and other heavy computer users are definitely leaving an environmental mark. Depending on when it was made and how it was designed, a standard desktop PC can use anywhere from 60 to 300 watts when in use, and […]

Untitled Document Coal used to fuel power plants and other industrial activity is a key culprit in pollution and climate change. So what is “clean coal”? The term “clean coal” describes various processes that remove pollutants from coal, our cheapest, most abundant, and dirtiest energy source. By reducing coal’s environmental footprint through technological wizardry, the […]

Untitled Document What is the status of sharks around the world? Marine biologists report that sharks are in rapid decline around the world. In the North Atlantic, shark populations have declined by more than 50 percent over the past 20 years alone, with some species now nearing extinction. Experts see overfishing, which depletes sharks and […]

Untitled Document What goes into chocolate that would raise environmental concerns? Like coffee beans, the cacao seeds from which we derive chocolate can only be grown successfully in equatorial regions — right where the world’s few remaining tropical rainforests thrive. As worldwide demand for chocolate grows, so does the temptation among growers to clear more […]

Untitled Document What is the impact of all the littering that individuals do, largely from their cars and on highways? How can we strengthen laws to prevent it? Environmentalists consider litter a nasty side effect of our convenience-oriented disposable culture. Just to highlight the scope of the problem: California alone spends $28 million a year […]