Spring 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume 13, Number 1

Features

A Bitter Pill
The modern medicine chest is packed with stories of lifesaving drugs ingeniously drawn from unlikely species. So why haven’t drug companies—or conservationists— been able to cash in on nature’s pharmacy?
By Richard Conniff

Testing the Weather
The nascent science of climate attribution is making it clear that we’re no longer just talking about the weather—we’re creating it.
Photo Essay

Cat Fight
The strange case of the wildlife biologist turned cat poisoner is the latest round in a bitter battle over tens of millions of free-roaming feline hunters.
By John Carey

A Quiet Desert Storm
A home-grown strategy to hold onto water, battle climate change, and cope with scorching heat is turning vast tracts of sub-Saharan Africa green.
By Mark Hertsgaard

Conversations

Frozen Zookeeper
John Nielsen talks with Oliver Ryder about using stem-cell technology to save endangered species

Solutions

How to Build a Living Seawall
Simple fixes bring marine life back to urban coastlines
Mini Livestock
Could giant farm-raised rats shrink the bushmeat trade?
The Once & Future City
World’s biggest proving ground for green technology
The Next Wave of Biofuels (print only)
The key to making fuel from seaweed comes straight from the gut
Power Plumbing
Creating electricity from excess pressure in water pipes
Share Your Ride
A new communal car concept clears the road and the air

Think Again

When Enough Is Enough
By Fred Pearce

Journal Watch

By David Malakoff

Species ride the shifting winds
World’s smallest vertebrate discovered
Children’s books less focused on nature
Illegal wildlife trade spreads disease
Vaccinating lions devastates cheetahs
Airports ideal for alternative energy installations
Where did that BP oil go?
Vacant houses are carbon sinks
Rising ocean CO2 drives fish crazy
Climate change traps narwhals in ice

The Essayist

Safe-Deposit Box
By Carl Safina

Mixed Media

Hungry for Land
A review of Fred Pearce’s The Land Grabbers
By Gaia Vince

Art & Science
Renewable energy can be beautiful

The Lost Bird Project
Sculptures memorialize extinct birds