July-September 2008

Features

CONFESSIONS OF A HIT MAN

Our mark was an invasive pest that had made a remote tropical island its home. But good and evil are not so easily discerned in ecological systems, even when a place looks like Eden.
by Jeffrey A. Lockwood and Alexandre V. Latchininsky

ECOLOGICAL FREAKONOMICS

How does tourism drive deforestation? How are divorce rates linked to resource consumption? Whatís the connection between clean water and international terrorism?
by Jonah Lehrer

THE PROBLEM OF WHAT TO EAT Cover Story

Organic farming and eating locally make intuitive sense. But does conventional wisdom about eating sustainably hold up to the science?
by Natasha Loder, Elizabeth Finkel, Craig Meisner, and Pamela Ronald

Innovations

POWER WALK
New device harvests energy one step at a time
by Justin Matlick

BRANCHING OUT
Artificial trees could help offset carbon emissions
by Justin Matlick

WHALE WATCHING WITH A JOYSTICK
Military-style drones keep tabs on humpbacks in Australia
by John Weier

CALL AND RESPONSE
An automated howl recorder tracks recovering wolf populations
by Courtney Humphries

FLUSH OFTEN
Ballast-free cargo ship could slow the spread of invasive species
by John Weier

WATER FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR
Tabulating the water impact of everything from tea to T-shirts
by Justin Matlick

CROSSING GUARDS
High-tech buoys prevent collisions between whales and ships
by Justin Matlick

Lighten Up

CARTOONS BY P.S. MUELLER Print Only

Essay

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT Print Only
by Natalie Angier

Journal Watch

Logging threatens leatherbacks

Bird song complexity reflects population health

Mounting evidence for human-caused climate change

Sleepless sloths

Pollution blocks pollination

Plankton that thrive on acid

When tundra burns

Biodiversity boosts productivity

 

Think Again

A Tale of Three Tuna
by Trevor Corson