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| TABLE OF CONTENTS | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 |
COVER STORY
THE SCOOP ON DIRT - Why We Should all Worship the Ground We Walk On
It’s one of nature’s most perfect contradictions: a substance that is ubiquitous but unseen; humble but essential; surprisingly strong but profoundly fragile. It nurtures life and death; undergirds cities, forests and oceans; and feeds all terrestrial life on Earth. It is a substance few people understand and most take for granted. Yet, it is arguably one of Earth’s most critical natural resources—and humans, quite literally, owe to it their very existence.
By Tamsyn Jones
SIDEBAR: JUST DESERTS: BAD SOIL PRACTICES CREATE A SEA OF SAND
Drylands cover 41 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Of that area, desertification has rendered 20 percent unfit for human use, and an additional 70 percent remains vulnerable. According to the United Nations, desertification is degrading soil quality in 110 countries, directly impacting 250 million people and threatening a billion more, all without creating a single new desert.
SIDEBAR: TOXIC SLUDGE: IS IT GOOD FOR YOU?
Can toxic waste be turned from a disposal problem into a useful and benign fertilizer? That’s the question some scientists and activists are asking about a product that is routinely used by farmers and home gardeners to feed their soils.
By Adrian Larose
SIDEBAR: JOHN HAVLIN: SOIL SCIENTIST
If soils do indeed achieve the higher profile they so desperately need, John L. Havlin will be one of the people to thank. The professor at North Carolina State University is past president of the Soil Science Society of America, and a dedicated campaigner whose work is helping to establish the House of Representatives Soils Caucus and a $4 million Smithsonian educational exhibit on the subject, opening in 2008.
By Jim Motavalli
SIDEBAR: NRCS: THE FEDS GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY
Federal involvement in soil conservation began with a very passionate and motivated soil scientist by the name of Hugh Hammond Bennett, whose career as an agronomist began in 1903 when he joined the Bureau of Soils in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
By Timothy Bleasdale
SIDEBAR: THE LAY OF THE LAND: IS SOIL SCIENCE A VANISHING SKILL?
Randy Miles likes to teach soil science from pits dug deep into the earth. The University of Missouri soil science professor enjoys taking his students into the field, prying clods from the pit face and showing the distribution and properties of soils across Midwestern landscapes.
By Keith Goyne and Peter Motavalli
GREEN LIVING
YOUR HEALTH: EDISON’S LEGACY - The Emerging Link between Light Exposure and Cancer
By Brianne Goodspeed
EATING RIGHT: LOVE THAT LASAGNA - Organic Food Hits the Freezer
By Timothy Bleasdale
HOUSE & HOME: LET IT ALL HANG OUT! - There’s More Than One Way to Dry Those Jeans
By Starre Vartan
MONEY MATTERS: OFFICE SWEET - Top Companies Make the SB20 List
By Rona Fried
GOING GREEN: ELEPHANT ADVENTURES - South Africa’s Private Eco-Reserve
By Kathleen M. Mangan
CONSUMER NEWS: SLEEP EASY - Natural Futons Send You to Dreamland
By Adrian Larose
TOOLS FOR GREEN LIVING - Resources for eco-awareness and action
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E WORD
SOIL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
CURRENTS
SAVING THE SOUND - The Northeast’s Vital Estuary is in Recovery
HIGH-VOLUME ORGANIC - Should We Applaud When Wal-Mart Goes Crunchy?
ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE - Jordanians Study the Environment—in Israel
THE NEW ACCOUNTING - Taking Better Stock of the Environment
HUMMERS ON THE HOMEFRONT - At 4,600 Square Feet, is it an Eco-House?
IN BRIEF
TURNING ON THE GAS IN GHANA
FOR HAWAIIAN SEA TURTLES, A LAST RESORT?
A GREEN VISION FOR BALTIMORE
SAVING SHARKS IN BAJA CALIFORNIA?
UPDATES
REEF MADNESS
HEAVY METAL SONGBIRDS
ADMITTING OIL ADDICTION
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