The world's most unlikely environmental champion
George W. Bush's policies have the unintended effect of fighting global warming Jurriaan Kamp | December 2005 issue This may be the perfect political paradox: George W. Bush paving the way to do something about global warming. On the face of it, the Bush administration is doing everything Read More...
The unlikely rise of Nollywood
Is Nigeria's booming film industry pioneering an Afrocentric cinema or just grinding out third-rate pulp? Jonathan Kiefer| October 2006 issue Nigeria’s film industry—or Nollywood, as it’s been dubbed by the media—is the third largest in the world, behind the United States’ Hollywood and Read More...
Sustainable extravagance
A new vision of the industrial economy sees the world as a cherry tree William McDonough and Michael Braungart | November 2004 issue Nature is nothing if not extravagant. Four billion years of natural design, has yielded such a profusion of biological forms we can barely grasp the diversity of Read More...
Poor countries are guinea pigs for pharmaceutical tests
Poor countries are guinea pigs for pharmaceutical tests Tijn Touber| October 2006 issue John Le Carré’s bestselling novel The Constant Gardener showed how pharmaceutical companies test new medicines in Africa, even when troubling questions exist about their safety and reliability. Unfortunately, Read More...
The love in an orange
On a hot day in Senegal, a lesson in generosity. Fodé Beaudet | September 2004 issue “Can I sit here?” I was seated at a wide table with three empty chairs. After a quick look up at the beautiful woman, I hastened my response: “Sure.” “Thank you.” We didn’t speak another word, Read More...
Superfungi
The efforts by Paul Stamets Jay Walljasper | November 2004 issue The future of human civilization might increasingly be dependent upon the new technologies of “mycoremediation” and “mycofiltration.” If that sounds uncomfortably futuristic, or even frightening in a science fiction horror Read More...
Fertile soil, not ground-breaking
The efforts by Wes Jackson Jay Walljasper | November 2004 issue Wes Jackson is a visionary researcher who wants to rethink 10,000 years of agriculture from the roots up. You can call him a dreamer, you can call him radical, you can call him boldly original, but please don’t call him Read More...
I want organic food
As an introductory to the Organic Top 20: A mother explains the importance of organic food. Sandra Steingraber | October 2004 issue For nearly two decades, I lived the life of a gypsy biologist—exploring places as varied as Costa Rican rainforests, Sudanese deserts, Mexican tidal pools, and Read More...
One last thing...
"swinging is liberating and meditative." Says Jennifer Tschoepe. Jay Walljasper | October 2004 issue Isn’t swinging just for kids? “Sure, it seems so. Why shouldn’t we as adults be able to enjoy this simple escape? Have we grown up so much that we are embarrassed to be seen having Read More...
Go with the wind
Not fast, but certainly a lot of fun: a hot air balloon is the perfect way to travel from A to Wherever The Wind Takes You. Sam Jordison | September 2004 issue Modern life has taken all the mystery out of the skies. Flying on a airplane is the most boring thing you can do while still being Read More...