Publication archives

I doubt you missed it, even if you only caught a headline out of the corner of your eye: the G-8 leaders gathered for three days, July 8-10, (in what looked like a splendid meeting room) in L'Aquila, Italy (63 miles east-north-east of Rome).

Deep in the world's tropical rainforests, workers are hammering thousands of barcodes into hardwood trees to help in the fight against illegal logging, corruption and global warming. The plastic tags, like those on supermarket groceries, have been nailed to a million trees across Africa, southeast Asia and South America to help countries keep track of timber reserves.

Why does one home in a subdivision burn during a wildland fire while others surrounding it remain unscathed? That's part of what researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology documented during the first of a three-part study. The first portion of the study released last month examined in great detail the 2007 Witch fire north of San Diego.

To receive a big box of fresh fruits and veggies, herbs and mushrooms straight from local farmers, many city-dwellers sign up for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). By skipping the grocery store and buying direct from the farmer, subscribers' annual fees help small scale agriculturalists gain the support they need to survive in a Big Ag world.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) reports that the area of U.S. and Canadian forests managed to its stringent environmental and social standards surpassed the 100 million-acre mark in June, representing 40% growth since January 2008 and helping solidify FSC's position as the fastest-growing forest certification system in the world (UN FAO, 2007).

Unnecessary antibiotic use in livestock production is a massive contributor to the growing specter of antibiotic resistance. But in a study released today, we report on a lesser known source of non-therapeutic antibiotic use: the ethanol industry.

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - Slaughter, chair of the House Rules Committee, spoke at a hearing to discuss a bill that would require the federal government to deny or withdraw approval for agricultural use of drugs that contain antibiotics critical for human medicine.