Wednesday, 12 Oct 2005

The sustainable-food movement has a class problem. While lower-income rural and inner-city residents eat over-processed, nutrient-light food -- and grow obese and sick -- bourgeois suburbanites feed a growing market for locally produced, sustainably grown food. This disparity is driven by structural factors: for one, development pressure makes agricultural land close to cities extremely expensive. Tom Philpott reflects on how healthy, sustainable food can be spread beyond its current gated community.

Beyond a Reasonable Drought

Massive Amazon drought may be linked to warm Atlantic waters

With the Amazon rainforest suffering its worst drought in a half-century, Brazil has declared a state of emergency in the hardest-hit area. Some scientists speculate that warmer North Atlantic waters -- the same factor driving the intense Atlantic hurricane season -- are causing more air to rise, and that the rising air is offset by descending air in the Amazon, which decreases rainfall. Deforestation of about a fifth of the original rainforest has eradicated flora that would both release moisture into the air and hold rainwater in the soil. Water levels on the Amazon River and its tributaries have dropped so low that many communities accessible only by river are cut off from vital supplies. Experts worry that disappearing plant foods may starve species low on the food chain, and reverberate upwards; a die-off of over 100 endangered freshwater manatees has been reported. Folks hope the normal rainy season will start by month's end.


You hear a lot about cooped-up chickens and haunch-rubbing hogs, but we have one question: Who speaks for the soy? A recently converted vegetarian wonders how the environmental effects of soy production compare to those of meat, and whether her turnabout was worth it. Advice guru (and occasional bacon-chomper) Umbra Fisk fleshes out a response.

No Word on the Mansions

Governors abandon gas-guzzling SUVs as they ask others to use less fuel

As post-hurricane gas prices in the U.S. hover around $3 a gallon, several governors have dumped their state-funded, gas-hogging SUVs for more energy-conscious vehicles. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) will be sidelining his Lincoln Navigator for a Ford Escape hybrid, and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has been Escape-ing on official business since Katrina hit. Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) has ditched his Chevy Suburban for unmarked sedans. Midwest Govs. Tim Pawlenty (R) of Minnesota and Tom Vilsack (D) of Iowa are switching to SUVs that burn E85, an ethanol-gas blend. However sincere this new green commitment, state executives realize symbolism matters. "It's kind of hard to be arguing to conserve gasoline," says Bush, "when you're driving around in a Ford Expedition that guzzles it down at a 6- to 8-mile per gallon clip." Now Jeb, can you talk to your brother about his motorcade?


Over the decades, the reputation of dams has risen and fallen like the waters they restrain. They've been welcomed as world-changing technology, reviled as world-changing technology, embraced as fodder for bad puns. The profiles in Jacques Leslie's new book Deep Water reveal how divisive and inspiring dams can be, says reviewer Michelle Nijhuis, who really gives a dam. (Oh come on! We had to.)

Lucky Stiff

Asian men turning to Viagra over traditional animal cures for impotence

Far East penises are getting an assist from the pharmaceutical industry, and that's good news for the seahorses, green sea turtles, and other critters that have been used for years to get a rise out of reticent Asian members. According to a new study in the journal Environmental Conservation, Viagra may be slowly replacing traditional Chinese cures for erectile dysfunction. The researchers studied 256 Hong Kong men; of more than 30 who had sought traditional Chinese medicines for flaccidity, at least eight had switched to the little blue pill. Of 16 who were already using Bob Dole's recommended stiffener, none had shifted to the traditional cures. The trend could mean less poaching, though with traditional animal-based remedies still popular for other ailments, isolating Viagra's impact could be hard. Ahem.