Monday, 24 Oct 2005

What's the one thing you'd most like to see occur as part of rebuilding flood- and hurricane-ravaged New Orleans? We asked a motley crew of movers and shakers to put on their thinking caps and answer the question for us. Today's replies: smart community planning, racial equality, and ponies for everyone! We'll be publishing more contributions every day this week, so come back early and often -- and don't forget to drop by Gristmill and share your opinions on the subject.

With This Ring I Thee Bled

Gold mining's toll on environment mounts as supply grows scarcer

That one-ounce gold ring you're wearing? Think of it as 30 tons of rock mined, moved, and saturated with diluted cyanide. Gold mining wreaks enormous environmental destruction, almost all of it in service of the voracious global market for gold jewelry. And as good gold deposits grow scarcer, mining companies have to rip up the earth with even more of a vengeance to get at the bits that remain. In the U.S., hard-rock mining generates more toxic waste than any other industry, the EPA says, and taxpayers often get stuck with the cleanup bills. But, thanks in part to often ill-conceived development schemes pushed by the World Bank, about 70 percent of gold is now mined in developing countries like Guatemala and Ghana, where oversight is frequently lacking and the poorest people living closest to the mines seem to benefit the least. Today's New York Times explores the globalized gold industry in an extensive feature that ranges from the mine-made wastelands of Nevada to the jewelry markets of New Delhi.


She's said it before and she'll no doubt say it again: In the opinion of advice maven Umbra Fisk, the precarious future of this planet does not depend on such relatively small choices as what kind of diapers to use or how to dry one's hands. However, her loving fans keep asking about the little things -- maybe because focusing on the big stuff is too damn depressing. Today, Umbra offers a rundown of the "perfect" tiny-choice day (warning: semi-irony ahead). Tune in later this week as Umbra unveils a list of FAQs from her readers' inquiring minds.

Boy Vey!

Air pollution may cut number of boy births

Looking to score, fellas? The secret may be moving to a highly polluted area. Turns out air pollution may skew the ratio of female to male births in favor of the former, by altering the proportion of sperm that carry an X vs. a Y chromosome. A team of Brazilian researchers divided Sao Paulo -- Brazil's largest city, with a population of 17 million -- into areas of low, medium, and high air pollution and then assessed birth registries in each area from 2001 to 2003. In neighborhoods with the worst air pollution, 49.3 percent of babies were female, versus 48.3 percent in parts of town with the cleanest air. The team calculated that 1,180 more boys would have been born if the sex ratio had been the same in both areas. Lead researcher Jorge Hallak thinks pollution may be a reproductive stress similar to war or natural disasters; when survival seems at risk, the human race produces extra girls, possibly to improve the odds for future babies. Hey, hot stuff ... ensure humanity's survival here much?


Enjoy buying shiny new stuff but hate that sick feeling you get when you ponder the environmental and social consequences of your purchase? George Polisner, this week's InterActivist, has a solution. His website alonovo.com offers an online shopping experience and social-responsibility ratings system all in one. (Also, it slices and dices, makes julienned fries!) Send him a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

The Pinch of Tides

Spiking utility costs may hit laundromat customers in the pocketbook

Better start hoarding those quarters: Soaring energy rates are driving up the price of washing your stinky drawers. The Coin Laundry Association, a trade group representing about 5,000 "retail self-service laundries" nationwide, says its members are looking for ways to rein in skyrocketing utility bills. Laundro-operators are cutting the amount of drying time a quarter buys and looking at more energy-efficient washers and dryers that operate cooler -- but longer -- as well as other possibilities. Thomas Rhodes, owner of a Florida laundromat chain, says he's considering taking advantage of federal credits to install solar panels atop his facilities. Wallace notes that while a person can cut back on driving or turn down the home thermostat, you really can't avoid doing the dirty laundry. "It's not something that can be rationed or put off until energy prices come down."