Thursday, 13 Apr 2006

Americans love food -- as evidenced by the derrieres in any given mall's food court. But we're also befuddled by the seemingly endless options on our supermarket shelves, and clueless about where they all come from. In his new book The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan traces four distinct meals all the way back to their beginnings, and in the process unmasks the little-seen systems that keep our nation fed. Says Tom Philpott in his review, you may never look at a Big Mac the same way again.

Lung Out to Dry

Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems

With all due respect to the Free-Floating Anxiety and War Fever afflicting many in the post-9/11 world (prescription: less talk radio), at least 15,000 people have actual medical complaints related to the attack. Many victims afflicted with "World Trade Center cough" assumed it would pass once the dust settled; instead, problems have intensified and more victims have fallen ill. The January death of a Ground Zero firefighter was "directly linked" to 9/11, according to the coroner. The 15,000 figure is compiled from medical reports, but 30,000 to 50,000 people may have been exposed to the lead- and asbestos-laden dust kicked up by the fallen towers. In the days after the attack, the U.S. EPA declared the Manhattan air safe to breathe and opened Wall Street to business; many victims are now pursuing a class-action suit against the agency.


Our eco-jobs columnist, Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization, is back again with wise counsel to help you get that green gig you've always wanted. This week he dips into his virtual mailbag and answers letters from an undergrad curious about environmental science and engineering, a salesdude who wants to put his skills to work for the planet, and a high-school senior wondering which path to follow.

One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Wetland restoration could help contain bird flu

A recent report commissioned by the U.N. gives a unique reason to restore tens of thousands of lost or degraded wetlands: It could help keep bird flu at bay. Upon finding their regular flocking grounds drained for agriculture or hydroelectricity, some wild birds alight on still-wet rice paddies and farm ponds, where they can come into contact with domesticated chickens, ducks, and geese. This intermingling of fowl helps spread the H5N1 avian influenza virus, which has been found in 45 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. If the wild birds had access to their preferred habitat, the risk of such spreading would be lessened. A recent convention on biological diversity concluded that the flu could potentially affect over 80 percent of all known bird species. Since 2003, 108 people have died after contracting H5N1 from poultry, and scientists fear the virus could mutate to become transmittable between humans.


Regardless of their disagreements on other subjects, political elites in both major U.S. political parties believe above all in globalization -- the notion that goods and capital should move freely over borders. But they believe that labor policy -- i.e., the movements of people -- should be left in the hands of respective national governments. This has the powers that be in the U.S. torn between demonizing and exploiting undocumented workers. What's an environmentalist to do? Encourage local production and consumption on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, says Tom Philpott, to bolster both sustainability and economic equity.

Pistil Whipped

Plants don't absorb as much CO2 as expected, study finds

Those who tout tree-planting as the answer to all the earth's problems may have to go back to the drawing board (the planting board?): A new study in Nature finds that carbon dioxide-absorbing plants can't hoover up quite as much of the greenhouse gas as had been hoped, at least not without some artificial juicing of the plants' nitrogen intake. Sorry, dreamers ... oh, there are no dreamers left? Sigh. Computer models have counted on vegetation to absorb much of the CO2 humans spew into the atmosphere. But the six-year study finds that terrestrial plants would need extra nitrogen in order to absorb extra CO2, and much of the world's soil isn't up to the job of providing it. "This suggests a less optimistic scenario for how much of the elevated CO2 the plant systems can soak up," says researcher Peter B. Reich, raising his voice to be heard over the collective weeping of environmentalists.