February 2003 Table of Contents

Local Ecology
  Great cities, great planning...and San Diego
    Cities that achieve and maintain greatness all share one characteristic: effective planning processes that involve all stakeholders. Does San Diego have what it takes?
  Irrational planning...on rails
  New San Diego Energy Resource Center opens
   SDERC provides a local source for valuable energy efficiency information.
  EarthWorks' 9th Annual EARTH Award Nominations Sought
   Awards to be presented by Mayor Dick Murphy
  Earth Day 2003 – "We Are The Earth"
   14th Annual EarthFair 2003 is on Sunday, April 27
  Lake Powell drained 50% four years to go!
  Regional Comprehensive Plan public workshops
Global Ecology
 Polar bear faces extinction
 The three-and-a-half pound microchip: environmental implications of the IT revolution
Forests
 Forest cover shrinking
   While world forest loss is slowing, deforestation in tropical areas is accelerating.
  Hardship looms for Mexican community of "vara"harvesters
 Trees could affect land use, reduce skin cancer
Marine Ecology
 Fish catch leveling off
 Ignored species play key role in ecosystem interactions
   Study of the strength of interactions between predator and prey shows intermediate species have large effects.
Pollution and Waste
 Greenhouse gas emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol kicks off with historic transaction
 Scientists seek environmentally friendly wood preservative
 CWA, environmental group seek to stop use of toxic wood preservatives
 Prescription drug pollution may harm humans, aquatic life
Diet & health
 Children who grow up with cats or dogs have reduced risk for allergies
 New broccoli compound appears promising against breast cancer
Observations from the Edge
 Hard choices for a hard reality