Word: planetful
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...planet sure seems smaller and smaller these days. The "wide-open spaces" that the Grammy-winning Dixie Chicks sing about are becoming few and far between. In little more than a century, humanity has gone from the agrarian age to the age of megacities. Four decades ago, there were only three cities with more than 8 million people: New York, London and Tokyo. By 2015 there will be 33 such cities, 27 of them--like Cairo--in the developing world...
...most animal and plant species--except for cockroaches, rats, pigeons, crabgrass and other organisms that thrive with mankind. Relentless human expansion is the main reason the world is fast losing its biodiversity, raising the specter that we will eventually live, in the words of writer David Quammen, on a "planet of weeds." If that danger doesn't seem imminent, consider this: sprawl is paving over the land we need to grow our food. Since 1981 the amount of land around the world devoted to raising grain has fallen 7%. Increased agricultural productivity has made up for that loss...
...most of history, humanity just struggled to survive in an unforgiving environment. Only in the past century or so did we start to dominate nature and overrun the planet. Rather than defend ourselves against nature, we began to realize, we needed to defend nature against ourselves. Thus was born the environmental movement. These pages recognize men and women who helped give us this awareness--and pointed the way to protecting the only home we have...
...City will send 30,000 students out to plant seedlings (new trees soak up heat-trapping carbon dioxide); and the Earth Day Energy Fast campaign, based in Los Angeles, will urge folks to shut off appliances for 24 hours. For a rundown on events, visit www.earthday.net But saving the planet obviously isn't a one-day proposition. Here's a sampling of how grass-roots groups plan to keep the faith even when April 22 is just a memory...
...movement, always hustling for new ways to promote the cause. When Hayes, the chief organizer of Earth Day 2000, wanted a headliner host for his April 22 rally in Washington for clean energy, he landed a star of Titanic proportions: LEONARDO DICAPRIO. By signing up to help save the planet, Leo joins a distinguished list of notables who have used their celebrity to draw attention to environmental issues. TV actor TED DANSON founded the American Oceans Campaign, Academy Award winner SUSAN SARANDON is an avid supporter of Mark Plotkin's Amazon Conservation Team, STING throws an annual rain-forest benefit...