Around the Mall & Beyond
An all-day Saturday seminar on spices - one of the many programs on the Mall, around the world, even in cyberspace, offered by the Smithsonian Associates
Not Your Average Backyard Gardener
Ganna Walska pursued life with a passion, from husbands to opera to plants. Her legacy is Lotusland, an exotic California garden
Unearthing Secrets Locked Deep Inside Each Fistful of Soil
To scientists at the National Soil Tilth Lab in Ames, Iowa, it’s not just dirt they are probing it’s the planet’s sustaining surface
Phenomena, Comment and Notes
Experiments at sea show we can cause phytoplankton to bloom in areas where it otherwise would not
The Berry and the Poison
Methyl bromide makes our fields fruitful; it will soon be banned, not because it’s toxic and it’s very toxic but because it attacks the ozone layer
A Onetime Rancher Wages Lonely War to Save Rare Plants
Working alone, by hand, one man is turning 100 acres of alien trees into a refuge for Hawaii’s endangered botanical treasures
To Be a Champion, a Tree Must Measure Up to High Standards
If it is tall, wide and thick enough, it might qualify for listing on the National Register of Big Trees—but first someone has to find it
Geologists Worry About Dangers of Living ‘Under the Volcano’
The experts believe Mount Rainier will give plenty of notice before it erupts again—the problem is that it can kill in other ways
Houses Built to Move the Spirit—and Save Trees
The innovative dwellings designed by Seattle architect James Cutler are rooted in the wooded contours of the land they complement
Phenomena, Comment and Notes
When a drop of rain carries a particle of dirt off the land and into the sea, there are repercussions from deep within Earth to the nearer reaches of space
The Deep-Sea Floor Rivals Rain Forests in Diversity of Life
Blue luminescence and marine snow define a world where millions of species of worms and other invertebrates live out their lives
A Giant Shrugs Off Vandalism, Poaching, Tales of Its Demise
The Sonoran Desert’s mighty saguaro cactus is the living embodiment of the Southwest, a ‘charismatic megaplant’ that people care about
Climate Is Often a Matter of Inches and a Little Water
Planners ignore microclimates at their peril: mistakes can mean frozen crops, lower house values and camper vans blown off the highway
Phenomena, Comment & Notes
Iceberg armadas and flickering climates: how one good idea led to more, and we appreciated anew the world’s complexity
Chimney Sweeps Are Plunging Into Their Work Again
With more of us using fireplaces and modern high-efficiency wood stoves, the ancient profession is getting a new lease on soot
Around the Mall & Beyond
Plant and the butterflies will come: This summer the Smithsonian’s new garden welcomes its winged visitors
For Our Nuclear Wastes, There’s Gridlock on the Way to the Dump
It’s not an emergency yet, but we have tons of the stuff, some of it hot, some not so hot, and nobody can agree on where to bury it
Shhhh…Those ‘Peculiar People’ Are Listening
They’re out there in there boondocks, doing their best to record the pure sounds of nature while there are still some quiet places left
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