Slate Magazine - Green Room

How can we communicate the dangers of nuclear waste to future civilizations?

Juliet Lapidos — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:50:58 EST

During a 2004 cleanup operation at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, personnel digging through a trench uncovered a safe containing a glass bottle. And inside the bottle, white sludge. Tests identifying the substance as a type of plutonium gave way to more tests until, in the Spring of 2009, scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory revealed what, exactly, the crew had uncovered: A 1944 artifact from the fledgling nuclear weapons program—the oldest existing sample of bomb-grade plutonium from a nuclear reactor, with a half-life of 24,110 years. Although this sexagenarian sludge isn't dangerous to touch—its particles are too large to penetrate skin—it's poisonous if swallowed or inhaled and will be for centuries to come. Yet it was housed in a flimsy receptacle that should rightfully contain nothing more toxic than bleach. In the rush of nuclear discovery, the mid-century scientists never paused to consider that a trespasser might happen upon the safe and crack it open.

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Are invasive species really that bad for the environment?

Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow — Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:30:57 EST

Tamarisk, a Eurasian shrub, is your classic invasive species—designated one of America's "least wanted" plants by the National Parks Service. In recent decades, it has spread along Southwestern riverbanks, replacing native trees such as willows and cottonwoods. For nature lovers in the region, tamarisks (also known as saltcedars) rank somewhere between Land Rovers and James Inhofe. Measures to thwart them include burning, herbicides, and "tammy whacking" (physical removal sometimes done by freelance volunteers). A few years ago, the USDA let loose thousands of leaf-eating Asian beetles in order to sic them on tamarisks, which die from the defoliation.

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Why big farms can treat their workers better than small farms.

Tracie McMillan — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:10:51 EST

I love food, but I've never been much into farms. I've ignored friends' repeated encouragements to travel the world picking organic vegetables or do a cow-milking internship. But this summer I sucked it up and headed for the fields—the big ones in California's Salinas and Central valleys, where half the country's fruits and vegetables are grown. I went there to start research for a book, for which I aimed to work my way through America's food system, from farm to table. At the outset, that meant spending 50-plus hours a week under the hot sun hoeing weeds, sorting peaches, and cutting garlic. I knew going in that I'd learn unexpected lessons, but of all the new thoughts crowding my head, none have surprised me as much as this: God bless big farms.

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The life story of a skunk.

Constance Casey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:23:43 EST

More revolting creatures: the snapping turtle, vulture, the tick, the jellyfish, and the slug.

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Constance Casey's profiles of revolting creatures.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:01:45 EST

In the summer of 2008, Slate's Constance Casey began an open-ended mission to profile—and perhaps rehabilitate—the most disgusting animals you're ever likely to meet. By exploring the life stories of these nasty critters, she explains how they fit into the world around us. So why did God create ticks? What's the point of a jellyfish? Excerpts from each column are printed below, along with links to the full text.

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