Listening to Cougar

By Marc Bekoff and Cara Blessley Lowe, editors
University Press of Colorado $24.95

Reviewed by David Baron

Compared with North America's other apex predators, cougars get little respect. Whether measured by screen time on the Discovery Channel or dollars raised for their protection, wolves and grizzlies gain the lion's share of attention.

Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy

By Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks
Island Press $25.95

Reviewed by Tom Henry

Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas calls Apollo's Fire a "brilliant, inspiring book on the need to set goals and find future solutions to achieve clean, efficient energy."

  By ROGER ARCHIBALD

Protecting the cloud forest ecosystem of a nearly-extinct bird with a magnificent plumage.

 By ROBERT McCLURE
 

The fastest-growing water pollution threat in my region – and probably in yours, too – is stormwater, that filthy mixture that results when rain or melting snow washes away oil, antifreeze, dog poop, fertilizer, pesticide and anything else on the ground. It is truly foul stuff.

All that ends up somewhere. Usually, that's your nearest stream, wetland or bay. And the rainwater running off streets and other hard surfaces tends to come in big surges that gouge out stream bottoms.