livebetter Issue 5 is available. View the interactive eReader; download the pdf (14.9MB); or read it online.

Features: 

Darlene Ketten, Ph.D., Marine Mammal Research Pioneer: Shattering Sonar and Similar Misconceptions with comments by Rear Admiral (Ret.) Richard Pittinger, Rear Admiral Larry Rice, Vice Admiral Sam Locklear and Vice Admiral Mike Loose.  —  "As the world’s foremost expert on marine mammal ears, Darlene R. Ketten, Ph.D. and Senior Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (www.whoi.edu), travels extensively to perform beached whale necropsies (autopsies on non-human animals) in countries from Africa to Australia..."

© iStockphoto.com/DavidMSchrader

Biodiversity and Life: Understanding the Connection with comments by Ahmed Djoghlaf, Ph.D. and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  —  "...there is a growing recognition that diversity – biological as well as linguistic and cultural diversity – is the lifeblood of sustainable development and human welfare. Diversity is key to resilience..."

Mercury Exposure: A Silent US Health Crisis with comments by the National Institutes of Health’s CAPT. Ed Rau and CAPT. Sven Rodenbeck of the US Public Health Service’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.  —  "Mercury toxicity, unlike many food-borne illnesses such as salmonella poisoning, doesn’t receive much attention because its symptoms are much less obvious..."

Uncontacted Tribes: By Choice or By Chance? with comments by anthropologist Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles of the Brazilian Government’s Indian Affairs Department, anthropologist Beatriz Huertas of the Assoc. for the Protection of Uncontacted Tribes and anthropologist Jonathan Mazower from Survival International.  —  "Indigenous peoples in a remote Amazon rainforest area near the Peruvian-Brazilian border were photographed for the first time in May 2008..."

© Photograph: Fiona Watson / Survival

Global Warming, Pollution and Bees: What’s the Buzz? with comments by May Berenbaum. Ph.D., professor and head of entomology at the University of Illinois, Wayne Esaias, a NASA scientist and master beekeeper and the US Dept. of Agriculture.  —  "When birds, bees, bats and, to a lesser degree, moths and butterflies disappear, so, too, will flowers, trees, vegetables, fruits and forage for livestock. Pollinators are critical for preserving healthy ecosystems..."

Departments: 

Change Agents: The Bushmeat Crisis Taskforce with comments by Director Heather E. Eves, Ph.D.  —  ""Bush" animals like the beloved gorilla and the African elephant are being commercially and illegally hunted at an alarming rate..."

© Photograph: BCTF/Andy Tobiason

Knowledge Sharing: The US Marine Corps, Committed to Conservation by Sue Goodfellow, Ph.D., Conservation Section, Installation and Logistics Department, Headquarters, US Marine Corps  —  A story shared among U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) conservation managers is that of being asked at a social event "What do you do for a living?" • After answering that we manage military installations’ natural or cultural resources, we’ve encountered surprise...

Political Will: A Healthy Respect for Nature by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV)  —  "Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation, in turn, becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources..."

Columns: 

Corporate Commitment: A New Maritime Strategy to Prevent Conflict by Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy  —  "The dawn of the 21st century brought with it new challenges and unprecdented opportunities for international safety and security..."

© Photograph: MC1 Tiffini Jones, U.S. Navy

Earth View: A Future Amazonia by Charles R. Clements and Aalberto Luis Val, Executive Director, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA), Brasil  —  "The Amazonian forest is being cut to sell timber and to produce soybeans and meat because it’s economically sensible..."

Going Global: Environmental Policy in Paraguay by Eduardo Nery Huerta, National Representative, Ecology and Natural Resources Commission and Sebastian Acha, National Representative, Paraguay  —  "Over the past 60 years widespread and uncontrolled deforestation practices have plagued Paraguay’s Region Oriental, the eastern region of this South American country..."

Previous livebetter Cover Stories: 

Ed Link, Ph.D., Katrina and the IPET: Understanding the Truth Behind the Tragedy — Hurricane Katrina will be remembered as an unparalleled national disaster not only because, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it became America’s "most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history..." — Download a complete pdf(12.9MB) of Issue Number 4.

Robert Glenn Ketchum, Nature’s Tireless Advocate: A Conviction of the Heart — Robert Glenn Ketchum is a world-renowned photographer, conservationist and author. For 40 years his imagery and books have helped to define contemporary color photography... — Download a complete pdf(10.5MB) of Issue Number 3.

Luciana and Robert Duvall, Saving Rural America: The Fight Against the NIET Corridors — As she looked out lovingly over their 60-acre farm of rolling hills and green pastureland, Luciana Duvall explained how she felt when she arrived in Virginia from Argentina... — Download a complete pdf(8.9MB) of Issue Number 2.

Lt. General Carl Strock, A General’s Journey: From Katrina and Iraq to Sustainability — Upon first glance, Lieutenant General (LTG) Carl A. Strock, the 51st Chief of Engineers and Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), doesn’t embody the stereotypical retirement story... — Download a complete pdf(8.9MB) of Issue Number 1.