A sexy headline, sure, but there’s little to back it up. The story’s primary expert to venture a connection is Sunita Narain, director of the Indian environmental group Center for Science and Environment.

"While we can never pinpoint one disaster as the result of climate change, there is enough scientific evidence that climate change will lead to intensification of tropical cyclones," said Narain.

"Nargis is a sign of things to come," she said. "The victims of these cyclones are climate change victims and their plight should remind the rich world that it is doing too little to contain its greenhouse gas emissions."

We asked climate scientist Gavin Schmidt of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies to weigh in on the topic and received an exasperated email reply. Schmidt wrote:

“This is a non-story. I'm not sure how many times it needs to be said - but single weather events are extremely hard (read practically impossible) to attribute to climate change and no scientist worth their salt will claim otherwise.

The story that is worth your while is an examination of where these ideas come from and how they are stoked by contrarians and noise makers who are always on the lookout for 'alarmist' claims that they can misquote.

Do a story on how hard it is for scientific statements about uncertainty and caveats to penetrate into the public discourse.”

Climate change can be an ephemeral problem—one that’s hard for most of us to see, thus it’s seemingly everywhere. Best that we all brush up on the facts, or next thing you know it’ll be climate change that misplaced the house keys, caused the milk in the fridge to expire, and the cell phone battery to run out.

A. Well obviously…ok, this one has no clear solution, says Michael Straus. His family founded the first organic dairy west of the Mississippi, Straus Family Creamery, and now runs Straus Communications, the nation's first PR agency to specialize in organic food, sustainable agriculture, and environmental issues.

According to Straus, when it comes to organic milk, 'green' can have multiple considerations. These include certified organic; local production; small- or large-scale dairy; packaging; and commitment to environmental practices such as converting methane from cow poop into energy, or implementing water conservation measures. “Our family dairy packages milk in returnable, refillable glass bottles, and is now independently verifying that all feeds and ingredients are GMO-free, above and beyond certified organic requirements,” he says.

"There is no right or greener answer, and the sad truth is that the marketplace provides few options, all of which require environmental trade-offs. I believe the environmental solution lies not in this purchasing decision, but in demanding better solutions from manufacturers and government policymakers," Straus says.

If being unable to recycle milk containers makes you feel guilty, then consider repurposing the containers around the house. Check out the myriad websites offering instructions on milk-carton crafts, such as making a carton into a birdhouse.

-Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson

Eco-inquiries, conundrums, snafus? Write to askplenty@plentymag.com.

As a general rule, buy water-based drawing inks, markers and paints, which are not as vaporous as permanent pigments. They're easier on the environment, too. A 2003 study exposing mice to markers containing MIBK resulted in respiratory distress, confusion and hyperactivity.

Also look for the AP label of the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI), which excludes most toxic, flammable or corrosive (skin- and eye-burning) contents. 

Healthier products, most of which can be quickly found at your local office supply or drugstore, include:

Crayola Artista II watercolor sets, washable markers and liquid tempera paint

Mr. Sketch unscented and colorific markers

Sharpie poster paint markers

Elmer's washable school glue sticks 

Prang watercolor sets

Colorific markers.

For lists of glues, inks and paints deemed unsuitable for grade school children by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, click here.

Reuse paper products, like shopping bags or backs of old cards, or buy new paper with the highest post-consumer-recycled (PCW, PCR) content you can find. 

And write on!

In past experiments with UAVs in Maldives, the Scripps researchers found that a large mass of air pollution in southeast Asia can disrupt rainfall patterns, cause cooling near the Earth’s surface and warming at higher altitudes. The behavior of that plume was also linked to accelerated glacial melt in the Himalayas.

To see if they can pull together a similar picture of the impact of air quality on climate in North America, each month the Scripps researchers are sending up a couple unmanned airplanes to 12,000 feet, which then descend in increments to sample the full air column. A pilot controls the plane from a test site at Edwards Air Force Base. Each UAV has about six hours of flight time before it needs to be refueled and can carry up to 15 lbs of instrumentation.

Advanced Ceramics’ unmanned aircraft have also been used by the U.S. military in battlefield operations, the Canadian Air Force to scan remote environments, and by scientists to study glacial melting in Greenland. They’re particularly well-suited to climate change and weather research for their unobtrusiveness and affordability.

You’d think that federal regulators would be pulling out all the stops to keep perchlorate our of our water supplies - right? Er, wrong: There are currently no federal restrictions on the amount of perchlorate in our drinking water, despite studies that have found the chemical in drinking water in 35 states, affecting a minimum of 11 million people. And what gets into the water also gets into the food-chain: Worrying levels of perchlorate have been found in everything from lettuce to cow’s milk, and a 2005 study found that “virtually all” human breast milk is now contaminated to some degree.

The EPA says it needs to give its scientists more time to figure out whether perchlorate is actually harmful, and at what levels. That sounds reasonable - but given the agency’s usual disregard for scientific opinion, some greens believe that other factors may be at work behind the scenes. Prime suspect: the Pentagon, which has been lobbying against a federal perchlorate standard for years, hoping to avoid an expensive cleanup of its military and aerospace facilities.

In any case, the EPA’s claims that we don’t know enough to regulate perchlorate ring hollow: State regulators in places like California and Massachusetts have been limiting perchlorate levels for years without a problem. Now Sen. Barbara Boxer is working to pass laws requiring perchlorate testing and strict federal limits; hopefully, that will be enough to finally put a rocket under the EPA.

However, so much ado has been made of late about whether Sting and wife Trudie Styler are good guys or eco-hypocrites that it had to be addressed.

Sting’s band The Police are going to end their tour with a fundraiser to pay for arts programming in NYC, and they also pledged one million dollars to help NYC with its goal of reducing its carbon footprint 30% by 2030. Their donation will go to plant 10,000 trees towards Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to plant a million trees locally over the next 10 years.

And now here’s the laundry list of charges against Sting and Trudie, as summarized by Journallive:

She was accused in a recent tribunal of forcing her chef to travel 100 miles to prepare a bowl of pasta.

The organic food she grows on the Italian estate has to be transported to London for sale in Selfridges.

They travel between their seven homes in private jets or their fleet of cars.

Experts estimate that the couple's carbon footprint is 30 times greater than the average Briton's.

Environmental experts labelled Sting's band, The Police, the dirtiest in the world because of the amount of pollution created during last year's reunion tour of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan.

You know what? Most Westerners above the poverty line have probably made big old nasty, deep carbon footprints. How many have bought a million dollars worth of trees to improve New York’s air quality (not to mention quality of life)? I say lay off them. They’re trying.

Trudy has said when confronted with the case against their behavior, "I would like to think that we both work pretty hard for the rights of indigenous people and for the rights of conservation of the Amazon rainforest, but we do need to get around."

But now a different chemical could once again put the peregrine falcon at risk. According to a study conducted by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, peregrines in the state carry a higher level of industrial flame retardants than any other species in the world.

From a report in the Los Angeles Times:

Scientists said the peregrines, the fastest and most agile birds, are being contaminated with the industrial chemicals from eating urban pigeons that scavenge on city streets.

The study found record levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), specifically a chemical called decabromodiphenyl ether (deca), in peregrine eggs and dead chicks. Worst affected are city-dwelling birds, which sometimes had PBDE levels so high that their eggs were unhatchable.

Could this spell future problems for peregrines and other top predator species? It's probably too early to tell, but it's also probably not too early to take action before the situation gets worse. Maine and Washington have already passed laws to phase out the use of deca, and Sweden banned its use last year. Meanwhile, a bill pending in California would ban all brominated and chlorinated flame retardants. Considering how high levels of PBDEs have already shown up in human blood and breast milk around the world, that might not be a bad idea.

Along with the actual invitation, Tiffany sent a reception invitation, an R.S.V.P. card, and a card with directions to the church and reception. These items, plus the folder and paper bands to hold them together, and the envelope, add up to seven pieces of paper per guest.

The environmental group Conserveatree calculates that roughly 24 trees are needed to produce one ton of virgin printer quality paper. Also, bleaching the paper uses the gas form of chlorine, producing unwanted toxic dioxins. Even a small part of a big event can amount to tons of wasted paper and more pollution every year.

This is just one of the reasons that a new trend of environmentally friendly event planning has begun to crop up all over the U.S. Event planners across the country are becoming more conscious about what kind of waste is produced at weddings, and are starting to implement greener practices as they put together weddings, cocktail parties, and product launches. The owner of Lyndsey Hamilton Events, who has started suggesting her clients use recycled paper invitations, says, “If everyone did one simple thing, like use recycled paper, or recycle the bottles, all of those things really add up."

But even as these planners push recycling and organics, it is difficult to really define what a green event is. There is no industry standard for sustainability, the way LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifies buildings at different levels of green. And according to Jean Picard, the California state coordinator at the Association of Bridal Consultants, there is currently no way to figure out how many of the estimated 10,000 wedding planners in the U.S. engage in green practices. “They’re doing what their clients want to do,” she explains. “Some want some green. There’s no way to put numbers on that."

Nevertheless, looking more closely at what some of these event planners believe and put into practice gives a window into what is possible.

Danielle Venokur, who owns a sustainable event design and production company, says, “When you say you’re ‘throwing something away,’ there’s really no ‘away.’” Venokur, who opened dvGreen last January, works this philosophy into her lifestyle and her business. Most of Venokur’s new clients come to her because she is green. “They want a chic, sustainable event,” she says.

Venokur prefers local or organic food and flowers, and recycling in terms of the waste, at a bare minimum. She works with the caterers and the venues to set up recycling and food compost systems. “Now that it’s trendy, I think New Yorkers are really getting on board. They’re psyched by the idea that they can have something that looks good,” says Venokur. “I think the climate is right for more of this."

In other parts of the country, too, people are looking for green alternatives.

Angelica Weihs, the owner of Green Weddings in Los Angeles, has been planning environmentally-friendly weddings since 2005. One of the challenges lies in finding vendors who will cooperate. Weihs likes to challenge the people she works with to be green by asking her vendors, “‘Are you doing anything eco-friendly? What are you doing with your trash?’” It reminds people that it might be necessary to make change."

One wedding she planned called for a chocolate fountain and Weihs convinced Classic Party Staffing to make the chocolate fountain organic. Also, her inquiries may have prompted changes in other companies, like Classic Party Rentals. “I cannot say that it was just me, but the demands of my company and other planners have influenced the rental company market.” It had been difficult to find green rental companies in the past, but now Classic Party Rentals is implementing measures like eco-friendly cleaning processes. 

Most people, even the ones who are interested in eco-friendly practices, aren’t willing to give up everything that they consider traditional, according to Mark Kingsdorf, owner of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants in Philadelphia. “There are very few clients who are willing to go all the way tree-hugger,” he says.

Other planners champion reuse as the best form of being green, over buying new things and adding more products, and thus, more waste, to the grand scheme of things. The owner of 5Senses Event Designs determines what clients have in their homes and what she has in her own inventory before buying or renting supplies. “We’re repurposing,” says Simone Hudson. “I’m not going to tell you to go buy organic plates for your next party. Pull the plates off your own shelves,” she says.

Until standards are established, for now, being “green” means doing the best you can, and that usually means going organic with food and flowers, choosing recycled paper for invites, and some form of reuse.

As much as it breaks Hudson’s heart to see things go to waste, she doesn’t preach to her clients, even when they want to throw everything away. “I’m not going to push it. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do at all. And you have to accept it. So you move on to the next event. Not every event is going to be eco-friendly."

She doesn’t get discouraged, because ultimately, “It’s a process,” says Hudson. “It’s a habit, and a mindset, more than an individual occurrence.”

Although genetically engineered vines and fruit are still in the R&D phase, genetically modified yeasts have hit the market. The use of added yeasts isn’t novel—most wines are now made with a wide range of commercial yeasts. But two new yeasts on the market—ML01 and ECMo01—haven’t just been cross-bred, they’ve been genetically engineered to prompt speedier fermentation and reduce urethane, a suspected carcinogen.

While no local winemakers have admitted to using these yeasts, they’re not required to, and in a consumer climate so GMO-wary, who would? Locke, however, cites a 2006 Sacramento Bee article in which a distributor of yeasts is quoted stating that some GMO-yeast wines from California are already on the market.

Napa Valley, where Locke’s articles were researched, has a few outspoken anti-GMO advocates who are meeting regularly to monitor the issue. PINA, or Preserving the Integrity of Napa’s Agriculture, and the Napa GMO Stakeholder Group, are lobbying to pass the same kinds of bans on GMOs that Mendocino and Santa Cruz County have effectuated (a GMO ban in Sonoma County was rejected in 2005).

Many people believe we can solve our pest problems without the use of GMOs. “The history of agriculture shows us that there will always be another pest,” said Miguel Altieri, a professor of agroecology at UC Berkeley. “Will we have to keep re-engineering the vines for each one? The solution is not in genetic re-engineering but in making our agricultural systems more resilient.” He believes in a more diverse vineyard, in which insects have food choices other than the grapevine.

Battles like these are being fought in every sector of the industry, from wine to vegetables to cheesemaking. Which side of the lobby will prevail?

The pulp and paper industry is the largest single industrial wood consumer in the world, Treecycle.com reports, and almost half of all trees logged are processed into paper. According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, each of us consumes "approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir in paper and wood products per year." Deforestation in tropical areas alone contributes 20 percent of total worldwide carbon emission, according to the 2007 findings of the International Panel on Climate Change.

In addition to shrinking the lungs of the Earth, paper industry runoff pollutes our water and threatens our health with carcinogenic dioxins from chlorine bleaching and toxic heavy metals from inks.

But wait, there's good news! Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt hours (Kwh) of electricity, enough to fill the needs of the average U.S. household for five months, EPA calculates. In 2007, more than 56 percent of paper used in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. Over 48 percent of office paper alone is recycled, and when we buy products made from this used, post-consumer-recycled/waste (PCR, or PCW) paper, our increased demand stimulates the green marketplace.

How to do it? It's easy. There's reams of the good stuff out there.

Read labels. Choose office paper with the highest percentage PCR or PCW content you can find:  100% PCW is increasingly available.

Also look for the Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) label.

Add to these the label of a reliable third-party certifier, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Green Seal, and you've found a paper chaste choice. 

Quick tip:  Look for "Enviro" on the package. Purest picks:  BPM Envirographic 100 a(Green Seal) and Cascades Enviro 100 (FSC) papers, both 100% PCW and PCF, can be found at  Badger Paper, Greenline Paper and Treecycle.com . Other 30-100% PCW and chlorine-free papers can be found at Staples.

Remember to conserve paper by printing and copying on two sides, and to recycle your office paper. for more info, click here.