The Best Environment of 1994

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It makes sense that large amounts of pesticides and industrial wastes could harm humans and other animals. The notion that tiny doses are dangerous is less obvious -- but probably true, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this year in a report on dioxin. Even trace amounts of this and many similar chemicals may sometimes lead to reproductive disorders, including decreased sperm counts and miscarriage.

4. Clear-Cutting Eden

One of the world's few remaining pristine forests stands in Suriname and Guyana in South America -- but the two nations are now opening huge tracts to logging. If history is any guide, these woods could soon be gone, leaving barren hills and silt-choked rivers. Environmentalists are pushing preferable ways to profit from the trees, such as prospecting for natural medicines.

5. No End to Whaling

DNA testing is not used only to decide the fate of accused murderers. A genetics-based investigation by the conservation group Earthtrust proved that whale meat on sale in some Japanese markets had come from illegally caught animals. Among the victims: minke whales, fin whales and humpbacks.