Habitat
Polar Distress
With its time running out, the Bush administration seems determined to drill for oil and gas wherever possible. The latest target: the Chukchi Sea, off northern Alaska. Could drilling in this fragile environment be enough to push polar bears, walruses, and other wildlife over the edge?
By Daniel Glick
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Pollinators
Plan Bee
Our food system, based largely on the pollinating power of honeybees, is under siege. Now, as the crisis deepens and scientists seek answers, native bees are buzzing into the breach. First, though, they need a little help from us.
By Ted O’Callahan

Photo Essay
The Spectacle of Wings
A photographer combines the knowledge of a scientist, the eye of an artist, and the passion of an activist to present wading birds in a beautiful and compelling new way.
By Rosalie Winard/Text by Terry Tempest Williams
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Technology
Trashed
As our computers, printers, cell phones, and televisions are made obsolete by their faster and more powerful descendants, they’re tossed, dumped, and discarded, usually without regard for the poisons they contain. A writer goes to the ends of the earth to trace the dark side of the world’s love affair with technology. 
By Ellen Ruppel Shell

On the cover: As oil and gas interests set their sights on the offshore Arctic, will wildlife, including this polar bear, have anywhere to go? Photo by Steven Kaslowski/Left Eye Pro.