Environment

Tim Stark was a management consultant when he stumbled into heirloom tomato farming, as he describes in Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Farmer. (Tip: The ugliest tend to be tastiest.) Now his tomatoes are served in the finest New York restaurants.

It's not easy to track down one of the fastest and rarest great cats in the world. But one biologist is working to attach radio collars to cheetahs living in remote areas of Iran. With fewer than 100 of the animals left, they are among the most imperiled great cats on Earth.

It's not easy to track down one of the fastest and rarest great cats in the world. But one biologist is working to attach radio collars to cheetahs living in remote areas of Iran. With fewer than 100 of the animals left, they are among the most imperiled great cats on Earth.

Snow leopards are among the world's most endangered big cats, with only several thousand left. In Mongolia's southern Gobi desert, the snow leopard is a sign of a healthy ecosytem. But poaching remains one of the area's more lucrative businesses.

Snow leopards are among the world's most endangered big cats, with only several thousand left. In Mongolia's southern Gobi desert, the snow leopard is a sign of a healthy ecosytem. But poaching remains one of the area's more lucrative businesses.

In literature, albatrosses represent weighty, inescapable burdens. But in real life, the huge seabirds use wind energy to cruise around the planet's oceans. Photographer Frans Lanting and writer Carl Safina report from one of the world's largest albatross colonies.

In literature, albatrosses represent weighty, inescapable burdens. But in real life, the huge seabirds use wind energy to cruise around the planet's oceans. Photographer Frans Lanting and writer Carl Safina report from one of the world's largest albatross colonies.

Running underneath the rolling hills of Tennessee lies a still-mysterious and remote network of caverns. Many of those caves shelter fragile ecosystems, and biologist Jerry Lewis is helping to discover and protect some of those ecosystems from man's destruction.

Running underneath the rolling hills of Tennessee lies a still-mysterious and remote network of caverns. Many of those caves shelter fragile ecosystems, and biologist Jerry Lewis is helping to discover and protect some of those ecosystems from man's destruction.

Mingma Norbu Sherpa was one of 24 conservationists killed in Nepal this week in a recent helicopter crash near Kathmandu. A child of the Himalayas, Sherpa, 50, was an official with the World Wildlife Fund who helped change conservation practices around the world.