Life (Mostly) Off the Grid
They live on one-fifth of an acre in Pasadena, Calif., a block away from a multilane highway. On this tiny sliver of land, they manage to be mostly self-sufficient. Jules Dervaes, 60, and three of his adult children harvest 6,000 pounds and more than 350 separate varieties of fruits, vegetables and edible flowers annually. They brew the biodiesel fuel that powers the family car. Solar panels on t... posted on Jan 30 2009, 4,958 reads

The Secret Life of Paper
There is no "papering over" the problem of paper. American families use the most pulp products and in the process are chopping down forests, polluting the air in the paper manufacture process and creating methane gas in landfills. Paper recycling is taking hold, and will grow stronger as consumers opt for recycled packaging. Even easier, when you spill something, use a sponge and not a paper towel... posted on Jan 29 2009, 3,386 reads

Connecting Art and Ecology
"There is an unmistakable link between art and ecology. Art is a process of discovering connections both within us and in the outside world. Ecology is the study of interactions among living beings and their environment. So both are really the study of relationships. One of the fundamental problems of our time is the scarcity of attention to how things are related. The modern marketplace, televisi... posted on Jan 27 2009, 3,878 reads

The Artist Who Paints Disappearing Rain Forests
There are lots of books out there that illustrate the irrevocable damage that we are doing to the rainforests - but this is one with a twist. The images in Rainforest: Light and Spirit are not photographs, but paintings by artist Harry Holcroft, who has travelled the world's rainforests for the past four years. This poignant photo series presents some of his work.... posted on Jan 10 2009, 6,656 reads

Bella & Tarra: The Odd Couple
When elephants retire, many head for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. "Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most all of her time with," says sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley. It's like having a best girlfriend, Buckley says -- "Somebody they can relate to, they have something in common with." But perhaps the closest friends of all are Tarra and Bella... posted on Jan 05 2009, 38,009 reads

Japanese City Finds Treasure in Trash
Many small pieces can add up to a big whole, and one small city in the north of Japan is finding there's money in the process as well. Odate, a city of about 80,000 people in Akita Prefecture, on the northern end of Honshu, the big island of Japan, has begun diverting small electronics from landfills and using the town's mining history to salvage precious metals from the waste. By putting collecti... posted on Dec 31 2008, 2,733 reads

A Year of Secondhand Shopping
A middle-class couple is trying to follow an unorthodox lifestyle even for these frugal times: They are attempting to go a full year without buying anything new. That's right, a full year. Whatever they need, they try to borrow, buy secondhand, or do without. Eleven months into their social experiment, they are largely adhering to their commitment to the simple life. What started out as largely a ... posted on Dec 24 2008, 4,914 reads

Clean Energy for the Developing World
Across much of the developing world, the dinner hour comes with a billow of smoke. That's because many of the world's 2 billion people who live without electricity continue to cook with wood, dung, and charcoal. These solid fuels may seem cheap, but their hidden costs are quite high. Burning them sends carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. And the indoor air pollution they cause... posted on Dec 12 2008, 2,566 reads

Flow: The Movie About Water
The world is running out of fresh water and the privatization of water is making it increasingly a commodity available only to the wealthy. Should water be an industry, or a basic resource available to all? This trailer for the film "Flow" poses that and other questions surrounding a resource long taken for granted.... posted on Dec 07 2008, 6,739 reads

Now Nature Has Its Own Rights, in Ecuador!
There was a time when people were considered property and this idea is quickly being antiquated. But now, Ecuador has taken a revolutionary step -- by codifying it in its Constitution -- of granting rights to Nature! Ecuador's constitution grants nature the right to "integral restoration" and says that the state "will promote respect toward all the elements that form an ecosystem" and that the st... posted on Nov 22 2008, 2,157 reads