Paul Hawken"Something earth-changing is afoot among civil society, a significant social movement is eluding the radar of mainstream culture." That's the uplifting and optimistic prelude…

by guest contributor, Suzie Boss: Teaching has long been known as the lonely profession. The way many schools are still organized keeps teachers behind classroom doors, isolated from their colleagues. It’s not a set-up that helps good ideas travel. When new teachers bail out of the profession—as nearly a third do within their first three years of teaching—they cite isolation as one of the top reasons for their early exit. If you listen to conversations taking place out in the blogosphere, however, you get more hopeful about the possibility for grassroots change in the teaching world. Edubloggers are having robust discussions about how and why they teach, and what strategies and new tools will help their students learn. Online, teachers are able to swap ideas and improve instruction by getting critical feedback from peers—improving curriculum in much the same way that open source developers improve software. Vicki Davis, known internationally as the author of Cool Cat Teacher Blog, goes as far as to suggest, “Teachers who innovate have a professional responsibility to blog. It makes the whole community better.” Wesley Fryer, author of the award-winning Moving at the Speed of Creativity and a self-described education “change agent,” says the edublogosphere… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Education at 2:17 PM)

Is there a more iconic sports car than a blood red Ferrari? Sure, the Corvette is up there, but to me the Ferrari has always been the epitome of "zoom zoom". It's encouraging,…

Dear EcoGeek,

I did a survey and I have 33 recessed bulbs in the house (120W)! I've switched all my non-recessed bulbs with CFLs, but I need something for our recessed lighting.

So my question…

Jeff Lazar, Lone MeadowThe hospitality industry is booming, but still has a long way to go in being green. I spoke with Jeff Lazar, owner of JLF, a leading supplier for custom seating in the…

There are many natural window cleaners available at coops and natural food stores; however, these products can be expensive, and in my experience, their performance leaves much to be desired. It is…

Image Credit: Rolling StoneRolling Stone joins about every other magazine on the planet (score!) by publishing an environmental issue, specifically, a "special report on climate crisis". …

Two weeks ago, I lost one of my favorite socks while moving to a new apartment. I'd feel pretty silly about having just a pair of sock being shipped across the country so I kept putting it off….

Usually, when I think of Beverly Hills, I don’t think “green”. Rodeo Drive? Yes. Mansions with manicured lawns? Yes. Brenda, Brandon, and the rest of the 90210 gang? Unfortunately, yes. But none of…

From the Sacramento Bee:

The city plans eventually to have at least 51 percent of its electricity supplied by renewable sources of energy — compared to about 13 percent for PG&E today. Those new sources could include a wind farm in Solano County, geothermal power from the desert, solar panels in the city’s sunny southeast section and even wave power supplied by the Pacific Ocean.

A much more aggressive energy efficiency program would also play a role.

City officials and analysts believe that San Francisco can dramatically boost its use of renewable energy and still get its power for less than residents are paying now. One big reason: municipal bonds. The city can borrow money with low, tax-free interest rates not available to the private utilities.

That cheap money might be able to jumpstart renewable energy projects that otherwise would never get off the ground. Most such projects have high upfront costs and then fairly minimal costs to operate.

This is a plan Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and other groups have been pushing for a while. It’s called “Community Choice Aggregation”.