The name Martha Stewart can produce a wide variety of reactions, from happiness and inspiration to irritation and disgust. Various opinions aside, Body+Soul has quickly established itself as a…

There are layers upon layers of complex issues to be faced when one deals with a question of grave importance such as, "What coffee should I buy this morning?" Ethics are hard to keep…

Assembling the TartSadly, strawberry season is beginning to wane here in northern California; however, the news is not all bad as the raspberries and cherries are ripening in my garden. This…

Green Roofs Around The World
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Reducing Environmental Risks Could Save Millions of Lives Annually

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(Posted by David Zaks in News and Views at 8:46 PM)

Unless it's a heavily highlighted course text, many books don't get much wear and tear on a read through. Whether you're looking for some fun summer reading or want to clear out some old…

Brady provided a detailed description of the various Fair Trade labels and to which products they can be applied, but what is the real difference between them? Labels such as the TransFairUSA are…

Editor's note: This week, A Siegel at the Ecotality blog takes a look at a new initiative from some major players in the home computing industry. This post was originally published on June 12,…

Recent headlines have been telling us about a class of chemical detergents or surfactants (nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPE’s) found in many industrial and household cleaners that have been reported to…

The approach of summer invariably brings with it a staple of literary journalism: the summer reading list. The assumption is that many of us are looking forward to long, lazy, hot afternoons on the beach, porch or back deck, with nothing to do but lose ourselves in the pages of trashy novel deliciousness, or — for the more mentally ambitious — some or other non-fiction gem we’ve been meaning to get to. I’m looking forward to long, hot summer afternoons oozing freelance sweat onto my keyboard punctuated with the occasional beach weekend on the eastern end of Long Island courtesy of the ‘rents. But even I can’t resist suggesting some summer reads — and highlighting a few choices noted in other publications — for those who are fortunate enough to have paid vacation days to take in the coming few months. (Share your suggestions in the comments!) A couple entries into the summer reading list stakes noted in a recent issue of The New York Times Book Review fit right into the worldchanging brief: Author Nora Ephron suggested “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” by Michael Pollan, which takes on the problematic health and ecological impacts of how we eat in a modern… (more)

(Posted by Emily Gertz in Media at 1:39 PM)

by Worldchanging Austin local blogger, Luke Iseman: There’s a saying: “everything’s bigger in Texas.” Usually applied to SUVs, exurb-dwelling women’s hair, and tex-mex dishes, it’s starting to look like a lot of the biggest initiatives to green a metropolis are being born in Austin, Texas. Will Wynn is not just Austin’s mayor with a politically auspicious name: he’s also Al Gore with a Texas twang. A Worldchanger much more literate than I has already provided an excellent summary of Wynn’s speaking points , to which I have nothing substantive to add. The truly curious can also read the full current version of the Austin Climate Protection Plan . A short list of not-so-little ways in which Austin, the capital of the most polluting state in the most polluting country in the world, is giving most other locales a run for their money at the slowly starting race to think big about being green: 1. Transportation Is Becoming Less InsaneYes, our highways are still as clogged as last time you visited. However, the vehicle in front of you seems increasingly likely to be practical in size, maybe even a scooter, perhaps even an electric one . If you’re really lucky… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Urban Design and Planning at 1:37 PM)