Nov 30, 2017
Emerging technologies may provide mental enrichment, fun, companionship and health reminders to the many seniors that live alone.
By digitalizing photographs and other museum records, scientists are closing in on the number of tree species left to be discovered in the Amazon rainforest.
Scientists are discovering that chimps anticipate events, zebrafish form friendships, and birds guide humans hunting for beehives.
Cohousing developments for older women are being created in the United Kingdom and United States to replace retirement homes that encourage dependency.
Instead of trashing or trading in old smartphones and other electronics, you can donate them to worthy causes that either give them away or recycle them.
As many as 51 trillion particles of discarded plastic lie on the ocean floor, threatening marine life globally.
Oct 31, 2017
Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide glyphosate, which harms both soil and human health, has been found in 10 of 10 California wines tested, including organic ones.
Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to track and manage wildlife and to rescue people trapped by floods and earthquakes.
Sweden’s waste-to-energy plants are so efficient that it has closed many landfills and actually imports trash to burn from other European countries.
Humpback whales that leap out of the water are making a big splash to communicate with distant pods, Australian researchers have found.
Las Vegas has arranged to install some streetlights that will be powered by pedestrians walking on kinetic energy pads on the sidewalk.
As many as one billion migrating birds die annually when they collide with glass windows in the United States.
REI, the outdoor outfitter, is closing its stores on Black Friday and urging Americans to hit the trail instead of the shopping mall that day.
Thrown-out cooking grease can suffocate animals, befoul shorelines and clog water treatment plants, but disposing of it properly protects both the environment and home plumbing.
Wind, solar, hydro and wood pellet burning generated 50.7 percent of the United Kingdom’s electricity on June 7, a significant marker of in use of renewable energy sources.
Sep 29, 2017
With a compostable sneaker made of cotton and corn, Reebok is moving to reduce the negative impact of shoes on the environment.
In response to a Native American tribal lawsuit, a court has ordered Washington State to remove culverts that block salmon from passing beneath roads.
Building biodegradable bricks built with sand and bacteria depositing chemicals similar to the way coral grows is proving to be more energy efficient than cement manufacturing.
In a move respectful of Native American history, some Oklahoma communities have changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Three-quarters of American tree species have shifted to the West since 1980 due to dryer conditions in the East and changing rainfall patterns.
With strategies ranging from flying off-hours to clearing cookies from your computer, you can rack up savings on airfare.
More than a million birds and bats are killed annually by wind turbines, but fatalities are cut if the turbines are located offshore and are turned off during low wind speeds.
Instead of burning fallen tree leaves or carting them to the landfill, we can use them as mulch to enrich the soil and discourage pests.
The journal Pediatrics reports that children under the age of 2 are more likely to eat French fries than healthy vegetables on any given day and many eat no veggies at all.
Aug 31, 2017
A huge Colorado feedlot that supplies organic milk to Walmart and Costco has come under scrutiny after satellite imagery raised questions about whether it complies with outdoor grazing rules.
To safely dispose of 56 million gallons of nuclear waste dating back to the Second World War, the Department of Energy might replace a glass-log encasement plan with a cement option.
Schools in Finland and New Orleans are pioneering new ways to involve students in a more collaborative education model.
Computer algorithms helped Israeli researchers decode the language of Egyptian fruit bats and discover that bats exchange information about specific problems.
Easily movable mini-houses now range from the functional to the outlandish, including abodes mounted on tractors and shopping carts and ones attachable to rock faces.
A 40-foot-long Winnebago called the Digibus rolled through central California towns to train kids and adults in computer and job-searching skills.
Milkweed pods, which are five times lighter than synthetic insulation, are being tested by the Canadian Coast Guard as filler in prototype parkas, gloves and mittens.
European supermarkets are cutting costs and saving energy by using high-tech lasers to mark prices on avocados, sweet potatoes and coconuts, with more to come.
The financially strapped National Park Service increasingly relies on volunteers to staff visitor centers and campsites, and a third of the workers are over age 54.
Jul 31, 2017
Grocery stores are increasingly offering ugly-but-edible produce to customers at reduced prices instead of dumping them into a landfill.
Under legal and activist pressure, SeaWorld is ending its theatrical killer whale shows and breeding program.
Levels of toxic mercury in Atlantic Bluefin tuna declined 19 percent between 2004 and 2012, a drop that scientists attribute to a shift from coal to natural gas and renewable energy.
Harvard researchers have invented tiny robotic bees that may be able to eventually pollinate the crops that are under threat because of vanishing bee colonies.
Australian scientists are seeking citizens around the world to bury tea bags in wetlands to measure the rate as which the bags capture and store carbon.
New Zealand and India have granted the legal status of personhood to vital rivers, forwarding an international movement that seeks to protect precious natural resources from corporate domination.
Cities throughout the country are exploring fresh ways to make cities both environmentally sustainable and pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
Jun 30, 2017
As use of controversial neonicotinoid pesticides on plants grew from 1994 onward, extinction rates of bees grew by a parallel amount.
Endangered species may lose their federal protection if some Republican senators from western states succeed in taking the teeth out of the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973.
Species of rhinoceros, tortoise, treefrog and leopard are among those verified as having disappeared forever as of 2016.
A greenhouse in the South Australia desert uses coconut husks, solar power and desalinated seawater to grow 17,000 tons of non-GMO food every year.
Solar- and hydro-powered trash robots are sucking up plastic, Styrofoam and other debris from Baltimore’s harbor, and the waste is used to generate electricity.
Michelle Obama’s White House kitchen garden that promotes healthy eating will continue for 17 years.
French researchers have concluded that 40 percent of 579 GMO (genetically modified food) studies are tainted by conflicts of interest, such as a study author being employed by a company that profits from genetically engineered crops.
If you’re awed by the mass of blooms decorating highway meridians and embankments, you often have local garden clubs to thank, along with partnering state highway departments.
Bottled water has now surpassed carbonated soft drinks to become the largest beverage category by volume in the U.S.
May 31, 2017
Two food-industry trade groups have settled on just two phrases to communicate food safety: ‘Use By’ to indicate perishability and ‘Best if Used By” to indicate peak flavor.
