It’s not easy being green, but does it also have to be expensive? It’s a question I’ve frequently pondered as my husband and I have balanced our commitment to the environment with the realities of paying for graduate school, working in lower-paying nonprofit jobs, and suffering through periodic bouts of unemployment. Over the years I’ve evolved some basic strategies to walk more lightly on the Earth without breaking our budget.
With the recent surge in faith-based environmentalism, it’s no wonder that religious entities are using their financial clout to push for green changes…
Traveling can be a challenge for those trying to lead an eco-friendly life. From room deodorizers and potpourri to non-organic breakfasts and sheets that reek of bleach, the typical overnight stay can seem so toxic you’d almost rather stay home. But no more. Over the past decade, there’s been a welcome rise in eco-friendly bed-and-breakfasts.
In 2001, American catalog companies sent out 17 billion catalogs, Environmental Defense reports. That’s 59 for every man, woman and child in the U.S., comprising 12 percent of all printing and writing paper last year. And most of them contain no recycled content. "The catalog industry is one of the most destructive and wasteful sectors of the paper industry," says Todd Paglia of Forest Ethics. A little recycled content could make a big impact, paper activists say.
There’s hardly an issue where Bush’s rhetoric isn’t diametrically opposite to his actual policies. This is especially true in his doublespeak on women’s issues. While Bush proclaims, "the advance of liberty and the advance of women’s rights are ultimately inseparable," he pursues an ideologically motivated anti-choice agenda at the expense of women’s lives and the planet.
Would you be smiling if you were riding in a jury-rigged truck that had an emergency evacuation button on the left and a giant and a tank of highly flammable hydrogen fuel behind the seat? It was par for the course at the FutureTruck Competition, hosted by Ford Motor Company and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
A suspension bridge sways 52 feet above a forested ravine. Students sprawl face down on its metal grating, fear changing to awe as they observe the verdant scene below. At a new school called IslandWood near Seattle, Washington, kids are being immersed in nature, then challenged to be stewards of their surroundings.
Surviving in scattered areas around California, the red-legged frog was declared threatened in 1996 under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The resulting effort produced the second-largest critical habitat area ever mapped—4.1 million acres sprawling over the state’s Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills—and since then, the frog has transformed from a treasured icon of Gold Rush California into a symbol of the ongoing fight over federal species protection.
The nine staff members of Eugene, Oregon-based Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) have a disproportionate impact around the world. Since its founding in 1989 by grassroots lawyers from 10 countries, the organization has grown into a network connecting 300 lawyers and scientists in 60 countries.
While President Bush’s terrible environmental record would presumably hand John Kerry a golden campaign issue, the Democrat avoids the topic, possibly because polls show green issues are not occupying a major part of the voters" attention. When asked, most people say the candidates have similar positions on environmental issues.
