Miscellaneous
How the sharing economy can boost the rooftop solar market
Nearly half of households are currently unable to host a solar photovoltaic system, according to the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. One major reason is that the rooftop solar market is closed to renters. Boston-based startup Yeloha intends to explore that untapped Read More...
Urban algae canopy brings nature and technology together
Nothing like checking out the latest concepts of ecologically minded designers and architects to regain faith in the potential that tomorrow’s urban world can bring. For instance, how about this algae canopy, featured at the Milan Expo, that produces a forest’s worth of oxygen daily? You will Read More...
U.K. boasts a 23-percent increase in female MPs in last elections
Women in U.K. politics have come a long way since the era of Margaret Thatcher. Last week’s general elections sent 191 women to Parliament (29% of seats), by contrast to 19 in the 1979 elections that brought the first female Prime Minister to power. Guess which party saw the biggest Read More...
What makes us happy has changed over the past 80 years
Back in 1938, security, knowledge and religion were the top three most important aspects of happiness. Good humor and leisure made the cut some 76 years later, according to psychologist Sandie McHugh from the University of Bolton in the U.K. She presented her study this week the Annual Conference Read More...
Agroecology, the science for food security on a warming planet
UN Special Rapporteur for Food Olivier De Schutter first put agroecology in the public eye with his 2011 groundbreaking report on Agroecology and the Right to Food. Defined as "the integrative study and practice of the ecology of the entire food system, encompassing ecological, economic and social Read More...
EPA climate rules would reduce air pollution, saving thousands of lives
Assessing the direct public health impact of power-plant emissions reduction provides further support to the climate change regulation to be introduced by President Obama this summer, judging by a new study published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change. Cutting carbon emissions from Read More...
First LEED Platinum-certified soap factory opens in Chicago
Method has come a long way since its early days in San Francisco. The detergent company first aimed at transforming a traditionally toxic industry by developing environmentally-friendly products. It is now setting a green manufacturing standard with its Soapbox, a facility designed by Cradle to Read More...
Indian tribal women successfully claim titles to ancestral forestland
The plight of indigenous people robbed of their land by greedy corporations with the complicity of corrupt governments is a familiar story around the world. A less ordinary story is that of communities being given the legal opportunity to claim titles to the land that has been sustaining them for Read More...
Yoga rooms help travelers release stress at hectic airports
Security lines, crammed planes and long layovers at busy airports rarely make for an enjoyable travel experience. But sitting at an airport bar is not everyone’s first choice when it comes to releasing stress. The good news is that airport management around the U.S. has been heeding the request Read More...
Kathmandu’s earthquake wreckage reveals signs of shift toward safer construction
While rescue efforts continue in the Kathmandu region, a much-needed conversation about local building codes and practices is beginning to emerge through the rubbles into the light. Volunteer experts who traveled to Nepal to assess the situation speak of positive signs that seismic-proof building Read More...