News & commentary on sustainability, activism, urban planning, politics, and our world.
Los Angeles County joins the small but growing ranks of local governments that have banned single-use plastic bags. After California’s statewide plastic bag ban law (AB 1998) failed to pass this year under pressure from the chemical and plastic bag industries, it is up to cities and counties to take local action to halt the [...]
Good news coming out of the European Union (EU) recently is that it is proposing a 5-year ban on the cloning of farm animals and livestock. However, the EU is fine with other animals being cloned, including sports animals like racehorses and fighting bulls. Why is it ok to clone these animals? Who knows, really, [...]
Do we want a fresh coat of paint on the old economy? Or do we want something new, an economy that is more down to earth, one that is more respectful of place and relationships, one that prioritizes people over profit? PBS NOW host David Brancaccio traveled across the country to talk with people who [...]
Sometimes modern society is amusing, like when millions of dollars are spent by the National Institute of Health to tell us something mundane and obvious, such as exercising a little everyday is good for our health. Or like when the New York Times reports how spending time in nature is good for you. Hmmm…who would [...]
For this year’s America Recycles Week, I decided to focus on clothes recycling, a seldom-discussed but important recycling topic. As the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) writes, “Thanks to fast fashion, the average American now discards 68 pounds of clothing a year, wasting energy, water and landfill space.” We need to cut down on our [...]
