How do we get people talking about solutions to recycling challenges? Shareable has introduced a new book, Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons, to provide “a practical reference guide for community-based solutions to urgent challenges faced by cities everywhere.” The book includes 137 examples of local action taken in 80 cities around…
How Bidets are Saving the Planet, One Spray at a Time
Every day, we witness copious progress in technology, science, housing, energy, and travel. But when it comes to personal hygiene, we’re still living in the 19th century. Most Americans use dry, bleached, expensive, and environmentally-damaging toilet paper when visiting the loo. We’re a germophobic, antibacterial-obsessed society, yet we still wipe,…
Lawncare Myths
Many common lawncare practices create extra work for you and can actually damage your lawn and harm the environment. Here are three common lawncare myths debunked to help you grow a greener lawn with less effort. The truth could set your Saturdays free. Annual Dethatching Almost everything you’ve heard…
Recycling Mystery: Hardcover Books
Some of our younger readers may find it hard to imagine that, before the Amazon Kindle came out, we used to physically turn the pages of our books — which required just a tad bit more effort than pushing a button. While the days of old book smells may be…
Earthling Survey: Why Do You Recycle?
Express your opinion and help drive environmental change. Every week, Earth911 asks readers questions that can change the environmental perspective of the community and companies that want to know your expectations about sustainability practices, product design and recyclability, and much more. Why Do You Recycle? Which of the following best…
Soil-Savvy Advice for Perky Plants and Tasty Veggies
If you want your yard to yield succulent vegetables, spectacular flowers, or enviable foliage, pay attention to your soil. “It’s where the roots live. It’s the basis for life,” says Wendy Wilber, Florida Statewide Master Gardener Coordinator for University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). For the dish on dirt, we…
Podcast, June 11, 2018: Sustainability in Your Ear
This week, the Earth911.com team talks about the latest in solar panel technology and the latest Nordic exercise craze, plogging. It combines jogging and picking up litter. We’ll also discuss cutting our travel carbon footprints through the reducing plastic use on airline flights and look ahead to a June race…
Reinventing the US Power Grid
We have an energy challenge in the United States — actually, a number of energy challenges. The American electricity grid is over 100 years old, and the cost to replace it is an estimated $4.8 trillion. It costs $750 per person annually to deliver energy through the current grid, and the cost…
IKEA Takes Reusable Pledge: Phasing Out Single-Use Products by 2020
IKEA this week announced it will discontinue selling single-use products, from plastic straws to paper plates, by 2020. The global retailer also said it will sell only recycled plastic products by August of the same year and honor the Paris Climate Accord regardless of political outcomes. This is good news…
Earth Hour: One Hour of Darkness to Increase Environmental Awareness
It started with an hour of darkness in Sydney, Australia, designed to shift awareness away from consumer culture and toward sustainability; a silent plea for change. Today, Earth Hour is a worldwide movement that’s as widely recognized as Earth Day. Earth Day was established in 1970, and is celebrated in…