By John DeFore

It may rank among the “Least Wanted” plants in North America (the state of Washington describes it as noxious for its ability to crowd out all other vegetation), but the Japanese knotweed may be good for something after all.

Dr. Pam Marrone, founder of Marrone Organic Innovations announced at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society the development of a new biopesticide made from knotweed extract, one that will be appropriate for use by organic farmers who shun conventional pesticides. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

Some things just make sense, like the Phoenix Suns using the desert sun to help power the US Airways Center where they play.

The basketball team, electricity provider APS and the city of Phoenix announced Thursday that the utility and the team have teamed up to install a 194 kilowatt photo-voltaic system on the fifth level of the US Airways parking garage. The system will cover about 18,000 square feet and produce more than 330,000 kilowatt-hours each year - enough to meet about one-quarter of the Casino Arizona Pavilion’s power needs. The  Pavilion encompasses the 50-high glassy grand entrance to the arena; its escalators, ticket windows and the Starbucks. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

College-bound high schoolers looking for an environmentally conscientious college should have no shortage of guidance this year. The Sierra Club has joined the Princeton Review in assessing the green creds of U.S. universities.

Actually, the venerable environmental group was first out with the idea, launching a “Cool Schools” rundown in 2007. Their second annual review, in the group’s Sept./Oct.Sierra magazine, settles on list of the top ten campuses — Ten That Get It — that includes colleges of all sizes from the East to the West. [Read more →]

By John DeFore

With the locavore ideal so much in the media these days and produce of vague origin sparking so many health scares, you’d think the last thing a city would go out of its way to do would be discourage local growers. Especially if those growers are adorable little girls. [Read more →]

By John DeFore

Add this to the list of “pros” when weighing the purchase of a hybrid car: It might get you a better parking spot.

More and more around the country, retailers, employers and cities are toying with the idea of setting aside prime parking spots for hybrid drivers. Just last month, the Houston Chronicle ran a piece citing trials by big box retailers like Home Depot and Office Depot; the Austin American-Statesman found a gym that allotted a whopping 30 spots for green cars, and Suffolk County, NY legislator Wayne Horsley proposed a law to establish “hybrid-only” spaces at all county facilities. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

eBay announced this week that it will pave the way for eco-conscious consumers with a new marketplace dubbed “WorldofGood.com by eBay”. Designed to help shoppers find green and socially responsible products, the new shopping site will feature items made from recycled materials, organic raw goods and artisan wares produced by people in developing nations.

The partnership between the world’s largest online marketplace and World of Good, Inc., a start-up that aims to bring ethically produced goods to retailers, makes a certain sense. [Read more →]

By Kelly Rondeau

Three major charities — The World Wildlife Fund, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and ninemillion.org– benefited from the Nike + Human Race 10K on Sunday, an event billed as the World’s Biggest Race that involved 25 races in 25 cities around the globe.

Thousands of runners turned out for the 10K in the North American host cities of New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago and Austin, as well as around the world in other major cities such as Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vancouver, Lima, Instanbul, Singapore, Melbourne, Warsaw, and Seoul. Collectively, the runners logged more than 3 million miles, according to Nike, with each mile producing more money toward the three charities. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

Satellite pictures of the Arctic suggest that this year’s summer melt likely will be worse than last year’s, providing a dramatic demonstration of how global warming can snowball — no pun intended.

As the ice melts back farther and farther each summer, it loses its ability to reflect heat from the earth, becoming a contributor to, as well as a victim of, global warming. In addition, as the permafrost of the Arctic regions warms, it releases stored carbon, adding to greenhouse gases, and furthering the escalation of warming temperatures, scientists say. All this bad news, unfortunately doesn’t have any quick fixes, but will continue escalating until and unless global warming is stalled or reduced. [Read more →]

By Harriet Blake

Nuclear power may be a viable solution to our energy needs, but many questions surround its safety.
In New York, especially after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in nearby Pennsylvania, future plans for the nuclear power plant in Indian Point have come under fire. Until recently the debate has been a financial one between the plant’s owner and the state of New York. But last week, a new report in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America brought up the danger of potential earthquakes beneath the plant, that could have grave consequences. [Read more →]

By John DeFore

For a movie that explicitly addresses the perils of overconsumption, Pixar’s WALL*E is being used to promote an awful lot of consumer products.

One tie-in in particular is rankling Greenpeace. It seems that the lovable robot’s image has popped up on boxes of Kleenex, a product the activist group has criticized with a “Kleercut” campaign that asserts, “it takes 90 years to grow a box of Kleenex” because the product’s manufacturer Kimberly-Clark “all but refuses to use recycled paper in its products.” (Among other things, they’re trying to get parents and teachers to reject the company’s tissues in classrooms.) [Read more →]