From dead chickens to old potatoes to crab scraps — if a smelly material is causing problems, Will Brinton has a recipe to make it go away. Brinton, president and founder of Woods End Research Laboratory in Mount Vernon, Maine, is developing new methods to compost animal and vegetable garbage that decomposes too slowly and [...]

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While many people take good care of their automobiles, statistics indicate thousands of others don’t. One quarter of the vehicles on the road cannot pass emission inspections, according to the Car Care Council, while another 21 percent have underinflated tires. When it comes to the environment, this neglect spells trouble.”Every 60 seconds, 70 million gallons [...]

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In an attempt to keep more paper in the recycling process, Adhesives Research Co., of Glenrock, Penn., has developed a new recyclable label. “A lot of paper products are labeled — envelopes, newspapers, reports, you name it,” said Rick Alexander, market manager for Adhesives Research. “That material can’t be recycled into more paper without removing [...]

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Liquid-pouch packaging, which takes the place of rigid plastic bottles, is one example of source reduction whose time has arrived. While its popularity has grown in Europe and Canada during the past few years, the flexible-pouch concept was first patented in France in the early 1960s. It is now being used for the first time [...]

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Anyone with a sweet tooth and conscience should love the idea behind EnvirOmints — eat chocolate and save animals from extinction. Since May 1990, the EnvirOmintal Candy Co. has been producing chocolate mint squares and giving away 50 percent of its profits to qualified nonprofit organizations working to save endangered animals and their habitat. “We [...]

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When a tree falls in the rainforest, good things can start to happen. Since the 1970s, Dr. Gary Hartshorn has studied how natural tree falls create openings or gaps in the rainforest canopy and allow for the regeneration of native trees. “Initially, I was surprised by the results,” he said. “They indicated that many native [...]

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New Mexico is setting an environmental example while putting a new twist on the nation’s Christmas tree this holiday season. In the past, Christmas trees displayed at the U.S. Capitol have all been cut. But this year, New Mexico carefully removed a 60-foot spruce tree for transport to Washington, D.C. — complete with a 50-ton [...]

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Where did Henry Ford go wrong? When he first designed the Model T, he wanted it to run on an agriculture-based fuel — ethanol. But it wasn’t long before those plans were switched to use a petroleum-based fuel — gasoline. As anyone who drives a gasoline-powered vehicle knows, the rest is history. Americans have since [...]

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It’s possible to save money while saving the environment — that’s the message the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promoting through its innovative Green Lights program. By encouraging U.S. corporations to install state-of-the-art lighting in their facilities, the EPA is promoting both energy efficiency and pollution prevention. Companies that join the program will profit by [...]

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By getting thousands of residents excited about using their green thumbs, Newark, N.J., is turning its vacant lots into prosperous, blooming gardens. Because the city’s urban gardening program is coupled with a leaf composting project, it helps reduce landfill costs while beautifying plots of land that were once eyesores, said Frank Sudol, manager of the [...]

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