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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The telephone always has had the potential to be a powerful environmental tool. Like many things, it’s up to the user to realize all of the possible benefits. Just one phone call can save plenty of time, energy and pollution when the alternative is jumping in the car. And with little effort, the telephone can [...]

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Anyone in pursuit of job security should take a look at the oil spill cleanup business. With about 10,000 spills on America’s waterways every year — or one spill every 53 minutes — there’s plenty of work. And if you count chemical spills, the numbers triple. Dr. Roy Hann, Jr. has been leading the fight [...]

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Turning the fruits of a recycling program into tangible results has proven hugely successful for the Chicago Park District and the city’s residents. Chicago’s 563 parks are now being covered in garbage. But it is in the form benches, playground barriers and other items composed completely of plastic donated by residents in the city’s Plastic [...]

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Incorporating such diverse items as coffee filters, old tires and plastic left over from the production of disposable diapers, an Oregon company has created a walking shoe made entirely of recycled materials. Julie Lewis, founder of DejaShoes, says the shoe meets all the technical qualifications of a good walking shoe, including a beveled heel, arch [...]

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The first ever “tree clause” in a book contract allows environmentally minded authors to symbolically replace the trees used in the printing of their works. Harper & Row in San Francisco developed the clause at the request of Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead music group, for his book, Drumming at the Edge of [...]

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Earth Corps, a new YMCA program expanding across the nation, is allowing high school students the opportunity to take charge and promote environmental issues and actions. Created in Seattle, Wash., the original program quickly grew from 270 participating students to more than 1,500 students from 43 different schools. Earth Corps programs are now under way [...]

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If you keep the environment in mind while shopping, your efforts are making a difference. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently tracked several environmental issues on behalf of the supermarket industry and found that consumers are changing their purchasing habits to help the environment. These findings should help change the way the industry does business. [...]

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Wetlands are to nature what kidneys are to the human body. By using these natural kidneys as filters, a South Carolina county is processing wastewater in an energy efficient manner while leaving the wetlands unharmed. In Horry County — South Carolina’s fastest growing county with Myrtle Beach as its hub — a sewage disposal system [...]

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