Beaver Creek Housing Cooperative

Photo credit topgold via flickr. Last year at around the start of school, I just said no to new school supplies. We went through our house and found 90% of the supplies we needed (the pencils we gathered were a combination of unused and stubs we resharpened) and went out for a treat on the money we "saved." This year, living back in the U.S. the list of "required" supplies was longer and more specific ("2 granola bars, no nuts???"), leading me to ask myself: "Is my kid really going to use these 50 pencils I'm providing?" and more importantly, "Why are schools' a...Read the full story on TreeHugger

John Patrick Organic spring 2011 collection at New York Fashion Week. Credit: Emma Grady New York Fashion Week has officially begun in New York City. I started off a hectic week slowly at John Patrick Organic, winner of the Ecco Domani 2010 Sustainable Design Award, where the designer showed his spring 2011 collection -- 18 classic looks: made with sustainable fabrics, in neutral...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image from Daily Mail There must be something in the air, or the soil, but monster vegetables keep popping up in Great (!) Britain. First we have potatoes, the world's biggest potato to be precise. It weighs a whopping 8lbs 4oz, that's 9oz more than the previous record holder. The amateur gardener who grew it thinks that it bears a strong resemb...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Last month, my partner gave me a Fjällräven Kanken rucksack for my 30th birthday, and I have to tell you about it, as this is a classic amongst the eco-designs nowadays. I first spotted these slightly odd-looking bags in London many years ago, and learnt that they are a Swedish product, designed to last forever. When I received one in the mail recently, I got to know it a little better....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: sheppey cottage Each year in the EU nearly 12 million animals are experimented upon in the name of scientific research - but all that is set to change as stricter legislation on testing was passed today by the European Parliament. Among the sweeping reforms was an outright ban on the testing of our closest genetic cousins, great apes, as well as stronger restrictions on experiments involving all primates....Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Photo via Wired You may have heard of Simon Singh long before his name rose to the top of the list of those championing sound science: He'd written two bestselling books, Fermat's Enigma and the Big Bang. Despite the wide range of subject matter contained in those books, the topic that ended up casting him into controversy was much different -- a seemingly benign newspaper article about some of the pitfalls of alternative medicine. He ended up defending his career from a powerful group, the British Chiropractic Association, who sued him for li...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via News One Less dramatic than the fiery explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the multiple month-spanning underwater oil geyser that followed it are many of the BP Gulf spill's side effects. And oil-related sicknesses are undoubtedly among the thorniest -- many fishermen-turned cleanup workers have already been afflicted by close contact with oil and the chemical dispersents used to combat it. But there will probably be many ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Johnny Bahru via flickr. Large marine reserves aren't working to protect fish or coral--and therefore fishermen's livelihoods in the long term--and we should collectively shift towards more small reserves with fishing allowed in between. That's the word from the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health's Peter Sale. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image via California High-Speed Rail Authority In his Labor Day speech two days ago, the president announced plans for a $50 billion stimulus package that would take aim at updating the country's lagging transportation infrastructure. He called for Congress to approve an infusion of funds for highway, air traffic control, and, yes, high speed rail projects, that would lead to the "immediate" creation of jobs and give a boost to the economy. Obama said that the bill would be paid for by eli...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Ramanathan Kathiresa via flickr Another study detailing the negative environmental effects of continued tar sands development in Canada, and how independent review finds much greater impact that either the industry or government cares to acknowledge: The latest issue of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology has published a report showing that annual bird mortality in the toxic tailing ponds around tar sands project i...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service via flickr While BP just concluded that a whole slew of missteps led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent Gulf Gusher, so it seems a whole bunch of political squabbling seems to be holding up distribution of some $500 million in research money pledged to investigate the ecological effects of the spill. OnEarth goes into more detail, but this is the gist of it:...Read the full story on TreeHugger

BP has just released it's report on the events leading up to the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon and subsequent record-breaking oil spill. As was expected, BP attempts to spread blame across all the companies involved and says "a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgements, engineering design, operation implementation and team...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via ICUN According to a new report from The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN), a 5-year study involving 200 scientists has found that the flora and fauna of Africa's freshwater ways are threatened with extinction thanks to four main factors: agriculture, water abstraction, dams and invasive species. In all, 21% of the freshwater species are at risk, a huge number that turns right around to threaten the culprits -- the livelihoods of millions of humans are put at risk with such a loss. Despite the dire news, the report...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Those designing for small spaces can learn a lot from boats and travel trailers, particularly from European designs. Caravanning is a high-end luxury activity in Europe and some of the models put luxury yachts to shame. This Bürstner Averso Plus is pretty luxe, and has is advertised as the first ever with a drop-down bed. The image above is set up for dining, with the bed pulled up to the ceiling a...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image credit: SeedLiving Most TreeHuggers will tell you that without access to decent, viable seed, and without a system for allowing that seed to develop and adapt, the long-term sustainability of our food system is nigh-on impossible. Yet while some corporations are busy filing patents over soybeans, there are activists, farmers and gardeners around the world who are busy perpetuating and evolving what might be the world's oldest open-source project—seed swapping. From Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Dylan Bike. Photo via Organic Bikes Trial by fire is always the best way to go, right? Well...anyway. From September 20-25, I'll be putting one of the most interesting bamboo bikes on the market (as well as my body) to the test as one of 150 participating in climate awareness bike trip Brita Climate Ride. Over four days, I'll be pedaling a total of 320 miles across California with the likes of Chris Jordan -- the activist and photographer behind Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image credit: Adopt-a-Farmbox Childhood obesity, meat unfit for KFC being used in school lunches, food deserts, you don't have to look too far to find a broken food system—especially where kids are concerned. But there are plenty of people working like crazy to do something about it. One project is ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Sara Novak Can a cocktail be good for you? In moderation, we'd like to think so. The seven drinks here are packed with vitamin-rich fruit. Plus, the easy recipes are proof you don't have to pay top dollar for great cocktails -- you can make them at home....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via politicolnews.com While some farmers (and governments) support the use of genetically modified crops for their higher yield quantities and pest and weed resistance, others point out that the long-term effects of these gene adjustments just still aren't clear. From maize and eggplant to canola and potatoes, see how countries around the world are dealing with the pros and cons of GMOs. Read the full story on TreeHugger