They are becoming ubiquitous on city streets and country lanes alike: electric bicycles. Could they be the long-awaited game-changer in transportation that will help save the planet? What are the pros and cons of electric bikes? Dylan Bartlett of Get-Green-Now explores.
Using thick insulation, solar panels, a small heat pump and careful construction with quality materials, a “Passive house” in Maine keeps its owners warm with lower cost and energy usage than a typical house. Maine Public Radio reports. (Photo: Nikita Khandelwal via Pexels)
Smart phones are costly to buy, and manufacturing them takes a toll on the environment. So why do we insist on replacing so frequently as opposed to fixing them, as we do with our cars, asks Brian Chen of the New York Times. (Photo: Johann Larsson, Creative Commons)
As threats from climate change loom, advocates are advancing “degrowth” as a solution. Rather than constant economic growth, focusing on how to thrive—economically and socially—within planetary boundaries. (USDA photo by Lance Cheung)
A church in Connecticut cut its energy costs by 24 percent through an ambitious efficiency program. Yes, it cost money, but the savings paid for the program in just four years. (Photo: Miguel Tejada-Flores , Creative Commons)
Though much of the 380 million tons of plastic Americans consume every year bear the familiar triangle label that it’s recyclable, a new report claims the labels perpetuate a “fiction” that recycling can handle the waste. Grist reports.
Consequences of climate change are already “far-reaching and worsening” throughout the United States, posing profound risks, a draft federal report concludes. The New York Times reports. (Photo: Takver, Creative Commons)
Plastics, which do not biodegrade, are a scourge on the oceans. Currents have concentrated millions of tons of waste into giant “garbage patches.” Scientists are working to restore our oceans, the BBC reports. (Photo: NOAA)
The boom in online retailing has led to a boom in trucking and warehousing that is harming the environment and health, especially in poorer communities. The Sierra Club reports. (Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko, Pexels)
Our warming planet is changing the intensity, frequency and behavior of hurricanes, as evidenced by Hurricane Ian. Experts predict things will only get worse unless we get climate change under control. NPR reports. (Photo: NASA)
