Free and green. Those are the goals of a pilot program launched today by the U.S. Postal Service that allows customers to recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge.
The “Mail Back” program helps consumers make more environmentally friendly choices, making it easier for customers to discard used or obsolete small […]

A group of volunteer engineers are finishing the design for a home-brewed wind turbine that will bring electricity to off-the-grid Guatemalan villages by this summer.
[…]
We’re shooting for under $100, which is a challenge, but we’re in that range.”
The effort comes amidst recent efforts to bring new light and power to small towns in the […]

It seems that sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money. Not a ton of gas and money if we’re talking about just you […]

The European Commission is developing legislation that will require minimum sustainability standards for biofuels development, European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said at the recent International Biofuels Conference in Brussels, Belgium, on July 5–6. As part of its ongoing energy strategy, the European Union (EU) has agreed on an action plan to have biofuels comprise at […]

BP backed down Thursday from its plans to dump more pollution into Lake Michigan, but critics want the oil giant to ensure its promises are legally binding.
Responding to a month of unrelenting criticism from politicians and the public, BP pledged it will not invoke provisions of a new permit that allows the largest oil refinery […]

Once the subject of science fiction and conspiracy theory, at least three different cars fueled by water are waiting to enter the market place.
Full Story: Alterati.
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A huge underground lake has been found in Sudan’s Darfur region, scientists say, which they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region.
Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan’s government, the Boston University researchers say.
Full Story: BBC News.
(via Ethan Zuckerman).
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EasyJet, the low-cost airline, has unveiled a design for a new “eco-plane”, capable of cutting CO2 emissions in half by 2015.
With the no-frills end of the market under attack for the surge in aviation and its impact on climate change, Andy Harrison, the company’s chief executive, has pinned his hopes on technology to improve the […]

Moving to shape a national policy on global warming, governors from California and four other Western states yesterday signed a landmark collective strategy to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from Santa Fe to Seattle.
Full Story: SignOnSanDiego.
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1. The overall decrease in armed conflict. With the Iraq war, the Darfur crisis, the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and other armed conflicts in the news (with good reason), it’s sometimes hard to remember that the world is actually much more peaceful now than it was just over a decade ago.
2. Steady donations for disaster relief. […]