Each year, the U.S. discards 38 to 40 percent of its food, a stubbornly high figure. Yet, other countries like the Czech Republic, Israel, and Denmark show promising solutions that American cities are beginning to adopt. The global challenge is similarly daunting. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about one-third of all food…
You spend about a third of your life in your bedroom, and the air quality there could be quietly harming your health. A 2025 study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Global, which looked at data from 3,399 U.S. adults, found that higher levels of bedroom allergens were strongly linked to trouble sleeping,…
In parts of coastal North Carolina and Texas, homeowners who were paying one rate for property insurance in 2019 are now paying double, and that’s after adjusting for inflation. A February 2026 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the most thorough federal analysis of homeowners insurance markets in years, confirms what many Americans in…
Make Earth Day 2026 the next step in your response to the environmental damage inflicted by recent U.S. policy reversals that have gutted decades of effort to preserve the climate our species—and all of nature—depends on. EarthDay.org has declared this year’s mission, to make “Our Power, Our Planet” the basis of celebrations on April 18th,…
The global market for natural health products now exceeds $300 billion, and parents are leading the charge — looking for gentler, plant-based alternatives to synthetic medicines for their kids. Some natural remedies have centuries of traditional use behind them. Others have meaningful clinical support. And a few carry real safety caveats that are easy to…
Today’s inspiration and photo come from Earth911’s Mitch Ratcliffe: “The first step to sustainability is seeing that there is no boundary between you and nature.” This early morning shot of Waughop Lake in Western Washington caught ground fog between a cloudy sky and a perfect reflection in the water below. There is no difference between…
Americans throw out 81.5 pounds of clothing a year; two-thirds of it ends up in landfills. That’s no accident—it’s a fast fashion design principle that many have embraced. A December 2024 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that textile waste grew by more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2018, while federal agencies still lack…
Stewart Brand, who popularized the “blue marble” photograph that changed humanity’s perspective on the fragility of the Earth, points out that Californians and Europeans use half the energy of the typical American, without losing any quality of life. This quote comes from Whole Earth Discipline: Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, Restored Wildlands, and…
I must admit, I still get excited when an online order arrives at my doorstep, sometimes within hours or the next day. But once I open the box and unpack everything, I often find myself standing over the recycling bin wondering what to do with all the packaging. In that moment, the convenience of fast…
Fair Trade aims to create a more ethical and sustainable way of trading that puts people and the environment first. It offers a conscious alternative to global markets, where profits often come at the cost of farmers, fishers, and factory workers at the start of the supply chain. When you pick up a bag of…