5 American towns leapfrogging toward a greener future
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BC-ENV-GREEN-TOWNS:MCT (1077 words)
Things don't look good on the climate change front on both the global and national levels, as the world's superpowers continue to delay taking action toward reducing world greenhouse gas emissions and American politicians continue to debate the importance (or existence) of global warming. As depressing as things are at the top levels of governance, there are some bright rays of hope to be ...

Nov/26/2012 08:19 AM

Sandy's devastating tree legacy
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BC-ENV-GREEN-SANDYTREES:MCT (1209 words)
Numerous studies have shown that trees add value to homes and communities. A study of 3,229 municipally owned trees in Wooster, Ohio, in the summer of 2010, for example, found that each tree provided $83 in benefits annually, said Susan Littlefield, a horticulturalist with the National Gardening Association. The study found that the economic benefits of storing carbon, removing air pollution ...

Nov/26/2012 08:09 AM

Green section being discontinued
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BC-ENV-GREEN-ADVISORY:MCT (203 words)
The premium niche package Green is being discontinued and the FINAL SECTION moves today. Green fixtures - articles from Angie's List, EarthTalk, Sandy Bauers (Philadelphia Inquirer) and MNN.com - will be distributed into the premium package What's Next, which moves Tuesdays. Other environmental content will move in regular subscription sections such as Lifestyle, News and Newsfeatures. ...

Nov/26/2012 08:07 AM

'Tis the Season for Consumerism: now there's Green Tuesday
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BC-ENV-GREEN-SHOPTUESDAY:SJ (363 words)
This is the time of year when journalists try to come up with a new and exciting way to cover the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping ritual known as Black Friday. Or Small Business Saturday. Or Cyber Monday. Now I've been reminded that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been declared "Green Tuesday" by Jonah Mytro, the co-founder of the daily deals website GreenDeals.org, which launched two years ...

Nov/26/2012 08:04 AM

From goat to hero in town cleanup
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BC-ENV-GREEN-GOATS:PH (1389 words)
The officials in Millbourne Borough, Pa., were at an impasse with an impenetrable, seemingly invincible enemy: the tangle of weeds on a hillside near the western reaches of the Frankford elevated train line. Volunteers had failed to clear the mess. The bank was steep, so mowing was out. Herbicides might foul the area's creek. Finally, weeks ago, officials brought in weed control's top guns: ...

Nov/26/2012 08:04 AM

How many goats do you need to eat your lawn?
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BC-ENV-GREEN-GOATS-CALCULATOR:PH (495 words)
Goats are weed-eating powerhouses. They've always done that job on farms, of course, but now the critters are being seen as an eco-alternative to fuel-guzzling mowers, herbicides and weed-yanking volunteers who for some reason don't relish wading into a patch of poison ivy! Not long ago, a fun and funky blog by Movoto, a real estate group, posted an online calculator for figuring out how many ...

Nov/26/2012 08:04 AM

Brazil hopes to save species by cloning them
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BC-ENV-GREEN-SPECIESCLONES:MCT (900 words)
Brazil's native wildlife is vanishing, losing critical habitat as farmers, ranchers and loggers raze the country's renowned wilderness. But while conservationists struggle to stop the deforestation, some Brazilian biologists are pushing a more controversial idea: They want to save endangered species by cloning them. The project is still in its infancy, and no cloned jaguars or tamarins will ...

Nov/26/2012 08:03 AM

EarthTalk: What are the new nutrition standards for school lunches?
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BC-ENV-GREEN-EARTHTALK:MCT (939 words)
Dear EarthTalk: What are the new nutrition standards for school lunches that have some students boycotting their cafeterias and discarding the food? - Melissa Makowsky, Trenton, N.J. Indeed, some 31 million American kids participating in the federally supported National School Lunch Program have been getting more whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables in their diets - whether they like it ...

Nov/26/2012 08:03 AM

An eco-friendly remodel can leave more green in your wallet
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BC-ENV-GREEN-REMODELING:MCT (1000 words)
There are a number of ways homeowners can remodel their homes to make them greener, from using eco-friendly products, to improving their energy efficiency. In addition to being a good steward to the environment, homeowners who go green in their remodeling efforts will often see more green in their wallets. Even the smallest green changes can have a positive economic effect. "As energy prices ...

Nov/26/2012 08:03 AM

Rockin' around a plastic tree?
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BC-ENV-GREEN-TREE:DE (904 words)
Environmentally and economically responsible or a holiday sacrilege? The City of Birmingham, Mich., has given up on its sentimental favorite - a really unattractive live Christmas tree - for a handsome, 35-foot-tall pre-lit fake. "They're just so good at making them look so realistic now," John Heiney, director of the city's Principal Shopping District, said of the new tree, a blue spruce ...

Nov/26/2012 08:02 AM