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Eco Living
Campuses Fight Food Waste
Nov 14th, 2013 | By Nicole Rogers
From trayless cafeterias to thriving food recovery programs and composting, college campuses and students are tackling food waste and food insecurity nationwide. We highlight some effective programs.
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Food System
What Is Agroforestry?
Nov 12th, 2013 | By Cedric Rose
If you’ve ever sipped a cup of shade-grown coffee, you’ve savored the fruits of agroforestry, the subject of a new USDA report about an age-old practice now used by growers in developing nations to boost production and profits while conserving resources and promoting biodiversity. Using shade trees, an agroforestry practice called “forest farming,” reduces stress on coffee crops, retains moisture, and shelters pest-eating, pollinating critters, all of which means a better product and healthier operation.
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Eco Living
5 (More) Anti-Idling Heroes
Nov 8th, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
Back in July, we wrote about five people and organizations that were doing a great job of spreading awareness about idling. Every week we hear about more people and projects that are working to raise awareness about idling, so it's already time to expand our list.
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Transportation
8 States to Push Zero-Emission Cars
Nov 6th, 2013 | By Nicole Rogers
In October, governors from eight states, representing almost a quarter of the U.S. car market, announced an agreement to put 3.3 million zero-emission vehicles on the roads of their states by 2025. Here's a state-by-state snapshot of how these states support clean cars.
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Eco-Living
INFOGRAPHIC: Grow Where You Are
Nov 5th, 2013 | By Laura Waldman
After our recent interview with Dan Susman about Growing Cities, his new documentary about urban farming, we were inspired to translate the movie's core message—"Grow where you are!"—into a digestible guide. Whether it's planting a windowsill garden, joining a community garden or even building a backyard chicken coop, there are numerous ways to move from relying on factory farms to growing food for yourself and your community, even in a big city.
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Eco Living
How to Compost a Halloween Pumpkin
Oct 31st, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
It might be a stretch to think of pumpkins as food once they're carved and lit and spooky. But just as many resources went into growing your toothy jack o' lantern as did your lunch—and it will produce just as much planet-wrecking methane as it rots. If you don't want to be haunted by thoughts of your orange orbs contributing to the 40% of food we waste in this country, there are alternatives.
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Eco Living
Glad Takes on Food Waste
Oct 30th, 2013 | By Nicole Rogers
The fight against food waste is getting a boost from a major consumer brand. Glad, makers of plastic wraps, containers and food bags, launched a $10 million campaign this month to educate consumers about food waste and how their products can help reduce it.
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Food System
Behind the Scenes at a Zero-Waste Event
Oct 28th, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
Earlier this month, as the official Food & Waste Education Partner for the SXSW Eco 2013 conference in Austin, Sustainable America worked to capture and compost food waste from the third-annual event. Well, the numbers are in, and the conference was successful in diverting almost all of its waste—an impressive 97%!—to recycling and composting facilities instead of landfills.
Here's a look at what goes into corralling a bunch of sandwich crusts and compostable forks into the proper places so it can be recycled into compost rather than go to waste in a landfill.
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Transportation
Fuel From Landfill Methane Hits The Market
Oct 25th, 2013 | By Aubrey Yee
Clean Energy Fuel releases Redeem, a truly renewable natural gas fuel made from landfill methane gas, to be sold at 40 filling stations across California.
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Innovation
Ag Innovations: Robotic Bug Trackers
Oct 23rd, 2013 | By Amy Leibrock
Here's a head-scratching statistic: In 2010, crop growers in the United States lost $20 billion a year due to insect damage despite spending $4.5 billion on pesticide applications. It turns out that agricultural pest management is a surprisingly inefficient system that involves sticky traps, updating spreadsheets, and a lot of legwork.
An Indiana-based startup, has come up with a way to save growers legwork, hassle, and money—and reduce the amount of pesticides sprayed on crops—by automating the insect-tracking process. We spoke with Kim Nicholson, Spensa Technologies' vice president of business development, to learn more about the product and the company.
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