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Scientists are fighting to save the banana

Don't take those cheap yellow fruits for granted! They're at the center of a great agricultural turmoil.




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Synthetic fabrics and car tires are major source of microplastic pollution

We hear a lot about plastics breaking down at sea, but scientists are discovering that a shocking quantity of plastic enters the ocean already in microscopic form.




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Ever heard of the powerful Balloon Council?

For almost 30 years the Council has been fighting against regulation that would limit balloons for environmental reasons.




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Palau becomes first nation to ban chemical sunscreens

The island nation in the western Pacific wants to protect its coral reefs from toxic sunscreen runoff.




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California teen collects 50,000 rotting golf balls from coastal waters

Alex Weber, 18, has just published a study that analyzes how these balls enter and degrade in the water.




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Mythbusting: Bottled water isn't safer than tap water

We are using way too many plastic bottles for no reason.




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Toyota to Go Bold In Bid to Revive Flagging Sales

Toyota Goes Bold Even Toyota, the maker of the much revered Toyota Prius, has been unable to escape the fallout from the economic downturn. In fact, Toyota just posted its first operating loss in 70 years, and the company is responding with bold plans




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Detroit Auto Show 2009: First Look at Toyota FT-EV Electric Car Concept

Diminutive but Electrifying The Toyota FT-EV electric car concept that debuted at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show is based on the platform of the 57 MPG Toyota iQ microcar that recently went on sale in Europe and that is apparently already a hit in




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Detroit Auto Show 2009: New 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid Will Get 50 MPG, Optional Solar Roof

Photo: Michael Graham Richard. Click to see 2010 Toyota Prius Slideshow.2010 Toyota^ Prius Hybrid: Hello WorldAfter some not too suspenseful waiting, here it is. The official debut of the 3rd generation Toyota Prius hybrid! You can see tons of




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GM Volt Versus Toyota Prius: Which Design Type Will Be More Effective At Reducing Stack & Tailpipe Emissions, And Energy Consumption?

This is one of those comparison posts that that could draw many angry comments: like Could Hype Sell An Inferior Hybrid? - Ford Fusion versus Toyota Camry did. Please carefully read the caveats.




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George Will Disses the Prius, Obama and the Facts

On This Week with George Stephanopoulos yesterday, conservative columnist George Will commented on President Obama's emphasis on green cars, now that the White House is arguably a co-owner of Chrysler and




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2010 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota FT-CH Hybrid Concept Might Join Prius Family

Photo: Michael Graham RichardPrius Might Become a Family, 8 New Hybrid Models ComingMaybe the rumors that have been floating around for a long time were true... Toyota said during its press event at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show that they are considering




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Toyota to Recall the 2010 Prius in U.S. and Japan for Braking Problems

Photo: Toyota Update: Kaizen Fail: Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Worldwide, Mostly 2010 Prius Models 311,000 Third Generation Prius Hybrids to be Recalled by Toyota It seems like Toyota has yet to hit rock bottom. Last week the NHTSA announced that it




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Kaizen Fail: Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Worldwide, Mostly 2010 Prius Models

Photo: Toyota Ouch We all knew it was coming, but now it's official. Toyota has formally filed a voluntary recall for 437,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide. Most of those are third generation Prius hybrids, but they're also recalling the few Prius PHEV out




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Zipcar Stops Renting 2010 Prius Hybrids Until Brake Problems are Fixed

Apologies for the bad Photoshop job... Photo: Zipcar Logo, Toyota Less Than 1% of Zipcar Fleet, But... I'm pretty sure that many TreeHugger readers are also Zipcar customers (car-sharing in general is booming), and chances are that with that crowd, the




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Looking for an Affordable Mercedes? Try the Hybrid

OK, affordable might be a bit of an overstatement, unless you're one of the richer tree huggers out there. We've told you before about Mercedes-Benz's hybrid S400,




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Toyota i-Road 3-wheeler launching in French carsharing & smart city scheme

I love this little vehicle. If it ever becomes commercially available outside of carsharing schemes, I may have to get one. Or maybe I should just start a carsharing scheme in my city....




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11 electric cars now under $27,000... in California

There are now 11 mass-manufactured electric cars that come in under $27,000 in California... after federal and California incentives.




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Toyota builds a wooden car designed to be a family heirloom

It's a TreeHugger dream: an all electric wooden car designed to last forever.




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Toyota will advertise its hydrogen fuel cell sedan with smog-reducing billboards

In a bid to highlight the clean air advantage of the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell electric car, the company is putting up pollution-scrubbing billboards.




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The problem with eco-labels on food

And why 'ethical' grocery shopping isn't going to save the world.




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First-Ever Recycled Vinyl Wallcovering

Wallpaper for commercial applications must be a hardy, sturdy product to withstand daily wear and tear. But vinyl is a TreeHugger no-way…unless it is recycled. LSI Wallcovering is making wallcovering waves with the market's first ever recycled vinyl




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A Healthy California School Lunch: Fruit, Veggies, And A Bit Of Lead

Vinyl man (pictured) may be disappointed. "The hundreds of thousands of lunch boxes given away by California state health officials over the last several years were designed to promote healthful habits, bearing slogans such as "Eat Fruits & Vegetables




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Quote of the Day: Michael Schade on PVC and Environmental Justice

Sam Suds and the Case of PVC The entire life cycle of PVC is an issue of environmental justice and racism. Many PVC plants are located near poor and communities of color. These facilities have poisoned workers and fence-line neighbors, polluted the




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Book Review: The Future of Nature

I have been reading two books at once, which is something one shouldn't do, as thoughts about each blend together. One is a dreadful screed by Andrew Keen called "The Cult of the Amateur," decrying the fact that bloggers are "amateurs without formal




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Eco-Flexx: A More Benign Billboard Material

Years ago, whilst working as a researcher for Greenpeace, looking at how effective its campaign had been to make the Sydney Olympics PVC-free, it became apparent to me how polyvinyl chloride so dominates certain industries. This is certainly true of




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Len-Tex's Surface iQ Wallcoverings Earns Cradle to Cradle Certification

Joining gDiapers, the US Postal Service and more, Surface iQ's commercial wallcoverings have earned Cradle to Cradle certification. The only printed commercial grade wallcovering to have earned this certification, Surface iQ's products have an




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February Deadline To Get The Lead Out Of Kid's Clothes & Toys: Recycling Allowed?

The US Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), under pressure to lessen childhood exposure to lead in toys and clothing, has set a deadline of early February 2009. That's




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Handmade Toys And Clothing: Threatened With Extinction Under US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), as passed by the US Congress in August, 2008, inadvertently threatens to take many handmade toys and children's clothing items off the market. According to the




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The Pluses and Minuses of Vinyl

In March, 2005 John Laumer wrote a defense of vinyl windows: Look Out Any Window; in March , 2006 I suggested that he was wrong in A Year Ago in TreeHugger: A Defence of Vinyl. In March,




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Terrific Green Tool: Precautionary List From Perkins+Will

Architects usually keep their proprietary research locked up and closely held. Perkins + Will has done the opposite and made it a public service. Launched at Greenbuild the Precautionary List is a compilation of available data on chemicals and




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Eco Reminders; Wall Stickers with a Poetic Message Help You Get Rid of Bad Habits (Photos)

Stickers can be fun, but how eco-friendly is this new craze for decorating walls? We have found two brands that claim their vinyls to be eco-chic, and some even come with decorative eco-reminders; very clever! Hu2 in the UK has just




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Susan Freinkel on Our Toxic Plastic Love Affair (Podcast)

It clogs our oceans and tampers with our bodies, yet without it, all modern life would skid to a stop. Susan Freinkel's new book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, explores the rise of plastic into ubiquity, hails it for its life-saving wonders, and explores




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Big Mistake: Hiring "Greenpeace Co-Founder" Patrick Moore To Peddle Vinyl Windows

They look so cute on their polyurethane sofa, in front of the wall of vinyl windows and doors, in the stock shot from the Canadian vinyl industry. The Vinyl salesmen are also




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Interface introduces vinyl flooring

This is what has been touted as the greenest company in America. Will they give vinyl a green sheen?




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The Pedal Wash makes a lot of sense; somebody should start a laundro-gym

Steven M. Johnson beats a whole lot of TreeHugger posts to the punch.




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Carry your cutlery on your face with the Goggle Cups

Steven M. Johnson's great idea for ultralight camping combines your dinnerware with your goggles.




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Hey Google, this rooftop solar cooker is perfect for your self-driving car

Why turn your car into a living room when it can also be a kitchen?




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Steven Johnson's transformer chair turns into a rowing machine

I could use this right now.




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Steven M. Johnson's adresses the problems of the tiny house/ shedworking movement

In one cartoon he solves a long list of issues that have kept it from going mainstream.




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Steven M. Johnson's idea for solar heating makes a lot of sense.

It's reminiscent of some other crackpot ideas from the seventies.




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Your office is in your car

Steven M. Johnson shows how the well-equipped mobile worker got around twenty-five years ago.




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Never leave the office when you have Steven M. Johnson's Office Sleeper

Work/life balance is over-rated anyway.




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It's not womens' metabolism that keeps them cool in the office; it's the men in suits.

And Steven M. Johnson has the answer to the problem.




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Steven M. Johnson imagined the shower of the future 25 years ago

Once again our favorite visionary was ahead of his time.




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Steven M. Johnson solves the Amazon office bathroom problem

And the Seattle housing shortage problem at the same time.




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Steven M. Johnson designs transformer furniture for the home/office

We have been showing these for years, but the artist/inventor beats us to the punch again




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City of Fresno legalizes tiny homes, and Steven M. Johnson is on it

Our favorite cartoonist solves a major problem with tiny houses.




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Bears Rescued from Illegal Bile Farm in Vietnam

Just days ago, 19 Asiatic black bears were rescued from an illegal bile farming operation in Vietnam. For six to seven years, the animals were kept




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Osprey Unpacks Their Sustainability Report for 2009

We've discussed Osprey packs in the past, particularly their Resource collection of packs with about 80% recycled content (see links below). Recently, we noted via SNEWS that they'd released their 2009 Sustainability Report, indicating