The Vitals Over the past 40 years, the distributions of income and wealth have grown increasingly unequal. In addition, there has been growing understanding that the United States faces a long-term fiscal shortfall that must be addressed, at least in part, by raising revenues. For these and other reasons, proposals to raise taxes on wealthy…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by the Senate on March 25 and expected to be rapidly approved by the House and President, is the largest aid package in history. The bipartisan deal allocates $2 trillion in an effort to mitigate the mounting fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, including $1.5 trillion…

Today at Claremont McKenna College, a new bipartisan public forum—the Dreier Roundtable—will convene leaders in politics, business, journalism and academia to hold constructive, substantive discussions about immigration reform. Just days after the midterm elections of 2014, the panel of experts will examine the strengths and weaknesses of current immigration policy and debate the economic and…

If the intended aim of the new round of U.S. sanctions were to change Iran’s behavior, it already has. Just not the behavior the Trump team had in mind—Iran abandoning its pursuit of pro-market economic reforms. President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected twice, in 2013 and 2017, on a platform of liberal economic reforms, has…

Over one billion plastic cleaning containers go into landfill each year, according to the Canadian eco-cleaning company Planet People. And did you know that the majority of household cleaners are 95 per cent water and only five per

We have seen this movie before.

The differences between the new prefabs by Philippe Starck for RIKO and the Bright Built Homes are instructive.

Love is often said to blossom, but a new government initiative in the Indonesian district of Garut aims to make that metaphor literal by requiring newly married couples to plant 10 tree saplings.Two years ago, Indonesia

The French agriculture ministry has sentenced Emmanuel Giboulot six months in jail for not taking preventative measures against a bacterial vine disease.

Using recycled materials and audio recordings from refugees, this exhibition hopes to deepen understanding and connection with those who have had to flee their home countries.

When Go Play! announced a competition to design an innovative playground for 1,000 refugee children along the border of Thailand and Burma, Dutch designer AnneMarie van Splunter thought of old car tires. To

Marrying the traditional material of bamboo with modern engineering, this impressive sports hall in Thailand was constructed without steel reinforcements or connections.

A recent post that claimed readers absorb less from e-books. I wonder (and so do many commenters) if that's really true.

Among the more high risk methods of geoengineering, methods that reflect sunlight away from the Earth to counteract temperature rise are right up there in terms of potential unintended consequences. Well, a new piece of

This compact shelter is a place for a family to spend their summers in the middle of nature.

Tourists can witness it firsthand, thanks to Intrepid Travel's partnership with a local NGO.

Samuel James captures must-see photos of bootleg oil refining taking place in Nigeria's Niger Delta.

Art meets accidental crowd-sourced recycling.

Reducing meat consumption is one of the best ways to help the environment. A new book offers many ideas for how to make it happen.

This company is working to build a network of urban prefabs under a 'pay-as-you-go' model of home ownership.

But more than that, the film is a love story about cooking and gardening -- and the importance of regaining control over where our food comes from.

This compact, wood-clad cabin is made as a comfortable eco-hotel suite in natural settings.

Using modular components pre-made in a factory, this modern home is airy, light and adaptable.

It is by far the most energy efficient way of packaging beer. It tastes better and there is no BPA.

I did it so you don't have to.

This modern prefab from Italy is conceived with energy efficiency and ease of assembly in mind.

Eco-conscious clothier Reformation has gained popularity with a number of celebrities.

Forget about 3D printing houses; digital fabrication using sustainable materials is a much bigger deal.

Made with a tight budget and schedule, this structure was up and running within a matter of weeks.

From mislabelling to plastic contamination, eating fish isn't as safe or healthy as most diners would like to believe.

Their priorities certainly are different than ours are.

Most refugees live in refugee camps for an average of 12 years and most of that time it's in drafty, tattered tents. Now IKEA has a solar-powered camp house that is flatpack and quick to assemble.

These designs from Leckie Studio and the Backcountry Hut Company are lovely to look at, but what are they really?

Made right in downtown Los Angeles, this prefab unit is made with an innovative recyclable and recycled panel system.

By next year at this time, all straws in SF will be made from paper, bamboo, wood, metal or fiber.

Last Saturday's Marathon Oil refinery explosion and fire was yet another dangerous, polluting event in a string of environmental injustices to plague the residents of the 48217 zip code in Detroit

It's going for every label from LEED to Living Building Challenge

The Echmiadzin Cathedral complex in Armenia is one of 12 spiritual destinations that are becoming more sustainable.

In a country covered in wood, by a lake far from construction workers, it makes so much sense.

Though it was announced over two weeks ago, perhaps because of Exxon's backing of Synthetic Genomics, Dow Chemical's backing of Algenol Biofuels is getting a bit more play. Together they will develop a pilot-scale algae

This week USEPA announced that the maximum ethanol content of motor fuel sold in the USA would be allowed to rise from 10% to 15%. Positives of the Agency's decision are: reduced dependence on foreign

It has rejected recommendations that could divert some of the 300,000 tonnes of clothing that go to landfill each year.

It sounds counter-intuitive to say the least, but a team of scientists has discovered that running barefoot is better for your feet. What!

photo: Rebecca Wilson/CC BY Editors note: The following guest post is by Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati an American-born renunciate at Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh, India (full bio below). While this post may be a bit broader than other items in the

When I wrote about Robert Llewellyn's solar car charging in rainy England, commenters noted that solar at home is unlikely to benefit most car drivers, as they will typically charge overnight. Situations will obviously vary

photo: J. Novak Food Freedom recently reported that Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, peasant farmer leader of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the entry of Monsanto seeds into Haiti "a very strong attack on small agriculture, on farmers, on

Our bet: no.

We are by no means helpless in the face of climate change.

This is a very big deal, but just the first of many more bigger and harder deals that we need.

After ten years of work, the Antarctic Heritage Trust has done an amazing job of restoring and preserving.