Steadily (and quietly), more electric school buses are getting on the road

Jan 20, 2023
The vehicles have struggled to gain traction, but school districts are being swayed by new funding options, as well as environmental and health concerns.
A Beverly Public Schools electric school bus charges in the parking lot. The district will get three more electric buses in spring.
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

Remembering Hazel Henderson and her legacy as environmental activist, futurist

May 26, 2022
Henderson was known for her work in evolutionary economics, including championing alternative measures of economic prosperity.
Hazel Henderson was known for her contributions to the field of evolutionary economics including championing alternative measures of economic prosperity.
Courtesy Ethical Markets Media

What common household items are worth recycling?

Aug 12, 2021
The first thing you need to do is find out what your local municipality accepts. And don't put recyclables in plastic bags.
A woman wearing a face mask and a plastic bag pulls a cart loaded with bags of recyclables through the streets of lower Manhattan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images

Biden climate team sparks optimism among environmentalists

Jan 11, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to make the environment a priority in an agenda that would reverse many Trump administration policies.
Gina McCarthy, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will be the first national climate adviser.
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

Backyard chickens have been hip for a while, but building them a $20,000 coop takes the trend to a whole new level

Jul 16, 2018
Backyard chicken keeping has taken off in the Bay Area as residents seek ways to disconnect from technology. Most people spend $1,000 or less on their birds and coops, but a wealthier subset of chicken owners have really gotten into it, in some cases sinking $20,000 or more into fancy heritage chickens and ornate homes […]
Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Ten years later, what we learned from WALL-E

“It's a wicked satire of American consumerism and of environmental degradation, but it also has this cheerful little character," according to sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson.
Wall-E arrives at the world premiere of Disney-Pixar's film Wall-E held at the Greek Theater on June 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. 
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images