The Itsy-Bitsy Green Bikini: The Iconic Two-Piece Turns 63, Gets Recycled

It was 63 years ago today that the bikini was first unveiled at a fashion show. At the time, the skimpy swim suit was so scandalous that not a single model agreed to wear it down the catwalk--and in the end, designers had to enlist ...READ»

The Microgrid Stimulus Package

Via NPR's Planet Money blog, a savvy reader puts together his own personal stimulus package by becoming part of the microgrid: Clay from Maryland writes: I think did everything right. (and I'm pretty lucky) I ...READ»

Opinion Exhaustion: Skittles, President Obama, and the Assault of Everyone

Something new is happening on Skittles.com. The company isn't putting its real estate to work as a marketing platform--singing the vast and socially beneficial aspects of Skittles. Instead, they have turned their homepage over ...READ»

5 Steps To Building Your Microgrid Dream House

Small-scale, local power--the microgrid--is a big part of the path to sustainable energy (for more detail, read Why the Microgrid Could Be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis in the July/August issue). With today's rates and rebates, ...READ»

Al Gore: Oil "Junkie" America Needs Third World Help

The former Vice President, clean-shaven in a dark suit and black cowboy boots, pauses. "Junkies find veins in their toes, when the veins in their arms and legs collapse," he says to Charlie Rose. The audience suffers an ...READ»

Bamboo Living's School is Earthquake and Hurricane Safe

Traditional brick school facades could become a thing of the past as educational institutions aim for sustainability. Last week, I took a look at Project FROG's modular school design, and now Bamboo Living has announced that the ...READ»

Google, Yahoo Seed Funders Look to Energy-Saving Companies

In the May issue I wrote about how the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center is making efficiency sexy as an investment to Silicon Valley VCs and big companies alike. Now The New York Times has caught on, reporting that Sequoia ...READ»

• UC Davis's Energy Efficiency Center Makes Conservation Sexy

Fast Cities: Cleveland

One of America's most blighted cities, hard hit by rustification and foreclosure, is also home to one of its loveliest urban initiatives, a plan to create acres of tree nurseries, oases of native plants, and community gardens with bees and chickens.READ»

• Fast Cities 2009

Starbucks Loans Cash to Small-Scale Coffee Farmers

Complain all you want about Starbucks taking over the world--the company is at least trying to do some good in the process. The company announced plans last year to become the largest purchaser of Fair Trade coffee in the world. ...READ»

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Goes Green Collar

Industrial facilities conjure up images of smokestacks and pollution, but the Brooklyn Navy Yard is planning a series of sustainable buildings that could change how we think about urban industrial parks. First up is the ...READ»