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  • Organic food healthier than non-organic, research finds

    Who woulda thunk: Organic food is healthier than pesticide-ridden food, according to preliminary results of a four-year study funded by the European Union. Researchers found that organic nosh contained more antioxidants (yum!) and less fatty acids (ew!) than non-organic. Organic milk was found to have up to 80 percent more antioxidants than conventional cow juice, […]

  • From Spooky to Spendy

    Mask your excitement Are you ready for a green Halloween, boos and ghouls? Get freaky with a pumpkin keg and vegan gingerbread massacre. We’re thinking about trick-or-treating as Cameron Diaz again, but maybe we’ll actually wear a costume this year. Photo: keith rocka A history of violence The Italian mafia has turned to environmental crime […]

  • Colleges graded on sustainability

    The Sustainable Endowment Institute has released its second College Sustainability Report Card, grading the environmentaliciousness of the 200 U.S. colleges with the largest endowments. Two-thirds of the schools received better grades this time around; the average overall grade was a C+, with six schools receiving an overall A- for their efforts. The colleges were graded […]

  • Pediatrician identifies five foods for parents to buy organic

    Like the sound of organic food but don’t have the wherewithal to overhaul your entire pantry? Parents should focus their funds on organic milk, potatoes, peanut butter, ketchup, and apples, says pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene. But that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to mash those five foods together and call it a healthy dinner.

  • NYT revs up special package on cars

    The New York Times published a gazillion-story special section on autos today, with many articles covering the green angle. Read up about General Motors’ electric dreams, the difficulty facing Hummer marketers, waterless car washes, and more.

  • Umbra on dishwashing and droughts

    Dear Umbra, I am trying to be so much more green than I used to be, so your column has helped me with the nagging questions. Now I wonder about living in a drought-stricken state with water restrictions and bulging landfills. Saturday I had a wedding shower for a dear niece and invited many women […]

  • Less hunters mean less funding for conservation, states find

    Many states are lamenting the declining population of a valuable species: the American hunter. Funds from hunting licenses and fees are generally directed to wildlife conservation; while the need to maintain habitat for wild critters isn’t going to go away anytime soon, the number of sportsfolk in the U.S. has declined by some 35 percent […]

  • Home lead-testing kits unreliable, says study

    If you rushed out to buy a home lead-testing kit when all of Junior’s toys were recalled, hope you saved the receipt: a new study says that over-the-counter kits, usually used to test paint, aren’t reliable for playthings. The Consumer Product Safety Commission put 104 kits to the test and found that 56 failed to […]

  • … or Kansas, for that matter

    Here’s what the sign says on the back of the bathroom door in our hotel: Hotel Laws of Iowa Fixing, Limiting, and Determining the Liability of Keepers of Hotels, Inns, Eating-Houses, and Steamboat Owners to Inmates Thereof. Sorry, was that … steamboat owners? Holy crap.

  • Umbra on Halloween

    Dear Umbra, We really enjoy the community aspect of trick-or-treating but we don’t want to give out candy to the little ones, or toxic plastic Chinese toys. Two hundred kids come to our house every Halloween. How do we keep it green, safe, and economical? Jodi McMillian Charleston, W.Va. Dearest Jodi, Two hundred children? How […]