Cactus leather can be used for handbags, shoes, furniture, and more. We look at its environmental impact and how it compares to cotton and leather.

Solar lights absorb the sun’s energy during the day and store it in a battery that can generate light once darkness falls. Like solar panels used to generate electricity, solar lights use ...

Pollinators aren’t the only bugs that can help your garden. Learn what beneficial insects can do for your garden and how to coexist with them.

Since the dyeing of synthetic textiles has its own environmental concerns, researchers are finding ways to reduce their impact as well. From using ozone, mordants, and plasma to make the fibers ...

Palm oil is a versatile vegetable oil that's ubiquitous in cosmetics and personal care products as well as packaged foods, cleaning products, and even biofuel. Making up a third of the global oil ...

A key difference between manufactured and modular homes is their building codes. Manufactured homes follow the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Code, while modular homes ...

Innovators, thought leaders, original thinkers, disruptors. Behind every idea that has inspired change has been a person or group of people addressing a problem and finding a better way.

Embodied energy refers to the total amount of carbon expended in the front-end creation of buildings. Learn how it is measured and why it's important.

Introducing a modern take of the pyramid of energy conservation. The Economist recently published an article around a problem it considers dire: draughty homes.It says "Britain's homes are among ...

Haley Mast is a freelance writer, fact-checker, and small organic farmer in the Columbia River Gorge. She enjoys gardening, reporting on environmental topics, and spending her time outside ...

Embodied carbon is most often used in the context of the built environment, where it is presumed to include emissions from raw material extraction, transportation of materials, materials wasted ...

These steps would improve livability while adapting to the realities of a rapidly destabilizing climate. Haley Mast is a freelance writer, fact-checker, and small organic farmer in the Columbia ...