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NEWS ABOUT: sustainability

Much of World's Tropical Forests Managed Poorly

Out of nearly 2B acres, 10% is being managed sustainably

(AP) - Large swaths of the world's tropical forests have been officially shielded from deforestation, but an international organization says that may not be enough. Much of the land kept for permanent use as forests isn't being managed sustainably—or being managed at all, according to a new report by... More »

6 Morsels of Good Foodie News

School lunches are improving; Walmart's into sustainability: Mark Bittman

(Newser) - Sometimes it’s important for a critic to drop the criticism and offer some praise. In the New York Times , Mark Bittman presents a taste of good news in the food world:
  1. Backers of better food policy are gaining real traction: The reauthorized Child Nutrition Act will improve school lunches,
... More »

Prince Charles: Save the World, Wear Vintage

Fashion world needs to reduce waste

(Newser) - Fashionistas can do their bit for the planet by wearing more recycled clothes and natural fibers, Prince Charles writes in Vogue . "Fashion clearly makes people feel good, but now it has to do the world good, too, by contributing to the creation of a virtuous circle, with nature protected... More »

3B Plastic Cups Undoing Green Mountain's Image

Coffee maker at risk of tarnishing 30-year track record

(Newser) - Business is booming for Green Mountain Coffee (today brings more good news, via Bloomberg ) but the company has much work to do to shore up its once unblemished green image, writes Olivia Khalili at Cause Capitalism . The problem is that most of its profit now comes from one-use-only plastic... More »

Restaurant Charges Extra for Not Finishing Meal

Leftovers are frowned upon at Wafu

(Newser) - Don’t even think about asking for a doggie bag at Australian restaurant Wafu. The chef not only charges diners who don’t finish their meal 30% more than diners who do, but she also asks them not to return. “Finishing your meal requires that everything is eaten except... More »

Brazil Using Condoms to Protect Rainforest

Sustainable condom project to use Amazon rubber

(Newser) - Brazil has unrolled an ambitious plan to preserve vast areas of the Amazon rainforest by tapping its rubber trees to make sustainable condoms. Most "rubbers" are now made from cheaper synthetic materials, but officials of the Brazilian government—which buys 1 billion condoms a year—say the project will... More »

Sushi Chefs Search for Bluefin Alternatives

Endangered tuna yields to farmed variety, humbler fish

(Newser) - As bluefin gets ever closer to extinction and governments mull a ban on international trade in the prized tuna, some restaurants are taking it off the menu. Others are sticking with the old favorite because it's what customers expect, but converts embrace the change. “It forces me to be... More »

'Hobby Farms' Cropping Up

USDA says small farms are becoming more popular even as large farms grow

(AP) - Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages, and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall. The 62-year-old, who gardens after his workday ends at his... More »

Forget Fur: New Celeb Cause Is Food

Overfishing, too much meat are the top causes

(Newser) - Protesting fur is so last decade. Celebrities are now championing their favorite food-related causes, whether it's Paul McCartney asking Brits to cut back on meat, Jamie Oliver refusing to serve endangered bluefin, or celebs lining up to publicize a new film about overfishing, the Guardian reports. Why now? Government inaction... More »

Want to Save the Planet? Stop Dumping on Frankenfood

Genetically modified products fight pollution

(Newser) - It's time for greenies to take another look at the frankenfoods they've been campaigning against. Consider the enviropig. It’s a pig with an extra gene that means less phosphorous in manure runoff, and it’s just one example of how genetic modification in agriculture can be good for the... More »

Bjork Banks on Girl Power to Save Iceland

Singer promotes venture-capital fund run by women

(Newser) - Quirky Icelandic singer Bjork is promoting a venture-capital fund run by women that will invest in socially and environmentally sustainable companies and, she hopes, help rebuild her economically stricken country. "Instead of talking about the problems we have, she is on a mission to build a sustainable Iceland that's... More »

Fliers Ease Carbon Guilt Via Donations

San Fran airport to offer pollution offsets at new kiosks

(Newser) - Guilty about the carbon footprint of your frequent flights? Have a few bucks to spare and time to kill at San Francisco's airport? The firm 3Degrees is banking on such a combination as it prepares to roll out the nation's first fleet of kiosks offering carbon offsets. No one is... More »

Gore: 5 Steps to Save Planet

Nobel laureate calls on Obama, new Congress to act now

(Newser) - The road to energy efficiency is paved with the same solutions needed to fix the economic crisis, Al Gore writes in a New York Times op-ed. Dismissing proposals for domestic drilling, the climate crusader says, “We simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical... More »

Kids Take Green Lessons to Heart, Then to Home

Kids are America's new eco-police

(Newser) - They’re watching. No, not surveillance cameras; the growing population of “eco-kids”—children who, lectured on sustainability at school and elsewhere, are pushing green practices at home. They rummage through garbage bins, agitate for hybrid vehicles, and even even turn off the water while parents are brushing their... More »

Overfishing Could Force You to Hold the Anchovies

UK conservation society puts briny salad-topper on ever-growing list of fish to avoid

(Newser) - Anchovies have made a list of "fish to avoid," the Guardian reports—and not for their salty pungency, but because overfishing has left stocks at unsustainable levels. The UK’s Marine Conservation Society—which ranks fish after assessing biology, stock status, and the impact of the farming or... More »

Fish Farms, Retailers Hatch Green Standards

Whole Foods leads way as aquaculture becomes eco-friendly

(Newser) - Supermarkets are tightening the net on farmed seafood products as demand for environmentally-friendly products grows, reports the Washington Post. Aquaculture now supplies more than half of America's rising demand for fish and shrimp and retailers are working with producers and green groups to make sure the farmed products are both... More »

Can Fish-Hungry Japan Go Sustainable?

Slowly, world's sushi capital seeing more eco-friendly seafood in supermarkets

(Newser) - Japan loves its fish: The island nation consumes an average of 147 pounds per person a year, compared to America’s 17. So, Samuel Fromartz wonders in Gourmet, how can Japanese fisheries continue to support supermarket fish counters as large as an entire US meat section? The answer, slowly gaining... More »

Brazil's Condoms Go Tropical

Rainforest rubber trees will help nation ween itself off foreign producers

(Newser) - Brazil buys more condoms and boasts more rainforest than any other country; now officials hope to connect the dots, the BBC reports. The government will use rubber from Amazon trees to make 100 million condoms a year, given out freely as part of the country's anti-AIDS program. Rubber can be... More »

Arabs Building First Green City

Run on solar power, Masdar City will cost $22 billion and take 8 years to construct

(Newser) - Earth's first carbon-free city is being built in the United Arab Emirates and will take 8 years and $22 billion to complete, the BBC reports. Called Masdar City, it will run on solar power and shuttle residents on travel pods via magnetic tracks. But critics say the $22 billion project,... More »

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