Utility company’s bee hives and solar garden produces sweet results

Connexus Energy’s solar garden produces both renewable energy and honey!

As the prices drop for solar panels, solar has gained incredible popularity over the past few years. From home use to huge commercial arrays, solar has become a fixture in the American landscape for green energy.

Utility companies have jumped on the solar bandwagon. Solar is increasingly becoming a part of utility companies portfolio and strategic plan. Minnesota’s largest member-owned electric cooperative, Connexus Energy, has gone one further. It’s created a first-of-its-kind solar garden that not only produces energy but honey as well.

Roundup without Glyphosate? They have it, just not in the U.S.

Roundup and Monsanto have been taking some pretty hard hits from environmentalists, farmers, scientists and others because of the highly toxic main ingredient glyphosate. Even though the EPA, now being strong-armed by our current administration, never finalized its findings about the chemical’s toxicity, there’s plenty of evidence around the world that this is a seriously bad thing for the environment.

But there may be a small ray of hope out there.

This year’s best and worst “Green” cities

As consumers demand more green – in their products, building materials and in sustainability of companies they deal with, cities in the U.S. are ramping up their efforts to accommodate.

According to the Pew Research Center, 74 percent of Americans support efforts to protect the environment. To honor this National Energy Awareness Month, the personal-finance website conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Greenest Cities in America. The website’s analysts compared the 100 largest cities across 20 key “green” indicators. These ranged from “greenhouse-gas emissions per capita” to “number of smart-energy policies and initiatives.”

Help innovators save our oldest champion trees

The world has lost over 90 percent of its old growth forests. And we’ve lost 95 percent of our magnificent redwoods. Those that remain are threatened by logging and climate change-related insect epidemics.

While a number of organizations and NGOs are working on reforestation projects around the globe, one group has been striving to save the remaining “champion” ancient trees and their genetics for future generations to appreciate.

8 members of Congress honored for defending wildlife and the Endangered Species Act

Many Americans have bones to pick with our members of Congress over a variety of issues. But sometimes, some of them do get it right. This evening eight members of Congress were honored for their staunch defense of wildlife and of the Endangered Species Act.

The “Champions of the Endangered Species Act” reception in Washington, D.C. features former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and honors Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and House members Don Beyer (D-VA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Betty McCollum (D-MN), and Niki Tsongas (D-MA).

Dart tells New York City’s Mayor – Don’t landfill polystyrene, let’s recycle it!

The nationwide movement to take the pressure off our landfills just got another ally. Dart Container Corp. – a leader in the polystyrene foodservice product industry that I’ve been writing about since 2009.

Dart’s President Jim Lammers recently released a video aimed at New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, urging him to recycle, not landfill, the city’s styrofoam.

Protect our environment from improperly disposed meds on this World Environment Day

Today is World Environment Day. This isn’t a take-off-from-work holiday and probably a lot of folks may not even be aware of it at all. But as more awareness grows about climate change, the growing worldwide drought and ensuing water scarcity, it’s important to note that what we do has an impact on our surroundings – on our environment and particularly on the availability and drinkability of clean water.