Can products be better for people? Can buildings be better for the planet? Gradually, business is waking up to the fact that design can be beautiful and responsible.

An economics professor suggested we replace libraries with Amazon bookstores "to save taxpayers money" and the Internet went wild, with good reason.

This book full of small space design ideas is a handy tool for those wanting to get their own tiny house built.

Becker's latest work is not only a how-to guide, but an invitation to reevaluate all aspects of your life.

You'll be shocked to learn what goes on behind the scenes at grocery stores – and relieved to know there's a much better alternative.

These 131 exercises will teach you to block distractions and deepen your focus.

Author Cal Newport argues that it's time to make hard decisions about our digital lives and embrace a 'philosophy of technology use.'

This book explains how "one of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare."

It contains all the nutritional info, recipes, and moral support you'll need for a big dietary transition.

More than just a reflection of emotional states, a new study finds that dogs’ facial movement are potentially active attempts to communicate.

Watching a flock of 40 heritage birds grow proved to be an unexpected pleasure.

Researchers have identified many of the gestures that dogs use to get humans to do their bidding.

And it's available now across the UK.

Creative crafters can come up with all sorts of beautiful and innovative ways to

Every person interested in environmental issues is well aware of the dangers of species extinction and the importance of conservation

A venue which showcases and sells 100% locally produced design and artisan items while educating about sustainability and fair trade in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Has the Costa Rica Foreign Minister really just suggested that the Sea Shepherd founder might voluntarily go to Costa Rica to face trial?

A couple weeks ago, Jairo Mora Sandoval, a 26-year-old conservationist, was kidnapped by sea turtle poachers in Costa Rica. He was bound, beaten, and shot in the head. His body was found on the beach the next day.

"We don't want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way," says Costa Rica's Environmental Minister.

One way to guarantee a view and to tread lightly is to build high in the sky.

A new report ranks countries by their green investments, and also compares performance to our perceptions.

This container home in Costa Rica is almost a monster home, but has some interesting features.

Prices have fallen 12% thanks to this switch to renewables.

Other websites shriek "the end of capitalism" but really, it is hardly that.

Now if only he can keep his job in the fall election.

The graph says it all...

The map-makers are calling this the biggest change that they had to make since the breakup of the U.S.S.R.!

Tens of thousands of walrus haul out on Alaska’s shore.

Braving polar bears and subfreezing temperatures, years of preparation pay off for a University of Hawaii astronomy team.

Activists risk arrest in an effort to prevent slow oil drilling exploration in the Arctic.

Today, Shell announced it will abandon exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska.

More good news for the Arctic as the Obama administration pushes off further offshore drilling in Alaska.

NASA's monthly Puzzler is meant to puzzle readers; this one has the experts puzzled as well.

They call it a "one-off" but it is the shape of things to come.

There's a new polar bear live cam in town ...

A new NOAA report reveals we've lost 95% of the Arctic's oldest, thickest sea ice. Here's what that looks like.

Svalbard's wild reindeer are surviving warmer winters by foraging on, yes, seaweed.

In 40 days over the summer, the coast had retreated by 14.5 meters, sometimes more than a meter a day.

An Arctic explorer calls for 'party ships' to be kept out of this sensitive and remote part of the world.

A lot of our history is being lost so that people can get that popular look.

Every year we go look for the latest in sustainable design. Every year the post gets shorter.

A Brooklyn-based design studio turns to digital animation to generate the patterns for these striking rugs made out of recycled carpet pieces.

These unique, handcrafted rugs are made to emulate the look and feel of moss, grass, snow and sand, for enjoyment at home.

As John Laumer noted earlier, there is a lot of useful stuff in pee, but we dilute it with gallons of water, send it down big pipes mixed with everything else, and suddenly we have monstrous networks of waste piping, sewage treatment plants and water

Thanks to the internet, housesitters can now travel the world, living in different places for a few days or a few months for free, in exchange for taking care of an absent homeowner's property, pets or errands.

The International Joint Commission has developed a strategy for how U.S. and Canadian governments can address this toxic problem.

And it's not just lefty TreeHuggers who are outraged; Everybody is in on this war of words

The Polluted Water Popsicles project is meant to shock viewers into realizing how serious water contamination is in Taiwan.

When the oft-predicted water wars start, we're going to want this technology on our side. Let's hope it survives the budget wars.

The aquatic moss clears 80 percent of arsenic from a container of water in less than an hour.