Amy Westervelt

Schools that embrace eco-design and provide access to nature are teaching the next generation to care about the planet. Read the story. 

The current recycling system isn't delivering the environmental or economic benefits it was meant to, and many are calling for an overhaul of it. Read the story.

Amid concerns over the impact of disease and wind farms on bats, researchers are working to quantify the ecosystem benefits of the insect-eaters. Read here.

As dieticians broaden their focus to include the environmental impact of food, they're increasingly finding that what's better for the earth is often better for health as well. Read more.

Tesla’s announcement in April that it would be moving into commercial and residential energy storage was met with almost unanimous applause. The reality is not so clear-cut.  Read more.

A collaboration between Guardian UK and Climate Confidential examining population dynamics via personal stories from both experts and regular folks all over the world. Read more and more and, yep, more.

The decision between caged, cage-free or pasture-raised eggs might seem simple, but it isn't. What's best for the environment may not be best for the bird – or for people. Read more.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is investing $350 million in an ambitious redevelopment plan that includes a new model for getting around Sin City. Read more

Art professors and students lit fires under the civil rights and antiwar movements. Can they do the same for environmentalism? Read more. 

If companies are to help reach key climate targets and keep the world a viable place to do business, executives need to take a broader view – and pay attention to the latest science. Read more. 

Scientists fear that climate change could lead to more wildfires – and to lingering, expensive, public health crises as smoke spreads thousands of miles away from the actual fire sites. Read more. 

Some conservative groups are working not to discount the existence of climate change, but to craft solutions that eschew government intervention. Read more. 

Be wary of the booming market for pint-sized windmills. Read more. 

A look at the true environmental impact of recycling, and whether other end-of-life strategies for the disposal and re-use of consumer goods might be better for the environment. Read more. 

Scrappy American companies are exporting their drilling techniques to Europe and Asia, where fracking could face less regulation. Read more. 

Coke and Pepsi's plant-based bottles still damage the environment. Read more. 

A look at what sorts of green gadgets consumers can expect in the future, and which are worth trying out. Read more. 

Unlocking the eco-potential of deep-ocean water (written way back in 2006, this topic - ocean thermal energy conversion, OTEC - is still a hot topic.) Read more.

In the 1990s, Janine Benyus, a natural sciences writer and the author of several wilderness guides, began to pay close attention to how various organisms adapted to the ecosystems around them. That led her to wonder if similar strategies couldn’t be applied to the human problems of the day, and whether any such strategies were already being used. Benyus discovered that while people were looking to nature for advice sporadically, it was not a formal part of any design process. 

“I began collecting examples, as writers do, and at first it was a folder and then it was a drawer, and pretty soon it was an entire file cabinet, and I was looking at it, thinking this thing is getting pretty big and it doesn’t even have a name,” Benyus explains.

She called this emerging discipline “biomimicry” and in 1997 gathered her various examples of it in a seminal book called Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.  Keep reading.

A trio of renovations pack an eco-ingenious punch. Read more. 

VR promises to make us happier and more empathic. What happens when a brand-new and highly-immersive technology perpetuates the same old stereotypes? Read the story. 

Gender differences in health, and gaps in research. Read here. 

The most deadly form of breast cancer has gotten short shrift over the past few decades. Now activists and researchers are fighting back. Read the story. 

Men are cooking slightly more than they have in recent American history, and for many men, that means grilling. Which is great, except that the way most people do it spells trouble for both their health and the environment. What do experts suggest to combat these issues? More veggies, of course. Read more.
 

A four-part series looking at the health risks inherent in being female in America, ranging from gaps in regulation and research to products marketed only to women that include a heavy burden of toxic chemicals. Read the series here. 

A look at the mental health app boom and its impacts. Read here.

Science, psychology, medicine, philosophy and religion all agree forgiveness is good for us, but why is it so hard? Read more.

A blend of personal essay and reported feature on a novel approach to problem drinking. Read more. 

The surprising link between light pollution and breast cancer. Read more. 

New research indicates forgiveness is good for the heart in more ways than one. Read more. 

Analysis of the current state of research on phthalates in consumer products, and whether mounting concern over their potential health impacts is warranted. Read more.

The promise of saving money does not motivate behavior change. But researchers have more or less figured out what does. For decades, that information has been used to sell booze, cigarettes, and fatty foods to the masses.  Now some researchers and companies are hoping the same techniques that made America fall in love with McDonald’s can be used to stave off climate change. Read more. 

Food activists struggle to bring fresh food to West Oakland. Read more. 

Companies are increasingly tracking employee satisfaction. But will the trend have depressing consequences? Read more. 

A look at the rise and fall and rise again of breastfeeding in the United States. Read more. 

While federal legislation could weaken controls on hazardous chemicals, some state regulations are stepping up – and stricter corporate policies are already spurring some action. Read more. 

A new report shows that vitamin-enriched foods, originally developed to combat nutritional deficiencies, may actually be causing health problems. Read more. 

As everybody moves into virtual reality, who's making the rules? In this longform feature for Popular Science, I explore some of the more complicated questions around ethics, equality, and social responsibility as virtual reality goes mainstream. Read the story. 

Thanks to new equipment, doctors can see, and feel, a body in entirely new ways. Read the story. 

How virtual reality can be used to not only show people the future health effects of their current behavior, but also encourage them to change it. Read more. 

Augmented and virtual reality games focused on the environment are increasingly making their way into schools. Read more. 

A look at the use of virtual reality simulations to inspire pro-social behavior. Read more.

Devices and data can improve our health and enhance the environment. Read more. 

A look at how technology does -- and could -- influence behavior. Read more. 

Why the Military Hates Fossil Fuels - Read here

The Military's Green Tech Strategy - Read here

How the Military Uses Green Tech to Save Soldier's Lives - Read here.

New tools let shoppers find local stores and navigate them easily. Read the full story here.

A handful of new technologies let store owners transform their existing security cameras and digital video recorders into tools for boosting business and sharpening their marketing efforts. Read more. 

A look at some of the best cities in the country for cleantech. Read more. 

People are turning consumer tech into low-cost tools for medical measurement. Read more. 

Two social justice veterans meld Native American traditions with modern technology to create a better food system. Read the story. 

Why some marijuana growers are getting into salad greens. Read more.

Profile of Flower Muse, a husband-and-wife business that delivers fresh cut flowers from the farm to your table. Read more. 

Craft coffee is booming, but pricey beans don't translate to increased profits for farmers. Read more.

Small business profile on Stepping Stories, a startup that sells personalized, custom books aimed at various issues plaguing toddlers and their parents, ranging from starting school to food allergies to the death of a pet. Read more

Companies from Google to Bank of America are investing in ways to measure how happy their employees are--and how to make them happier. But does that mean work is getting better, or are we just being tricked into working more? Read more. 

Small designers are reaching out to customers online -- and offering lots lures to win loyalty. Read more. 

Small-scale food producers hit the challenge of scaling up. Read more. 

Open-book finance, an increasingly popular management system, breaks down the classic divide between workers and management — and could unlock greater productivity. Read more. 

A growing number of businesses are learning that employee satisfaction and employee productivity go hand in hand. Read more. 

As a growing body of research shows the economic benefits of a happy, healthy workforce, companies are exploring creative ways to encourage employee wellbeing. Read more. 

A look at Campbell's move to eliminate BPA from its can linings. Read more. 

Environmental messages have lost their appeal, so businesses are focusing on other strengths. Read more. 

A months-long series delving into the private label food business, who produces what, how transparency can work in an inherently opaque industry, and how it all impacts both food producers and consumers. Read more. 

On balancing work and motherhood in a society that provides little support for working mothers. Read the story. 

A look at what's happening in the media as native advertising and fake thought leadership take up increasingly more space. Read more. 

Personal essay about navigating parenting choices with friends. Read more. 

An insider's guide to how the media works. Read more. 

I have the equivalent of a huge, uh, package in this arena, but I hate the competition around it -- my friends who couldn’t do it had to deal with shame and guilt piled on by moms who should have been supportive. Read more. 

With a happy family and a career, I generally feel like I've got it made. According to the current cultural dialogue, however, I do not "have it all" -- I have two halves that don't make a whole. Read more. 

Gearheads have been around since the first car came out, but there's something different about Tesla fanboys (and fangirls). In this episode of Range, we dig into why. Listen to the episode.

Last year on his birthday, comedian W. Kamau Bell got kicked out of the Elmwood Cafe, in Berkeley, for talking to his white wife and her friends. In this bonus episode, he talks about what happened after that incident, how it continues to affect his life (and career), and what he's planning to do about it now that the restaurant's owner has stopped returning his emails.  Listen to the story. 

A South Lake Tahoe school is growing its own fresh and healthy food year-round.  Listen to the story.

How do you build a sustainable food movement in an area with a three-month growing season? In this episode of Range Podcast, we look at food hubs, growing domes and doomsday prepping around Lake Tahoe. 

A look at the coming virtual reality boom and the impact it's going to have on various industries. Listen to the story.

The CDC has been sounding the alarm about the link between antibiotics in meat and antibiotic resistance in humans, but a new report finds that antibiotic-free options are still relatively scarce. I talked to one Nevada rancher in Fallon who's made the switch. Read/listen here.

Although some in the state legislature are selling Nevada’s new education savings account program as a benefit for low-income students, many Washoe County families don't see it as a realistic option for them. Read/Listen here.

Despite increased awareness, the same number of women are dying from breast cancer today as in the 1970s. Read/Listen here.

Are pink ribbon campaigns sexist? That’s the charge some critics are lobbing at mainstream breast cancer organizations. Read/Listen here.

Nevada drew a national spotlight to the issue of public lands last year when rancher Cliven Bundy faced off against the BLM. Now it's back in the headlines after presidential candidate Jeb Bush announced his public lands plan in Reno. Read/Listen here.

 Nevada is in the process of rolling out its education savings account program, which gives parents funds for alternative schooling. Debates over the program are highlighting broader issues in education funding.  To begin with, the Nevada State Plan, which governs school funding in the state, hasn’t actually been updated since 1967. Read/Listen here.

Wanderlust is the ultimate contrast in terms. With its mix of yoga classes, retail village, and epic nighttime pool parties, the festival is equal parts wellness Mecca and networking hub for those in the yoga business. Listen to the story. 

A review of more than a decade’s worth of data on breast cancer and work reveals some surprising – and concerning – links, especially for salon workers. Listen to the story.

The humane societies in Reno and Truckee have some of the highest adoption rates in the country, but recently they’ve seen a spike in the number of people giving their pets up for adoption.  Listen to the story.

Wildfires in the West are getting larger and more intense every year. Right now, 66 large fires are burning in 11 western states, consuming more than a million and a half acres. California and Nevada rank in the top 10 most wildfire-prone states in the country. But researchers are pushing some new thinking around fire, and ideas for protecting your home. Listen to the story.

A look at how the U.S. Forest Service's "assisted migration" strategy. Assisted migration is a relatively new idea and refers to the strategy of moving species around in anticipation of climate change. While the forest service is embracing it, not all tree lovers think it's a good idea. Listen to the story.