>Great things often come in small packages, and when it comes to cleaning up the Bronx River, environmentalists are turning their attention to oysters—nature’s answer to improved water quality. A crew aboard a 100-foot barge dumped 120 tons of oyster shells into the river on Monday across from Soundview Park in hopes of spurring an oyster renaissance that will bring aquatic life back to the harbor. The shells will act as a base for 125,000 baby oysters that the group is planning to place on top of the shells in the future.
>Reflections on What Makes a Social Entrepreneur : Meet Curt Bowen, a social entrepreneur. Bowen observed that Guatemala has the 4th highest rate of malnutrition in the world, 79 percent of rural residents live under the poverty line, and 72 percent of the soils are severely degraded. He helped come up with a solution to this problem: pigeonpea. Pigeonpea helps rebuild soils and is a powerful tool against malnutrition.
Bowen adds, "Just like an entrepreneur may spend years in financial crisis and obscurity before they make it big, social entrepreneurs need to be focused, dedicated, and work hard for a long time with little pay off. We have to be visionary and yet extremely practical. And success doesn't come from the big crazy ideas--a lot of people my age have those. Success comes from the wisdom to pick the right goal and then the tenacity to keep at it, year after year, as you try to find that combine."
>When you live in a state that's defined by both brutal winter weather and delicious dairy products, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise when officials start to treat ice-slicked streets with salty mozzarella juice.
>Since declaring a break from acting to relax and "do good for the environment" back in January, Leonardo DiCaprio has more than delivered. The 39-year-old, who will next be seen in Martin Scorsese's "Wolf of Wall Street," has raised tens of millions forconservation projects through auctions and parties, invested in sustainable building projects, and now seeks to boost electric car sales.
Photo: Venturi Automotive
The actor has partnered with electric vehicle manufacturer Venturi Automobiles to create a racing team capable of competing in the new FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully-electric race series that begins in September 2014.
>Restaurants across the country soon will be able to let customers know how nutritious and sustainably sourced their food is thanks to the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC).
Launched as a pilot in Washington, D.C., the Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership (REAL) program uses third-party audits to certify the nutrition and sustainability of foods served at restaurants, as well as from caterers and food-service operations.
The goal is to develop a nationally recognized mark of excellence for the food industry -- increasing the sustainability of foods served while addressing the causes of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases. According to the USHFC, REAL signifies authentic, wholesome, nutritious and sustainable food.
>What Separates A Healthy And Unhealthy Diet? Just $1.50 Per Day?
>Obama’s Pollution-Control Agenda Goes to Court. Efforts to regulate pollutants that cause smog and soot, as well as mercury from coal plants, have moved in fits and starts for more than a decade. If both rules go forward it would cause powerproducers such as American Electric Power Co. (AEP) andSouthern Co. (SO) to shutter old plants or invest billions of dollars in pollution-control technology.
Photographer: AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images.
>What are ski areas actually doing to preserve the environment and the climate? TheNational Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has several programs in place to measure, encourage and acknowledge ski areas' efforts to protect the environment and operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. Sustainable Slopes is the primary program that NSAA uses to track the ski resort industry's progress towards greater environmental sustainability. The program monitors individual ski area efforts at reducing fuel consumption, investing in higher efficiency equipment, increasing recycling efforts, promoting clean water, and many other factors.
>The world has been fixated on going green, and now the attention is shifting beyond recycling and eco-chic living to a growing concern for the planet’s water, according to Ford’s 2014 Trends Report.
Ford identifies this trend as “Sustainability Blues” and says forward-looking brands are already investing time and money into better water management practices.