With media coverage of the country’s worst oil spill fading away, recent decisions on how to handle tens of thousands of tons of boom and oily waste are going to affect people along the Gulf for years to come.

That’s because BP is relying on public complacency to get away with dumping its clean-up waste in local landfills, where hazardous oily residues and chemicals, like benzene, will either slowly slither their way into nearby water streams or evaporate and affect air quality. While this pl… Read the full story on TreeHugger

Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has been the EPA’s most effective tool for combating air pollution. When it was first enacted, the Clean Air Act only covered five pollutants. But over the last 40 years it has been amended to protect the public from dozens of additional dangerous pollutants.

But air pollution doesn’t stop at state lines, and as a result people throughout the country are forced to breathe unhealthy air. EPA’s proposed Good Neighbor Rule will help states be good neigh… Read the full story on TreeHugger

Earlier this month, we told you about UncommonGoods’ open design contest, looking for the next great eco-friendly invention. This week, the judges of the YouGoods contest, including TreeHugger founder Graham Hill, chose three finalists, based on the criteria that they be “unique, economical, and eco-friendly.”

Still in the running are: a reusable grocery bag with a built-in dry-erase shopping list, a double-wall t… Read the full story on TreeHugger

In the months since “Avatar”struck major environmental themeswhile banking nearly $3 billion, James Cameron, an avid environmentalist, has been very busy. He’s been bringing his celebrity to fight the oil and coal industries and Read the full story on TreeHugger

“Climate change is real,” BMX legend Dave Mirra says, “It affects everything from snow quality to quality of life.” Indeed, as Protect the 360° explains, “climate change doesn’t just mean warmer weather.” Now, from skate parks to ski slopes, action-sports athletes and enthusiasts are banding together to make a difference—and you can join them…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

Summer is the prefect time for picnics, pretty much anywhere! On roof tops, in Central Park, at the beach, open air cinemas or the zoo, a good picnic is special. But how often do you make the effort and unleash your creativity to put together a delicious lunch or dinner in a box or basket? The design team The Three Blind Ants have just made it a little bit easier, a little bit more fun and a little eco-friendlier with the Boxsal. It is basically a fashionable cardboard box with enough room to fit a bottle of wine, snacks, sandwiches and more. Boxsal comes with beautiful utensils, plates, cups and n… Read the full story on TreeHugger

Even conservatives cheered when one Transition Town received a huge Government check, and with good reason. As part of the massive Low Carbon Communities Challenge the idea, for once, was to explore how grassroots groups could work together with Government, rather than the usual false choice between either top-down or bottom-up approaches to sustainability. I’ve just come acr… Read the full story on TreeHugger

We need help from artists—we need them to help with an artwork bigger than humans have ever built before, the first global-scale group show. It’s going to be slightly wild, and very beautiful.

Details in a moment, but first the rationale:

Sometimes the work of artists is to remind us of things we’ve forgotten, things we know in our bones but that slip our minds…. Read the full story on TreeHugger