Topic: Culture & Society

From rain barrels and recycling to walking and buying second-hand clothes,"The Nalgene Least Wasteful City Study" puts top 25 metros under scrutiny for wasteful behavior.

With thrift and conservation on the minds of many Americans, a new study put the spotlight on wasteful behavior in our nation's cities. "The Nalgene Least Wasteful City Study" ranked 23 waste-focused habits of urban Americans, from recycling, to using public transportation, to shutting off the lights when leaving the room. When the results were tallied, San Francisco earned the title of America's Least Wasteful City, while Atlanta ranked last in the study.

In his new book, "A Persistent Peace: One Man's Struggle for a Nonviolent World," John Dear says, "Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Dr. King, the Berrigans, and Merton were right: nonviolence holds the key to personal, social, and global transformation."

How does a "spoiled, wealthy frat boy" go from beer-chugging contests in a Duke University fraternity to peace activism and more than 75 arrests in the name of the nonviolent Jesus? John Dear, SJ, a 2008 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, tells his story in A Persistent Peace: One Man's Struggle for a Nonviolent World.

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John Dear, SJ

Just in time for Earth Day, children's author Jill Ammon Vanderwood introduces readers to some very special families who live green and kids who really make a difference for the environment. In her new children's book, "What's It Like, Living Green? Kids Teaching Kids, by the Way They Live," kids as young as four up to seventeen are making green choices every day.

There is a lot of talk these days about living green, but does anyone really live that way? In this non-fiction book, What's It Like Living Green?: Kids Teaching Kids, by the Way They Live, you will meet contributing authors who live green, such as Ryan Hreljac from Canada, who started Ryan's Well Foundation, by providing clean water to a village school in Uganda, at the age of seven. Learn about green kids like Devon Green from Stewart, Florida who began Devon's Heal the World Recycling at the age of five; she is now joined by her sister Jessica. Together they give their time and efforts to raise money for community causes. The students from St. Benedict's School in Blue Island, IL, have made a commitment to live environmentally green lives. You will learn from families how to make green choices as simple as putting on a sweater rather than turning up the heat. Learn how easy it is to reduce, reuse and recycle, to create a healthy environment for the future.

Patent and copyright law are stifling innovation and threatening the global economy according to two economists at Washington University in St. Louis in a new book, "Against Intellectual Monopoly." Professors Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine call for abolishing the current patent and copyright system in order to unleash innovations necessary to reverse the current recession and rescue the economy.

Abolishing patent and copyright law sounds radical, but two economists at Washington University in St. Louis say it's an idea whose time has come. Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine see innovation as a key to reviving the economy. They believe the current patent/copyright system discourages and prevents inventions from entering the marketplace. The two professors have published their views in a new book, Against Intellectual Monopoly, from Cambridge University Press.

Best Friends collection double CD release to feature Neko Case, Emmylou Harris, Cyndi Lauper, John Oates and more.

It's been two years in the making and animal-loving fans of diverse contemporary music have waited long enough. Giving Animals a Voice through Music: The Best Friends 25th Anniversary Collection, a double CD release featuring 24 influential recording artists who support animal welfare makes its debut March 11. Proceeds from the sale of the album will go to Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization based in Utah, and selected animal rescue groups in Vermont.

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While many Americans recognize the value of buying from local shopkeepers and eating produce grown by local farmers, they often don't realize that reusing and recycling materials locally is also important for many of the same environmental and economic reasons.

Point of Return, a 17-minute video produced by the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), explains what happens to the recyclables that we collect and how our communities - and our economy - lose out on important benefits when those materials are landfilled, or sent hundreds or thousands of miles away.

John Vucetich and Michael Nelson say that hope in the face of hopelessness is not enough to rescue us from ecological disaster. In fact, it may be guaranteeing failure.

Do you “hope” that everyone will see the light and start living more sustainably to save the environment? If so, you may be doing more harm than good.

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John A. Vucetich, Ph.D., assistant professor of animal ecology, Michigan Technological University.

You see, it's all about apples and oranges. Well, it's really about Martians and Venetians. Actually, it's about men and women...

Relationship expert and best-selling author Dr. John Gray traveled to Parker Seminars Las Vegas and exposed the fundamental differences between men and women and provided valuable advice on how to cultivate better relationships - both personal and professional - between genders. The first step towards reaching a state of harmony, according to Gray, is to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

As we all witnessed in last weeks "chimps gone mad" news story, wild animals like chimpanzees may be adorable, but that doesn't mean you should give them a room in your home. This article, from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, explains why.

Exotic creatures like chimpanzees, pythons, kinkajous and scarlet macaws have captured the hearts of animal-lovers looking for companions; but keeping exotic animals as pets can come with hidden costs - both for people and animals. Wild animals have lived for thousands of years without the direct influence of humans. They are adapted for survival in complex, wild environments. They are not well adapted to living with humans or in a house.

Some in India are calling "Slumdog Millionaire" an example of "slum tourism," but Temple's Priya Joshi says the film is about globalization and the power of popular culture to spread new ideas.

Slumdog Millionaire, the new film from British director Danny Boyle which showcases a star-studded cast, continues its steady accumulation of movie awards - including a “best film” award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and 10 nominations for Oscars slated for this Sunday's ceremony.