Topic: Culture & Society

In February of last year, University of Wisconsin- Madison senior Ted Durkee teamed up with alumnus Brandon Gador, to promote the use of renewable energy.

While some students use college as a transition into the “real world,” a handful of student entrepreneurs have asked themselves, “Why wait?”

In February of last year, University of Wisconsin- Madison senior Ted Durkee teamed up with University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus Brandon Gador, who graduated last spring, to found Powered Green, a startup company promoting the use of renewable energy. They officially launched the company at the end of September.

There are plenty of ways to lessen your impact on the environment that don't come with a daunting price tag, and they will even save you some money without cramping your carbon-creating lifestyle.

Want to begin to be more environmentally friendly in 2009 but can't afford a hybrid car? Don't worry — there are plenty of ways to lessen your impact on the environment that don't come with such a daunting price tag, says Matt Malten, assistant vice chancellor for campus sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis. And they likely will even save you some money without cramping your carbon-creating lifestyle — much.

A new book from a University of Illinois at Chicago scholar examines the progression of obsessive behavior from its religious and secular origins to its present status as a medical and cultural phenomenon.

Obsession: A History by Lennard Davis, University of Illinois professor of English, offers a narrative featuring wide-ranging perspectives on the history of compulsive behaviors.

A newly released DVD, "Testimony Time: A Positive Perspective on Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage," sheds light on homosexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender issues through a testimonial by Bishop Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The DVD addresses human rights, politics, and media influences on identity.

The Resource Sentinel, a human rights advocate group headed by Howard B. Hanson, has now made a new DVD available to purchase through their website. Testimony Time: A Positive Perspective on Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage, by Lowell Erdahl, Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, relates the story of his personal journey of learning about and understanding the homosexual, gay, lesbian and transgender issues, especially equal rights for same sex couples in the US. Hanson, a member of the congregation and sole owner of The Resource Sentinel, produced the DVD.

Despite being bombarded by technological advances, children’s folklore is as lively as ever, says Binghamton University researcher Elizabeth Tucker in her latest book Children’s Folklore: A Handbook. It is just being ‘delivered’ in new ways.

Examining the traditional knowledge shared by children - usually without adult involvement - Children’s Folklore: A Handbook is the first American survey of children’s songs, games, jokes, rhymes and other things children teach each other, published since 1995.

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Despite being bombarded by technological advances, children's folklore is as lively as ever, says Binghamton University researcher Elizabeth Tucker in her latest book Children's Folklore: A Handbook. It is just being "delivered" in new ways.

A new study finds that one-third of the world’s marine fish catches are ground up and fed to farm-raised fish, pigs, and poultry, squandering a precious food resource for humans.

An alarming new study to be published in November in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources finds that one-third of the world’s marine fish catches are ground up and fed to farm-raised fish, pigs, and poultry, squandering a precious food resource for humans and disregarding the serious overfishing crisis in our oceans.

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Mounds of harvested fish awaiting transport to a processing facility in Kakinada district, Andrea Pradesh, India

A Dalhousie University math professor solves the mystery behind the opening chord to The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" using mathematical principles like the Fourier transform.

It’s the most famous chord in rock 'n' roll, an instantly recognizable twang rolling through the open strings on George Harrison’s 12-string Rickenbacker. It evokes a Pavlovian response from music fans as they sing along to the refrain that follows:

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Math prof Jason Brown and his Ibanez guitar.

Steve Gray, the Emmy winning pastor banned from GodTube, is shaking up the Christian community with his new book, "My Absurd Religion." His book can be taken as nothing other than a direct challenge to today's Christian and Evangelical leaders and churches.

In his new book, My Absurd Religion, Steve Gray doesn't toe the Evangelical "party line" and blame America's current crisis on the gay community, pro-choicers or the movie industry. Rather he places the blame squarely on the American church and its leaders. Aware of the criticism he is facing with this book, Gray defends his stance, "I am not taking wild swings at someone else's religion. I am trying to rescue my own."

Singer shares Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance's concerns for area's water future.

Grammy Award winner Ray Benson has joined members of Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance (TSEPA) in questioning how a proposed nuclear reactor in Victoria County, Texas will impact the future water supply throughout the Guadalupe River Basin.

McCain/Palin may be discovering that America is not such a hateful country after all.

An ad hoc group of progressive Christian laity and clergy from across the United States has issued a statement backing Sen. Barack Obama for president and imploring the Republican Party to stop racist attacks against him.