Earth Day

18 Stories

$7B in Solar Power Grants Unveiled on Earth Day

Projects will include more than 900K households

(Newser) - President Biden is marking Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities. He also plans to expand his New Deal-style American Climate Corps green jobs training program. The grants are being awarded by the Environmental Protection...

Earth Day Will be Different This Year
Earth Day Will be
Different This Year

Earth Day Will be Different This Year

For its 50th anniversary, the event is moving online

(Newser) - As the coronavirus causes shutdowns across the US, a coalition of youth-led organizations that had planned large marches for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day next month are now planning a three-day livestream event instead, organizers said Tuesday. "Earth Day Live" will happen April 22-24 and will include speakers,...

For 6 Hours, Traffic Was Silenced on Broadway

NYC bans vehicles from 2-mile stretch of iconic street ahead of Earth Day

(Newser) - In a nod to Earth Day, New York City shut down two miles of perhaps its most iconic street, Broadway, for six hours on Saturday. In place of honking cabs and fumes were pedestrians, anything on two wheels, artistic performances, fitness classes, craft workshops, vendors, free rollerblade rentals, and educational...

Marches for Science Hit Cities Around the World

'Science is for everyone, and should be supported by everyone'

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of scientists, students, and research advocates rallied from the Brandenburg Gate to the Washington Monument on Earth Day, conveying a global message of scientific freedom without political interference and spending necessary to make future breakthroughs possible, the AP reports. "We didn't choose to be in...

Earth Day: Planet Isn't as Round as You Think

And other fun facts and freebies on the 46th celebration of our 'greenest' holiday

(Newser) - Friday marks the 46th celebration of Earth Day, and there's no lack of commemorative trivia, deals, and think pieces honoring Mother Nature and the environment. Here, a roundup of our favorites:
  • No, the Earth's not flat, but it's not exactly perfectly round, either. Discovery.com explains that,
...

NYC to Stop Dumping Its Garbage in Other States

Mayor de Blasio plan to slash waste 90%, stop most trash exports

(Newser) - The nation's biggest city is marking Earth Day by announcing an ambitious goal of reducing its waste output by 90% by 2030. The plan, set to be unveiled today by Mayor Bill de Blasio, includes an overhaul of the city's recycling program, incentives to reduce waste, and tacit...

NSA Recycling Mascot Is a Bit Scary

Apparently a recycling bin needs huge arms

(Newser) - The NSA has revealed its mascot for Earth Day tomorrow, and though the fact that the agency has a recycling mascot is odd enough, Gizmodo reports it's "an anthropomorphized and oddly buff recycling bin named Dunk" that "breaks new ground creepiness-wise." The Verge , meanwhile, thinks he'...

Redwoods Felled a Century Ago to Live On

Clones being replanted today in effort to fight climate change

(Newser) - A new weapon in the fight against climate change: 18-inch-tall redwood clones. The laboratory-produced trees are genetic duplicates of three giants that were cut down in northern California more than a century ago. Remarkably, shoots still emerge from the stumps, including one known as the Fieldbrook Stump, which measures 35...

America's Greenest City Is ...
 America's Greenest City Is ... 

America's Greenest City Is ...

Portland, according to an event-finding app

(Newser) - You can measure the green-friendliness of a city in many ways—like its average carbon footprint per citizen or the energy efficiency of buildings. But the event-finding app Gravy has decided to measure cities by the number of pro-environmental events each one hosts in a year, the Huffington Post reports....

20-Year Light Bulb Goes on Sale
 20-Year Light Bulb Now on Sale 
in case you missed it

20-Year Light Bulb Now on Sale

Energy-saver hits stores for Earth Day

(Newser) - An energy-saving light bulb capable of staying in service until 2032 hit the market yesterday to coincide with Earth Day. The LED light bulb—which won a $10 million US government eco-bulb prize —originally had a hefty $60 price tag but manufacturer Philips has arranged discounts and rebates to...

Op-Ed Columnist - Oil Drilling, Disaster and Denial - NYTimes.com
Gulf Spill Will Make Us Care About the Planet Again
Paul Krugman

Gulf Spill Will Make Us Care About the Planet Again

Paul Krugman finds a silver lining in changing public opinion

(Newser) - We can't begin to guess the full devastation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but Paul Krugman finds an unexpected silver lining: Environmental destruction has become "photogenic again." Just as Earth Day was born four decades ago of an America sickened by images of Santa Barbara beaches coated in...

Your 'Green' Shopping Is Killing the Planet

Individual acts don't cut it; we need legislation

(Newser) - Sharon Begley would like to take this moment on Earth Day to burst your little bubble about how much you think you're helping the environment. Sure, buying those ubiquitous "green" products makes everyone feel better, as does recycling, and cutting home energy use. But changing individual behavior doesn't cut...

123 Quirky New Species Found in Borneo

World Wildlife Fund hails success of conservation project

(Newser) - A color-changing flying frog, a slug that fires "love darts" into potential mates during courtship, and the world's longest insect are among the 123 new species discovered in central Borneo over the last three years. The World Wildlife Fund has issued a report on the amazing finds to mark...

Google Doodle Celebrates Earth Day

Search engine goes green for Ma Nature

(Newser) - The Google doodlers are at it again, this time with a vividly green Avatar-like image of a magical woodland to celebrate Earth Day. Clicking on the image on the Google search page calls up everything connected to Earth Day. The doodle marking the green day, founded in 1970 by a...

Obama's Earth Day Pitch: 'New Energy Economy'

America must choose a 'new energy economy,' he says

(Newser) - President Obama returned to Iowa—his crucial campaign battleground win—for Earth Day, hailing the “new, clean energy economy” and unveiling an offshore wind project. “It is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration,” he...

Leo, Oprah Voted Greenest Celebs
 Leo, Oprah Voted 
 Greenest Celebs 
earth day

Leo, Oprah Voted Greenest Celebs

Mariah, Travolta not so much

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey was voted the greenest female celebrity in an Earth Day poll, the New York Daily News reports. Leonardo DiCaprio beat out Brad Pitt and Bono for the No. 1 male spot in the survey by GreenDaily.com and Bebo.com. On the other hand, Mariah Carey is least...

Chicago Fines Aim to Kick Smokers' Butts From Beach

City buried in millions of tons of litter

(Newser) - Chicago will fine smokers who toss cigarette butts on the beach—or within 15 feet of one— up to $500. The new law is aimed at cutting the cost of cleaning up after smokers, who have been forced outside by smoking bans, reports the Chicago Tribune. Millions of tons of...

Bloomberg Aims to Take NYC Green
Bloomberg
Aims to Take NYC Green

Bloomberg Aims to Take NYC Green

Plan calls for $8 fee to drive into Manhattan

(Newser) - Michael Bloomberg chose Earth Day to launch an ambitious, expensive and politically uncertain campaign to make New York City “the first environmentally sustainable 21st-century city.” The most provocative proposal: charging drivers $8 a day for entering Manhattan below 86th Street.

18 Stories