Green Living

The enormous trade in exotic pets and exotic animals is causing concern worldwide -- and not just for animal rights activists. While environmentalists are alarmed at the effect these exotics are having on ecosystems, health experts are finding that exotic animals often help to spread exotic diseases.

Find out what you can do to stop the dangerous and unethical global trade in exotic pets.

Ohio isn't typically thought of as an epicenter of earthquakes -- but that could change as the state continues to pursue hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a means of extracting natural gas.

A recent 4.0 earthquake near Youngstown, Ohio, has many questioning the seismic safety of the controversial drilling technique. There have been several earthquakes around the site of a fracking well, and local officials are getting very concerned.

Some people simply don't get into environmental causes -- and then there are those who see green living as an insidious plot to destroy America.

Bike lanes. Limits on water pollution. Energy meters on home appliances. These are all devious attempts to turn the United States into a totalitarian regime, according to some members of the Tea Party, as described in this frightening New York Times article.

Personally, I think people who wear foil hats should stay out of society entirely, and content themselves with muttering about conspiracy theories to one of their 31 cats. But that's just me.

That question, and the many environmental issues it raises, casts a harsh light on a president with a checkered environmental history.

Where does Obama really stand on energy -- especially renewable energy? What about Obama and the Keystone pipeline? Obama and fracking? And how about biodiversity, science education, pollution control and global warming?

Take a look at Obama's environmental track record in this Obama "green report card", and decide for yourself.

The history of the green movement is, like many political and social movements, just one thread in the tapestry of America's history.

(And at the risk of sounding jingoistic, the story of the green movement is largely an American story.)

Though the conservation movement had European roots, many observers believe that the United States has long been the world's leader in the green movement and environmentalism.

Saddled with the ungainly name "sustainable tourism," it's no wonder that many travelers think of it as sleeping on a yoga mat after a dinner of organic bran flakes. Uh, no thanks.

But the travel world has awakened to the immense appeal of luxury ecotourism, and many green lodges boast amenities that would put the Four Seasons to shame.

Take a look at some of the world's most popular sustainable tourism destinations. Yoga mat not needed.

I once had a boss who didn't know what the EPA was. (Needless to say, that job didn't last.)

The Environmental Protection Agency has been one of America's most controversial government agencies since the day it was formed, and it remains a political hot potato, especially in this election year, when several GOP candidates are calling for the agency's elimination.

The role of greenhouse gases in global warming and climate change can't be overstated. But where, exactly, is this gas coming from?

The EPA can tell you: Their new, searchable map of greenhouse gas emitters pinpoints the largest stationary sources of CO2, methane and other greenhouse gases. Does someone in your neighborhood have gas?

This election year might be a good time to get involved, if you're not already. Issues like economic inequality, climate change, war and gay rights promise to make this an interesting political season.

But will the Green Party emerge as a potent force for change? Historically, the Green Party has been a bit player in U.S. politics, unlike other countries where it enjoys greater prominence like Germany, Canada and the U.K..

Learn more about the Green Party. Who knows, you might like what you see.

Trees store some 45 percent of the carbon on our planet's land surface -- but where exactly are these trees to be found?

Scientists at NASA have created one of the most extensive and accurate maps of tree cover anywhere, highlighting those regions where forests are thickest and hold the most carbon. (Just look at the Pacific Northwest!)

With forests and other sources of woody biomass energy increasingly important to a post-oil world, this is great information for everyone to understand.