These five countries are making positive global contributions to the planet and climate, according to the Good Country Index.

The Maryland General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday night to a bill that would make Maryland the first state in the country to ban polystyrene foam food containers and cups. The House of Delegates voted 100-37 to approve the legislation sponsored by Del. Brooke Lierman, a Baltimore Democrat. It was Lierman’s third attempt to pass the bill.

It’s the most ambitious move against global plastic pollution yet. First comes the leak, then comes the flood. 2018 will be remembered as the year the world waged war on plastic waste — and the revolution has just got serious. India announced it will ban all single-use plastics by 2022 in the most important leap forward against plastic pollution to date.

Almost 60 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in March were fully electric..

Good news on the horizon for anyone with an accident-prone mobile device—Canada is one step-closer to enacting legislation that will make it easier and cheaper to repair broken phones. While so-called “right to repair” laws exist in other countries, they are not in Canada just yet. An Ontario Liberal MPP is looking to change that, though. In late February, Michael Coteau introduced a private member’s bill seeking to amend Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act. This represents the first time that right to repair legislation has ever been contemplated in Canada.

For the European Union, it was the final straw. Final single-use plastic straw, that is. The E.U. parliament on Wednesday voted to ban single-use straws as well as single-use plastic cutlery, stirrers, plastic plates and balloon sticks in a move that could lead to a ban on single-use plastics in E.U. member states by 2021. The new laws also say that, by 2025, the content of plastic bottles should be 25 percent recycled.

It was almost midnight when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be for ever. I had spent the summer of 2016 hand-building a straw bale home on a half-wild smallholding in County Galway, Ireland, and the following morning I intended to begin a new life without modern technology.

Purchasing shoes made from disposed plastics may be the way of the future after one company turned millions of plastic bottles into running shoes. Imagine this—11 plastic bottles can be recycled and made into a pair of trendy futuristic running shoes, including the laces, heel webbing, heel lining, and sock liner covers. This is not just a dream but has become a reality for Adidas.

There is no doubt in the fact that we, as human beings, waste lots of our planet’s resources; and this is why we currently have so many environmental problems. But one resource that is more importa…

As the world suffocates from its plastic addiction, a growing number of businesses are stepping up to the plate to reduce their plastic waste. Most recently, Trader Joe’s announced that it will be taking steps to cut back on plastic and other packaging waste after a petition launched by Greenpeace harnessed nearly 100,000 signatures.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve gone plant-based for Lent. Being a full-time vegan now, however, I thought I’d dial the change back a bit and simply give up vegan chocolate this year. After all, Vego is life. And then I went to the Lush Summit – the annual convention hosted by the cosmetics brand – and realised that giving up chocolate would benefit no one but myself.

Provided are several tips to help jump-start your "going green" efforts and get you on the road to a more eco-friendly way of life.

If you make a trip down to Hobart next year, don't expect to find plastic straws, cups or takeaway containers at its many cafes and markets. The City of Hobart last night voted to pass a by-law banning the sale of all single-use plastics.

We read it in the news every day. From climate change to overfishing to deforestation, it seems that we are on the brink of a natural disaster on an epic scale. If we cannot do something to reverse these trends, we will surely make our planet uninhabitable.

One common complaint I hear from non-vegans is, “Oh, I just don’t like vegan food.” It always makes me feel so sad for this person whose life is apparently free of chips and guac, juicy tangerines, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Plastic gets a bad rap for clogging up landfills, polluting our oceans, and leaking toxic chemicals, but there may be ways to mitigate its damage. Beginning in 2017, one of the world's largest plastic producers, Dow Chemical, began building roads with recycled plastic as a way to reduce waste. Their combined efforts have saved 220,000 pounds of waste from ending up in landfills.

Californians already face restrictions on single-use plastic bags and straws. New legislation would require single-use materials to be reusable, fully recyclable or compostable by 2030.

What does your diet have to do with saving the planet? Everything, says a new report by the world's leading scientists and health experts. Over the last few years, I have become a student of certain global environmental issues. Preparing for the Paris Climate Conference, and since then, I have worked with the United Nations advocating for protecting tropical forests and the rights of indigenous peoples.

If you decide to drive in downtown Oslo, be forewarned: You won’t be able to park on the street. By the beginning of this year, the city finished removing more than 700 parking spots–replacing them with bike lanes, plants, tiny parks, and benches–as a major step toward a vision of a car-free city center. Without those parking spots, and with cars banned completely on some streets, few people are driving in the area. “There are basically no cars,” says Axel Bentsen, CEO of Urban Sharing, the company that runs Oslo City Bike...

The boom in solar and wind power in the United States will deal a fresh blow to coal country in the next few years. Renewable energy, led by solar and wind, is projected to be the fastest-growing source of US electricity generation for at least the next two years, according to a report published Friday by the US Energy Department. Boosted by swiftly falling prices, utility-scale solar power is expected to increase by 10% in 2019 and 17% in 2020, the Energy Information Administration said. Wind power should grow 12% and 14% in those years, vaulting it ahead of hydropower for the first time.