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The article presents questions and answers related to environmental protection. One person asks how he can get a healthy-looking lawn without using environmentally damaging fertilizers and herbicides. Another question by a reader raises concerns related to recycling and disposal of food and trash generated in the ballparks and seeks advise to do his part for the earth while rooting for his baseball team San Francisco Giants.

This article focuses on the San Francisco Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center. It has given more than 50 "artists in residence" on-site studio space, a monthly stipend, and 24-hour access to the 75 tons of old appliances, worn clothing, construction debris, and other garbage that households and businesses discard each day. The pioneering program was founded in part to help the city meet a state requirement to keep half its waste out of landfills. By recycling, composting, and reusing, San Francisco, California, is now up to 67 percent and shooting for 75 percent by 2010. Displays of the artists' work in local schools and public spaces, as well as in the dump's own sculpture garden, keep the city's garbage, and its alternate uses, in sight and on people's minds. Participants have found inspiration in everything from foam packing to fire escapes. With such a wealth of materials at residents' disposal, there's always a long list of artists waiting to dive in.

This article discusses the significance of recycling of waste products. Recycling is making a difference, but the percentage of household trash that goes into those plastic bins has stagnated since the late 1990s. Boosting it significantly requires creating new markets for recycled materials, increasing public education, and updating collection programs to accommodate the latest products and on-the-go lifestyles. When so-called garbage is burned or buried, it becomes an environmental and public-health liability. Thrifty "Freecyclers" around the world have turned trash into a community resource by using e-mail networks to find homes for used and surplus goods, from furniture to food, children's clothes to building materials. Recycling should be one of the environmental movement's greatest success stories. Over the past three decades, the amount of garbage generated has increased by 87 percent, about twice as fast as the population. Fixing recycling is part of the solution.

The focuses on the increasing trend of green hospitality in the U.S. It reports that many hotels are becoming ecologically aware for the protection of environment and are employing several environment friendly methods including the installation of solar panels, cultivation of organic food, and the use of nontoxic cleaners. It mentions the energy efficient methods used by the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa, Northern California and states that the hotel is using tubular skylights that direct sunlight to its interiors. It also mentions the recycling of 75 percent of its construction waste by the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina and states the use of an elevator by the hotel that creates electricity as it descends. Also mentioned is the website on ecofriendly accommodations.

The article reports on the role of the Missouri Botanical Garden in removing the environmental hazards caused by million pounds of plastic pots and trays that are used in gardening. It is reported that volunteers with the Missouri Botanical Garden's decade-old recycling program in Saint Louis, Missouri have collected more than 300 tons of plastic from nurseries, landscapers, and growers for reprocessing into faux timbers. It also informs about the garden's planning to open new collection centers.

The article reports on the "art-ivism" program of the San Francisco-based group Rebar, which calls people around the world to turn their parking lots into temporary parks on September 21, 2007. The aim of the program is to reclaim public space from cars. One can join the program by adding plants, benches and other amenities to parking lots. One can also join the program by cleaning up one's parking lots and reuse or recycle all materials.

The article offers information on websites that offer students opportunity to earn money. Students can collect used computer printer cartridges for recycling from the website www.recycleplace.com and sell fair-trade stationery through the website www.globalgoodspartners.org/schools, natural body-care products through the website www.schoolgardenco.com or in Wisconsin locally made cheese through the website www.familyfarmdefenders.org.

The article offers news briefs related to environmental protection. The city of San Francisco has approved a law banning the use of plastic shopping bags in grocery stores in the United States. Patagonia widened its Polartec-fleece-recycling program. Paul Tukey is advocating the conversion of a million acres of lawn to organic by 2010.

The article offers news briefs related to environmental technology from the U.S. Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius automobile has a fuel-consumption display that gives drivers instant feedback on energy consumption by the automobile. Two California based utilities are testing electricity meters that will show customers when they are using the most energy. RecycleBank LLC has contracted with garbage haulers to install computer chips to measure the weight of materials in recycle bins.

The article presents questions and answers related to travel, technology, and recycling processes. One person asks how carbon dioxide emissions are measured. Another one asks whether he should turn off his computer at night or put it to sleep. One person asks what should she do with recycled paper as she was told that it cannot be recycled again.

The article describes the artistic style of Northern California artist Jill Bliss who combines both influences in her playful, handmade paper and fabric crafts. He turns floral sheets into wallets and printing tidepool-inspired notes on recycled paper with vegetable ink. Bliss's intricate designs reflect her belief that there is as much activity in a natural landscape as in an urban one. Her interest in such kind of art was influenced by growing up on a walnut farm, a do-it-yourself ethic and by living in the city. People interested in her works can check out her website blissen.com.

The article offers new briefs related to the U.S. A documentary film about the world water crisis in collaboration with the United Nations titled "Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life" is scheduled to be broadcast on the television channel MTV. The Computer maker Dell Computer Corp. recently began offering free recycling of its own products worldwide.

The article presents questions and answers related to the disposal of waste. One of the readers asks about the proper way to dispose off used household batteries. Another reader asks facts about thick paper cups and cups made from Styrofoam. The reader is confused about the disposal of cups used during church gatherings.

The article reports that the water utility, San Antonio, Texas, has, since the late 1990s, been doling out rebates on low-flow toilets to residents who turn in their outdated, water-wasting models. Last year, the city cleaned and crushed 1,000 recycled toilets and used the pebble-size pieces to pave a nature trail at Calaveras Lake Park. The white porcelain even helps light up the pathway at night.

This article focuses on the book "Paper or Plastic," written by Daniel Imhoff. The book isn't focused on the classic shopping-bag choice. He wants readers to re-evaluate the role packaging plays in the lives and the toll it takes on the environment. Daniel Imhoff packs his book with thoughtful analysis, innovative solutions.

Reports on the success of the Paper Campaign, a coalition of environmental groups led by ForestEthics and the Dogwood Alliance, against the office-supply firm Staples. Cancellation of the planned demonstration against Staples; Agreement of Staples to more than triple the average recycled content in its paper products; Support given by the Sierra Student Coalition to the campaign.