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The article focuses on the cities of the United States and their environmental aspects. The mayors of Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles have each thrown down the gauntlet, declaring their city will be the most environmentally friendly. But success takes more than a showcase building or ambitious plans. A truly green city integrates environmental sustainability into everything from its sidewalks to its skyscrapers. It invests in renewables and energy efficiency, protects open space, reduces waste, and provides-clean air and water and access to healthy food for residents of all economic classes. In addition to their individual achievements, most of the cities have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, vowing to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Some of the cities with biggest transit turnaround are Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Austin. Denver is honored for its clean energy. City known for healthy food is Madison and hall of fame cities are Chicago, New York City, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle.

The article focuses on the work and achievements of world famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. From the vantage point of a helicopter, French photographer Yann has spent 15 years capturing thousands of scenes in more than 75 countries. He has shared hundreds of them with the world in his books and traveling exhibits, which combine environmental activism and art to create his photographic portrait of the planet. He has also captured coral reefs, cultivated fields, and sea-swept dunes array into intricate designs with colors that rival the most energetic abstract paintings. Planes in an airfield and birds in flight exhibit geometric precision, while clusters of skyscrapers and rock outcroppings seem to grow chaotically before open eyes. Seen through Arthus-Bertrand's ecumenical eye, the sinuous line of a suburban street evokes the soothing rhythm of a river. Since 1990, photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has flown over dozens of countries, capturing aerial images. He invites people to reflect on the Earth's evolution and the future of its inhabitants. He has also been a devoted environmentalist.

Focuses on the impact of coal mining on Appalachia. Background on the coal mining industry in West Virginia; Information on Mountaintop removal, a method of mining; Results of a study conducted on toll mountaintop removal in Appalachian coalfields.

Features some landscape artists. Andy Goldsworthy; Terry Evans; Joel Sternfeld.

Focuses on several comments on the photographs by conservationist Ansel Adams at Yosemite National Park in California. Author Tim Palmer; Sierra Club executive director Mike McCloskey; Photographer John Sexton.

The article offers information on Tara Hopkins, An American English and Spanish teacher living in Turkey, who operates the enterprise, Çöp(m)adam meaning garbage ladies in Turkish, for creating moneymaking opportunities for women. Topics discussed include garbage ladies making embroidered tea towels and other crocheted work, making monthly embroidered of about 200 to 800 Turkish liras, and the firm generating 394.42 U.S. dollars of monthly wages.

The article discusses the glowing excrement of larval cannibalistic fungus gnats belonging to the species Arachnocampa luminosa, which are found throughout dark forested areas and caverns of New Zealand. These insects are commonly called glowworms, and they use lines of their glowing waste to attract and feed on other insects. Many tourists come to see these gnats in the nation's Waitomo Caves, located two hours south of Auckland.

The article offers U.S. news briefs. Automaker Daimler AG unveiled the first U.S. version of its compact, fuel-efficient Smart car in January 2008. Mayors from five of Texas's biggest cities have called for a new state lightbulb, a compact fluorescent bulb. Ten dollars from each online digital video disc sale of "Out of Balance," a new documentary about global warming, will go to victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The article offers information on several books and motion pictures pertaining to environmental protection. The motion picture "A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash," directed by Basil Gelpke, presents interviews with former executives of the oil industry. The documentary film "King Corn," directed by Aaron Woolf, depicts two college students move from Boston to Iowa to grow an acre of corn. The book "A Slice of Organic Life," edited by Sheherazade Goldsmith, offers tips for giving eco-presents and a recipe for organic mulled wine.

The article offers information on ten events at the biannual Solar Decathlon. In the events, student teams from 20 colleges will assemble solar-powered houses in ten days before putting them through their paces. The events at the Decathlon will assess qualities like curb appeal and temperature control. The solar-powered houses will be open to the public from October 12-20, 2007 on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The article offers news briefs related to environment activism from the U.S. In Boulder County, Colorado, voters passed the country's first carbon tax. Google Inc. is installing more than 9,200 solar panels on its Silicon Valley office complex. The Weather Channel is starting a new weekly series, "The Climate Code."

The article offers information on media resources highlighting environment-related issues. The documentary film "The Future of Food," by Deborah Koons Garcia, touches wide-ranging issues related to genetic engineering, showing how corporations have waged war on the farmers whose fields were accidentally contaminated by genetically modified crops. The book "Harvest," by Nicola Smith presents the intimate account of a couple's experience of rural life. G. Bruce Knecht's "Hooked" is based on the overfishing of the Chilean sea bass.

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.

The article offers news briefs related to environmental protection. A documentary film titled "An Inconvenient Truth," about global warming starring Al Gore, opens in theaters in May 2006. Whole Foods Market Inc. has purchased enough wind-energy credits to offset the power used by its 180-store operation. The National Football League planted some 2,500 trees near Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan to help make up for emissions created by powering lights, heating, and equipment during February 2006 Super Bowl.

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 article presents information on making a good neighborhood. Referring to two neighbors named Dave Wann and Dan Chiras it is reported in the article that they both have a love-hate relationship with the neighborhoods that nurtured them. In their book "Superbia! 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods," the two Coloradans depict modern suburbs as isolated, dysfunctional, even obsolete. Yet they also offer a cheerily optimistic program for an extreme makeover. Unlike most car-dependent suburbs, the neighborhoods Wann and Chiras have dubbed "Superbia" meet more of their residents' needs close to home. One study found that people who live on streets with light traffic have more than twice as many friends and acquaintances nearby. The environment benefits too, as residents convert water-guzzling lawns into strawberry patches, minimize driving by sharing cars, and create neighborhood composting facilities. Chiras stated in his book that the first steps in creating a sustainable community are about putting the "neighbor" back in neighborhood.

Presents the results of a survey on the lifestyle choices of readers of "Sierra" magazine in the U.S. Preferred outdoor recreation activity; Factors being considered in purchasing commercial products.

Recommends several environment-friendly products. Bicycles; Reusable shopping bag; Organic foods.

Interviews Shoshana Berger, a freelance writer and editor, about her career. Background on "ReadyMade," a magazine published by Berger and a former colleague; Views on the Do It Yourself movement.

Presents information on the Environmental Voter Education Campaign program for the 2004 U.S. presidential election sponsored by the Sierra Club. Ways to increase electoral power; Information on cities and states where the program is on focus; Activities organized by the club.

Relates an experience of joining a toxic tour in Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, Illinois. Description of the view; Use of toxic tours in environmentalism; Opinion of Geoff Milz, a Sierra Student Coalition activist, on toxic tour; Comment from Cheryl Johnson, a toxic tour guide in Atlgeld.

Explains why race matters in fighting for environmental issues. Difference between John Muir and John McCown of Sierra Club; Other concerns of environmentalists working in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods aside from environmental issues; Comment from Julie Eisenhardt, a Sierra Club environmental-justice activists. INSET: JOINING TOGETHER FOR JUSTICE.

Reports on the call of Canada to its citizens to participate in halting global warming. Carbon dioxide emission reduction plan of the country; Volume of carbon dioxide that should be reduced by every citizen per year; Measures being taken by the government to ensure the success of the initiative.

Reports on the awareness campaign being done by Rhonda Anderson, organizer of the Sierra Club's environmental-justice program, on the health risks from an abandoned Continental Aluminum recycling plant in Detroit, Michigan. Health problems of the residents surrounding the plant; Relocation of the plant in Lyon Township, Michigan; Experience of similar health problems by the residents in Lyon Township.

Presents information on the legislation protecting the wilderness areas of Nevada. Description of the wilderness areas of the state; Overview of the campaign made for the legislation; Comments of Sierra Club conservation organizer Carrie Sandstedt on the legislation. INSETS: Crème de la Club;Kudos for Club's High Achievers.

Presents information on the Cheetah Conservation Fund, a U.S. organization formed to breed Anatolian shepherds as livestock guard dogs that will scare away cheetahs to lessen the occurrence of cheetahs being trapped or shot by farmers. Information on cheetahs; Overview of the breeding program offered by the organization.

Pays tribute to Peggy Wayburn, an environmentalist who died at the age of 84. Information on her contributions to Sierra Club; Some of the articles she wrote about the environment.

Reports on the road trip taken by Sierra Club organizers Darden Rice and Joe Murphy to compare the use of hybrid cars and sport-utility vehicles (SUV). Discussion on the carbon dioxide emissions of the two automobile models; Itinerary and experiences of the travelers; Project of the organization to reduce the usage of SUV.

Discusses the financial and ecological risk of utilizing Bt corn, a genetically engineered vegetable. Estimated cost of Bt corn seeds; Infestation problems encountered by farmers; Comparison on the prices of traditional and genetically engineered corn.

Talks about the complaints of conservatives about the judicial activism of liberal jurists on environmental laws. Information on the report 'Hostile Environment,' by the Alliance for Justice, Community Rights Counsel and Natural Resources Defense Council; Example of hostility of judges to environmental laws. INSET: TEN REASONS.

Describes several works of conservationist Ansel Adams at Manzanar Relocation Center in California during World War II. Daniel Duane, author of the book 'El Capitan'; Author Rebecca Solnit; Helen Ely Brill, former teacher at Manzanar High School.

Presents an update on the Sierra Club as of January 2002. Activities for young students from Ashland at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Recipients of several awards from the Sierra Club; Donation given by the cast of the sitcom 'The Brady Bunch' to the Sierra Club Foundation and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of conservationist Ansel Adams on February 20, 1902.

Reports on the role of government loans on the urban growth in Washington, D.C. as of May 2001. Charges against the United States (U.S.) Small Business Administration in a lawsuit that was filed by two environmental groups; Lawsuit against U.S. General Services Administration to stop a planned relocation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Focuses on the opposition of the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club and activist Andy Selters to the approval for the Snowcreek Golf Course plan in Sierra Nevada.

Reports that members of the Sierra Club in the Iowa City Area Group are measuring tree trunks to help preserve and maintain their natural heritage. Description of trees that are recorded; Purpose intended for the gathered information.

Reports the air pollution coming out from the defunct coal-processing facility at Frederick Street in Sydney, New South Wales. Information on the pollution; Efforts made by the Sierra Club of Canada to solve the problem.

Announces that Discovery Program students in Orange County, Virginia will be having adventures of their own as they hike the Blue Ridge Mountains. Information on the program; Lessons to be learned by the students from the program.

Reports on the protest held by Sierra Club and residents in Newport News, Virginia in May 1999 to save the Mattaponi River. Possible environmental impact of the proposed King William Reservoir; Comments from Glen Besa, director of the Club's Virginia Chapter.

Focuses on the television newsmagazine show `Thin Green Line' which focuses on environmental issues in the United States. Information on Outdoor Life Network (OLN); Comment from the television show's host, Adam Werbach; Advantages of conservation messages using television; Goal of the show.

The article discusses the amount of water that must be used to irrigate sugarcane for the production of sodas such as Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company has vowed to become water neutral by recycling wastewater in Shanghai, China and funding rainwater-harvesting programs in India. Scientific director of the Water Footprint Network Arjen Y. Hoekstra provides quotes.

The article presents an interview with Michael Oshman, who is the founder of the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). Oshman discussed a restaurant's biggest environmental impact. On being asked what the customers will notice, when they enter into a GRA certified restaurant, he replied that customers will notice nothing. He also informed how the restaurant owners will respond to the changes that the GRA has proposed.

The article presents questions and answers including re-refining of used motor oil by oil-change companies, purchasing a tankless, on-demand water heater, and what should be done to protect outdoor wood furniture.

The article presents quotes from celebrity Paris Hilton advocating energy efficient equipment, and former Dallas, Texas star Larry Hagman, owner of the country's largest residential solar power array, on generating his own energy.

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 evaluates several footwear, including the Toeday sneaker from the company Simple, the Iggdrasil women's clog from the company El Naturalista, and Finn hiking shoes from Pantagonia Inc.

The article offers suggestions on easing the greener driving experience for auotomobile users. An overview of three tips is offered. It suggests to purchase an electric, hybrid, or biodiesel-fueled vehicle at a specialized dealership such as the Green Car Co. in Seattle, Washington. The services of insurance and roadside assistance are being advised to have from the Better World Club, which supports ecofriendly causes and advocacy. It mentions going for pollution control services at a pollution-minimizing repair shop like the Organic Mechanic in Asheville, North Carolina. It also gives an overview of websites of the above mentioned companies and shops including thegreencarco.com, and betterworldclub.com.