Gardening's New Ethos: Help the Planet (and Look Good Too)
From the biggest botanical gardens to the smallest backyard plots and terraces, there's a movement underway to make gardens work harder for the environment. For many people who aren't sure what they can do about climate change, home gardens provide an opportunity to make a palpable difference.

New USDA ‘FoodKeeper’ App: Your New Tool for Smart Food Storage
Every year, billions of pounds of good food go to waste in the US because home cooks are not sure of the quality or safety of items. The USDA, Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute would like to prevent that problem in the future with a new application, the FoodKeeper. The application is part of a larger effort between USDA and the EPA called the US Food Waste Challenge.
 
Sustainable Material Pioneers: What Does the Future Hold?
It’s likely that you’re wearing cotton or polyester, two of the fashion industry’s most popular fibers. Cotton depends on large amounts of water to grow, and polyester depends on now-declining reserves of oil and gas. The idea behind sustainable materials is that they are less damaging to the environment to produce, consuming fewer natural resources and creating less pollution.
 
Cash from Cassava: Better Breeds of the Staple Crop Will Boost Development
The cassava brown streak virus and cassava mosaic virus, both of which ravage cassava crops in Africa, are a high-priority target of the NextGen Cassava project because of their devastating impact. The project is applying genotyping and “big data” analysis to the ancient practice of plant breeding to accelerate development of traits such as virus resistance.