News and information on the role that government, small business, the nonprofit sector and philanthropy play in creating healthy and vibrant communities.

Maternal Exposure to Air Pollution Believed to be the Cause of Low Birth Weights Worldwide

A study conducted by Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at UC San Francisco has recently reported that mothers who are exposed to...more

Urban Orchard Brings to Life Neglected Vancouver Brownfield

Between three to five years, a vacant Vancouver brownfield has been planted with more than 400 fruit-bearing trees. The city of Vancouver calls the site as the largest urban orchard in North...more

Sunflower Patch Revitalizes St. Louis Space For Environmental, Economic Benefit

About 10,000 sunflowers have transformed a vacant city lot in St. Louis to provide environmental and economic benefits for the community. The patch of sunflower blooms is a part of the Sustainable...more

Genesee County Economic Development Center Gets New Grants for STAMP Property

New grants are rolled out for Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) for its Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP). The GCEDC funding, part of...more

Democracy - A Force of Change to Beat Carbon Pollution

The Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House all agree that the government can and should be tackling carbon pollution from dirty power plants. President Barack Obama has recently...more

Fighting Climate Change with Algae Farms

Italian architect Cesare Griffa has developed a system that can quickly grow and harvest micro-algae to help fight climate change and create products used for energy, food, cosmetics, or...more

Tomkat Philanthropy Serves Good Food, Banking and Energy

Tom Steyer and his wife, Kathryn Taylor of Tomkat Charitable Trust, aims to serve "good food, good banking and good energy" at their TomKat Ranch known for its certified grass-fed beef in Northern...more

Schoolchildren Hatch 10 Creative Ideas to Manage Global Waste

Nearly 270 schoolchildren whipped up creative ideas to solve the world's global waste problem. Latitude, a Massachusetts-based creative research and marketing firm, joined forces with schools...more

Bloomberg Invests $5 Million in Solar-powered Lamps for Africa

Former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg Philanthropies, announced a $5 million investment in Little Sun, the creators of a little yellow solar-powered lamp that is more affordable...more

Students Develop Smog-Busting Roof Tiles to Clean Air Pollution

University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering students have developed an inexpensive titanium dioxide roof tile coating that can take off smog-forming nitrogen...more