Ethical Shopping -

What Do They Mean By "Monitoring?"

Zach — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:57:00 -0400

Anyone who follows sweatshops or international labor standards is by now familiar with the importance of transparency and monitoring of supply chains. Large multinational corporations like Wal-Mart or Nike rarely own their own factories these days, and instead produce their goods via a tangled web of contractors and subcontractors.

For Some Drivers, it Makes More Sense to Share

Zach — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:30:52 -0400

All major American cities offer some form of public transportation, but for many urban dwellers, the limited transportation infrastructure is just not enough. Whether it be ten block walks in the snow to the bus stop or the difficulty of transporting furniture or groceries home from the store, there have traditionally been very few cities where there is no practical advantage to having a car. But a new trend in transportation has many citizens rejecting automobile ownership in favor of car sharing services like Zipcar, and supplementing public transportation with bicycles.

Freecycle Your Junk

Zach — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:26:14 -0400

With the average American producing in excess of 50 tons of trash per year, you can't help but wonder how much of the stuff we get rid of could have found a happy home outside of the landfill. Many things that end up on the curb each week aren't thrown out because they're broken or even obsolete — they're just not useful to their owner anymore and they take up too much space. Five years ago, a man by the name of Deron Beal set out to make us think twice about the value of the stuff we no longer use, through a network of community message boards called Freecycle.

Expect to Pay More for Organics Very Soon

Zach — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:10:38 -0400

The New York Times reports today that despite the relatively relaxed pace at which the price of organic food has risen in comparison to other produce and processed food in the past few months, organics are about to see dramatic price increases across the board.

Can Congestion Fees Save Our Smoggy Cities?

Zach — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:45:24 -0400

The New York State legislature failed today to adopt a congestive pricing proposal that would have guaranteed the city $354 million in federal transportation aid and an estimated $390 million a year in revenue earmarked for public transportation upgrades. The plan would have charged drivers $8 each time they crossed into downtown Manhattan during peak hours, using electronic monitoring of license plates and the existing E-ZPass tags that most commuters already use to avoid long lines at tollbooths. San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are considering similar programs.