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Minnesota State Fair will showcase green living at Eco Experience

The Minnesota State Fair's Eco Experience will showcase renewable energy.

If you are headed to the Minnesota State Fair from Aug. 26th through Sept. 6th, you can learn about our environment and how to make it better at the Eco Experience building. The fair will feature interactive exhibits to teach you about green building, local food, recycling, composting, waste prevention, water quality, transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

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Minnesota State Fair will showcase green living at Eco Experience

The Minnesota State Fair's Eco Experience will showcase renewable energy.

If you are headed to the Minnesota State Fair from Aug. 26th through Sept. 6th, you can learn about our environment and how to make it better at the Eco Experience building. The fair will feature interactive exhibits to teach you about green building, local food, recycling, composting, waste prevention, water quality, transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

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Five years after Katrina, New Orleans still in recovery mode

Five years ago this Sunday (Aug 29) Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast area and caused massive flooding in New Orleans after levees there failed to protect the low-lying city. New Orleans had a population of about half a million people before Katrina, but the population is now about a third smaller. Much of the “Big Easy’s” culture and lifestyle has returned, but, as VOA’s Greg Flakus reports from New Orleans, it is still a city struggling to recover:

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Green living festival set for Pennsylvania

Hundreds of ideas and techniques for creating an environmentally sound future will be the focus of the 6th annual Pennsylvania Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Festival in Kempton, Penn., Sept. 17 through 19. The Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association, a non-profit dedicated to informing and educating the public on renewable energy production, energy efficiency and sustainable living, hosts the annual event.

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Blueberries a big hit in South Korea

The reputation of blueberries as a so-called “super-food” has created a boom in South Korea. People here are increasingly consuming the vitamin-rich fruit because of research contending blueberries may help ward off cancer, heart disease, strokes, infections, and other ailments. The berries were virtually unseen on the Korean peninsula until just a few years ago, but that has changed:

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Zipcar, Harvard and Zimride partner for Boston-area car sharing program

Zipcar Inc., Harvard University Transportation Services and Zimride today announced Greater Boston’s first campus car sharing program for drivers under 21. The partnership will make it even easier for parents to send students to school without a car and further reduce the number of cars in Cambridge neighborhoods, already a city with one of the highest concentrations of car sharers in the country.

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Researchers examine environmental factors behind autism

A conference on autism is taking place in Pennsylvania with the aim to help teachers and parents deal with challenges faced by children with autism. The disease affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact but symptoms vary. New studies are challenging formerly held beliefs that autism is passed down genetically. Now some experts say a child’s environment has to be taken into account. More from VOA’s Vidushi Sinha:

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Second Ruggles Green restaurant opens in Houston

From Green Right Now Reports

Houston’s popular Ruggles Green, launched a year ago off West Alabama street in the Upper Kirby District, has added a second location in the new CITYCENTRE development in the Memorial area of West Houston. The new Ruggles Green also is a Certified Green Restaurant that conforms to guidelines set by the Green Restaurant Association. Guidelines include an extensive recycling program, no use of styrofoam, energy reduction steps, water conservation steps, use of sustainable materials, public education/outreach, and use of local and organic ingredients in food.

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New software speeds detection of contaminants in drinking water

(Photo: Green Right Now)

Scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have collaborated in developing new water quality software that enhances a water system’s ability to detect when there has been intentional or unintentional contamination. Officials said the software, called Canary, can help detect a wide variety of chemical and biological contaminants, including pesticides, metals, and pathogens. Once contamination is detected quickly, a water utility could issue a “Do Not Drink” order to prevent customers from ingesting the water.

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Study shows air pollution poses greater link to heart attack, stroke

Voice of America reports that medical researchers are finding out more about the health risks of air pollution. They say the world’s dependence on fossil fuels is largely responsible for increased risk of heart attack and stroke:

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