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This week, the UN declared water and sanitation a human right, but since that is not going to improve water scarcity around the world tomorrow, here is a glimpse at what it will mean—with some generous insight from Ned Breslin of Water for People. Will governments be required to ensure access to clean water? Will it have to be free? Maybe—and no. Water is now officially a human right, but it remains to be seen what that will mean in practice. Governments may change how they manage and distribute water, but there are no set ru... Read the full story on Planet Green

If you watched George Clooney in action in Up in the air, you saw a master at the art of packing the rolling carryon bag. Apartment Therapy has looked at this issue a number of times, noting that every pound of weight shed from a plane saves 14,000 gallons of fuel per year. They have some great tips in one post: Star with the right bag. If the bag is bigger you will fill it up. Wear your clothes a number of times. "it's entirely possible to bring lightweight, quick-drying clothes that can easily be washed in the sink at night and worn again the next day." They also recommend good ... Read the full story on Planet Green

With global water supplies dwindling at an alarming rate, Planet 100 offers up a timely guide on everything you need to know about water desalination. WATCH VIDEO: Climate Change Deniers Get Desperate Why is it Important? Why are we even talking about water desalination? Quite frankly, because we’re on the brink of a global water crisis. As the global population rises so does demand for water which puts pressure on the planet’s finite supply. Add to scarcity, the fact that we’re polluting what little we have left, you can see why desalination is b... Read the full story on Planet Green

Visual Economics has an awesome graphic that breaks down how much of what food groups Americans eat every year. It involves a whole lot of dairy (bad news for the environment), but is surprisingly high in fruits and vegetables (and it's not all corn!). The 53 gallons of soda, 29 pounds of French fries, and 23 pounds of pizza are kind of scary, especially when you look at what they're doing to us over time, and as GOOD points out, the ch... Read the full story on Planet Green

In case you haven't heard: As of next June, Whole Foods Market will require all health and beauty products making organic claims to be certified according to USDA's organic standards or by NSF International. This is big news because right now, the term "organic" means diddly when you see it on a bottle of shampoo or tube of lip gloss. We caught up with Jeremiah McElwee, Senior Whole Body Coordinator for Whole Foods Market, to get the back story on the label lingo change. PG: What inspired Whole Foods to require beauty products making organic claims to be certified by USDA or NSF International? JM: Whole Foods Market created our organic labeling guidelines to support the integrity of the term “organic” by giving it a strong meaning and to ensure that pr... Read the full story on Planet Green

We've discussed the environmental perils of food waste before, but here's an interesting twist: all that waste means more energy is lost in the form of food than is stored in all of the nation's offshore oil and gas reserves. New Scientist reports on this interesting calculation: Recent estimates suggest that 16 per cent of the energy consumed in the US is used to produce food. Yet at least 25 per cent of food is wasted each year. Michael Webber and Amanda Cuellar ... Read the full story on Planet Green

This post, by TreeHugger contributor Warren McLaren, is part of series about trading in your car for a bike for trips that are two miles or less in distance. It originally appeared on our sibling site, TreeHugger. The series is sponsored by the Clif 2-Mile Challenge. For longer than I care to remember I've been a cycle commuter. For short to medium distances I can't think of a better way to travel. I lived on the inner city fringe for roughly 20 years. For half of that time I didn't own a car. I rode everywhere, for everything. To work, to play, to study, to lecture, to sho... Read the full story on Planet Green

You know that last bit of coffee that always seems to be left in the carafe? Don't just pour it down the drain -- you can use it to fertilize your container-grown plants. Coffee grounds (and brewed coffee) are a source of nitrogen for plants, which is the nutrient that produces healthy green growth and strong stems. Coffee also contains calcium and magnesium -- both of which are beneficial to plant health. To use coffee as a plant fertilizer, you'll need to dilute it. It should look like weak tea -- see the photo for an example. If you aim for about 1/4 coffee and 3/4 water in your mixture (depending on how strongly you... Read the full story on Planet Green

We got these really pretty eggplants from the farmers’ market. They were sort of oddly shaped, instead of the almost scary, perfectly cylindrical eggplant variety that you often see at the grocery store. These were really fat and short, you almost wanted to hug them, they were so cute. This recipe is very similar to my Eggplant Parmesan but I used a light fry on the eggplant. I also sliced it thinner and made a ricotta filling instead of a mozzarella filling. If you’re using traditional eggplants, not the smaller and sweeter Japanese variety, slice them up, salt them, and let them sweat for a few hours. I used some leftover Read the full story on Planet Green

The health of the oceans may be failing, and it may be worse for the planet than the devastation caused by the loss of tropical rainforest. The Daily Mail reports on research out of Canada showing that phytoplankton, "described as the 'fuel' on which marine ecosystems run," are declining at a rate of about 1 percent a year. If the researchers' theory proves to be true, it would not only add to evidence that global warming is Read the full story on Planet Green

Welcome to Planet 100 for July 29, 2010. Here's what we're covering today. WATCH VIDEO: Climate Change Deniers Get Desperate Deniers Get Desperate Are climate deniers admitting defeat? After rejecting the validity of climate change for decades fossil fuel companies are resorting to a new approach to protect their dirty energy industry. Case in point—billionaire coal magnate, tea party funder and New York's second richest man, David Koch, who was quoted in New York magazine earlier this week saying that "Global warming could be good for the plan... Read the full story on Planet Green

The energy bill that was introduced to the U.S. Senate a couple of days ago (there's a PDF of the text here) is flawed for many reasons, and pundits on all sides will gladly explain you why. But there's one omission that doesn't get nearly enough press, and it is the fact that the bill doesn't contain any money for public transportation and the improved urban planning that goes with it. If there's one thing that could improve energy use in the U.S., it's fast and modern public transportation (f.ex. more than 90% of trips are made using transit in Hong Kong). So much energy ... Read the full story on Planet Green

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Editor's note: Over the next month, as part of our coverage of Blue August, Planet Green will be interviewing chefs around the country to get their takes on the Gulf Oil Spill and how it might affect the future of the region's vibrant food culture. This is the first interview in the series. Joey Campanaro is Chef/Owner of Blackfoot Consulting, The Little Owl, Market Table, Kenmare, and The Village Belle, all in New York City, where he combines fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavors and techniques fro... Read the full story on Planet Green

So I've moved my Plastic Project out of the bathroom and am now taking a good, hard look at how I can use less plastic in the kitchen. Which is easier said than done (I'm just not sure I'm ready to give up seltzer, people). But one easy-peasy thing we can all do is stock up on mason jars. They're absurdly practical, attractive, durable, and dishwasher/microwave/stove-top safe. Here are the main ways I'm using mason jars right now: 1. As glasses! Which, to be honest, isn't replacing that much plastic because most of our glasses were well, glass, to begin with. But when we have a crowd over, the sturdy mason jar is a much better choice than the flimsy disposable plastic cup. We also figured out that they're great for transporting beverages to picnics since you can screw th... Read the full story on Planet Green

Babies babies babies. Looks like this episode of The Fabulous Beekman Boys is all about babies. I love babies. Doesn’t everybody love babies? How can you not love a baby? Even a goat baby. Looks like this is going to be fun. As usual, I will rank the events depicted on the show using a scale of goats. Five goats is good. One goat is bad. At the end, the number of goats will indicate whether I am more or less likely to follow the Beekman Boys’ lead and leave New York City. It’s winter at the farm. I hate winter everywhere but in Southern California. Upstate New York is not Southern California. Read the full story on Planet Green

Sometimes, a book looks so darn cool that you just can't wait for the publication date to write about it. That's how I feel about ECO FASHION by Sass Brown, which will be published in September by Laurence King Publishing (but you can pre-order your copy on Amazon, now!). Sass is a professor at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology (but gets to live in Florence where she directs their overseas program, lucky!) and has also created collections for manufacturers ranging from from urban clothing for London’s trend conscious teenagers, to her own signature collection of women’s designe... Read the full story on Planet Green

Whether you shop at your local farmers' market, at Whole Foods, or even at an enlightened supermarket, you may be unsure of terms like organic and biodynamic. Come visit these two farms, see how they do it, and hear the farmers tell you what they are all about. Visit a Successful Organic Farm This is the Stewart Organic Farm. Alan Stewart will show you how they prepare the soil, grow cover crops, use integrated pest management, and end up with luscious beans, blueberries, and apples. Then he’ll take you ... Read the full story on Planet Green

This post, by TreeHugger contributor April Streeter, is part of series about trading in your car for a bike for trips that are two miles or less in distance. It originally appeared on our sibling site, TreeHugger. The series is sponsored by the Clif 2-Mile Challenge. Since a car-crushing accident in 2006, our family went car-free first in Gothenburg, Sweden and now Portland, Ore., and I thought I'd never look back. But a gift horse -- free use of a car all summer long -- has tu... Read the full story on Planet Green

We know overfishing has a devastating impact on the environment, and we've seen weird things happen to fish as a result of a changing environment before, but a new finding has perplexed scientists. A researcher in Australia, Stefan Walker, has found that fishing may cause the male-female ratio to change in sex-changing fish populations. New Scient... Read the full story on Planet Green