The Downside of Vegan Leather

With meat demand going up and leather demand going down, the cowhide industry has a devastating supply and a demand problem.

Plastic Straw Ban Surprises

With plastic straw bans and request-a-straw rules, people and places are adjusting with new kinds of straws and some surprising innovations.

How to Bond With a Rhino

Combining financial and ecological incentives, the London Zoological Society is encouraging investors to buy rhino bonds for rhino conservation.

How the Weather Affects What We Buy

Even influencing the kind of car we decide to buy, weather economics can have a surprising impact on the decisions we make as consumers.

Should We Charge Electric Cars?

With the depletion of the Highway Trust Fund, Congress needs to decide if its new funding sources will include a pay-by-the-mile tax that charges EVs.

Why We Want Sneakers Made From Coffee

Whether it relates to coffee grounds or new clothing patterns, zero waste design can optimize economic efficiency in surprising ways.

The Spillover From Sorting (and Not Sorting) Trash

The four colors of Shanghai’s trash-sorting bins make the new system look deceptively simple for households and businesses.

Six Facts: Our Global Energy Consumption

The six facts that illustrate our global energy consumption take us to the countries, the growth rates, and the types of energy..

How Legos Discovered It’s Not Easy to be Green

If we want our Legos to match, attach, and detach, we might have to wait awhile for them to develop the appropriate bio-based plastic.

The Significance of a Cat Census

While the mission of the DC Cat Count is humane treatment of cats, it is also a cat census that provides a basic economic lesson.