From the Hill…

Those of you who thought that Kevin Costner’s career was all wet, you were absolutely right. Taking a rather odd move, BP has thrown their cleanup business at Hollywood. In a plot that could have been lifted out of a movie, Kevin Costner stepped forward to promote a device that he says will aid the oil spill disaster – the exact same thing his character did to Dennis Hopper’s oil rig-fortressed villain in Waterworld.

(Waterworld, by the way, was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures in 1995, the year …

Green travel isn’t just about buying carbon offsets and choosing resorts that serve local, organic fare, it’s about crafting an itinerary that’s built around more sustainable options. That’s especially true when it comes to transportation. Buzzing around a city and racking up cab fare certainly isn’t the most environmentally friendly option, but it also doesn’t allow you the ability to truly explore a place.

Conscious travel is about respecting the places that you’re venturing, and that means taking the time to truly enjoy them. That doesn’t mean you need to commit …

In addition to packing a hefty antioxidant punch, the mango – a superfruit if there ever was one – is now proven to fend off poverty, global warming, and sexism.

According to an article in the BBC News, residents of the Dharhara village in the Bhagalpur district of northwestern India have engaged in a social experiment using mangoes to up the value of their daughters. In many parts of India, girls are seen as less desirable than boys. Families want a male heir, and a son is seen as an extra …

Veterinary medicine has come a long way from the shoot-”˜em-when-they’re-sick days. Now, when your dog or cat is ill, you can visit veterinary specialists like oncologists, dermatologists, and even dentists. In addition to these advances, there are alternative treatments available for your furry friend.

Jessica Vogelsang, DVM (otherwise known as Dr. V) is a 2002 graduate from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2006, she completed a training course in veterinary acupuncture through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society. Dr. Vogelsang works in San Diego, CA, and she writes …

“A laughing gull stands on another laughing gull in distress at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge on North Breton Island, LA., on May 20. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials collected the bird to to test it for exposure to oil and rescue it if possible.”

via Newsweek
Photograph: Gerald Herbert / AP

Editor’s note: we will be posting an image from the Gulf oil spill every day (M-F) until the leak is fixed. Send pictures, links and tips to spill at ecosalon dot com.

Sunscreen can be, well, complicated. It’s like the bad boyfriends of our earlier twenties. We were told they were necessary at the time, but were they really worth the hassle in the end? As we recently reported, the Environmental Working Group declared that skin cancer is on the rise partially due to the extensive chemicals found in common sunscreens. Common sunscreens are causing damage on the cellular level. Just like our ex-boyfriends did. See how it’s all circular?

So it’s imperative to keep our sunscreens as chemical-free as possible. This …

Certain articles of clothing have immediate revolutionary connotations – Che Guevara’s beret, Mao Tse-tung’s jacket. The t-shirt is fast becoming the rebel standard of the eco-pioneer.

Initially thought of as an undergarment, the t-shirt that was memorialized as the symbol for generational rebellion in the 50′s by Brando, Dean and Clift, today poses as the banner for negative environmental facts. Maybe you’ve heard some of the statistics? It takes about a third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers, and up to 10,000 liters of water to produce enough conventionally farmed cotton …

Yellow jackets and bumble bees may be a nuisance when you’re in your backyard or the park, but the seemingly unwelcome picnic guests are one of the most crucial pollinators around. Bees aren’t just responsible for honey; they help pollinate much of our food supply and without them we’d be out of roughly 30 percent of our food crops. The ever-so-important bee population is already depleting, so even if you’re not ready to try backyard beekeeping, you should avoid trapping and killing the little buggers. Instead, try to live …