Spring means breeding season for toads and, in Philadelphia, that means closing off a city street so the tiny creatures are safe from traffic as they seek their mates. Each year for the month of April, 150 volunteers organize the Toad Detour
Twenty-six years ago, Jane Golden took to the streets of Philadelphia with a small contingent of helpers and the goal of wiping out the city's ugly graffiti. Today, 3,000 walls later, her work has become the nation's largest public art program, with a staff of 50 – many of whom are former graffiti artists themselves.
Philadelphia's mayor joined Jon Bon Jovi and formerly homeless youth in a special ribbon cutting ceremony this week for a new 10-unit apartment house for youth in need of transitional homes, job training and experiences that help them become responsible adults.
Every year storm-water run-off causes nearly 10 trillion gallons of polluted water to be dumped into America's rivers and oceans. As cities across the country struggle to comply with federal regulations surrounding pollution, Philadelphia is emerging as a model of innovation in water management by opting for cost effective natural solutions that save its two rivers from excessive run-off.
The citywide bike-sharing program embraced by Parisians and tourists that started one year ago was so successful that the mayor is proposing a four-wheeled version, using electric cars.
Electric trams, low-cost bicycle rentals, dedicated bus lanes and, before long, commuter buses. Paris has pulled out all stops in its efforts to offer environmentally friendly ways of getting around town.
Paris is digging deep -- nearly two kilometres deep -- to tap into hot water that will provide ecologically clean heating for the city creating geo-thermal energy
For Parisians who cannot make it to the beach, the city is bringing the beach to them. For the eighth year in a row, "Paris Plage" (Paris Beach) has imported sandy shores, chaise longues and a decidedly more relaxed feel to the banks of the Seine river.
Heat from trains moving along tracks in the Parisian metro combined with the warmth generated by human bodies will help heat a public housing project in the city center.
An extraordinary cache of hundreds of works by Pablo Picasso, which were unknown for more than a half century, was introduced to the art world by an unassuming retired French electrician.
A hero Muslim employee from Mali who helped hide hostages in a walk-in refrigerator at a Jewish supermarket during last week's Paris attacks will be awarded French nationality in a ceremony on Tuesday.
The moms of 3 Americans who thwarted an attack on a train in France had no way to get to their sons' Legion of Honor ceremony, until a CEO stepped up.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are among 15 Mediterranean nations who have just signed a historic agreement to work together to combat the effects of climate change, one month ahead of the next United Nations conference on climate change, scheduled for November in Cancun.
Norway's Prime Minister announced Tuesday that Oslo will donate up to a billion dollars to a Brazilian fund devoted to rescuing the Amazon rain forest. Norway, the first country to pledge money to the fund, will donate as much as $130 million next year.
Biomethane from human waste will soon power public transportation in Norway's capital city. Starting in September 2009, the methane gas normally contributing to Global Warming, will be captured from one of Oslo's sewage plants and converted into biomethane fuel to run 200 of the city's public buses.
Residents of a remote village nestled in a steep-sided valley in southern Norway are about to enjoy winter sunlight for the first time ever thanks to giant mirrors. The tall mountains that surround the village of Rjukan are high enough to deprive its 3,500 inhabitants of direct sunlight for six months a year.
Norway has donated approximately $10 million to help the UN Food and Agriculture Organization provide conflict-affected farmers, fishers and herders in South Sudan with critical livelihood support so they can feed themselves.
The New York Philharmonic played an historic concert in Pyongyang on Tuesday, opening with both countries' national anthems, emphasizing the goal of improving ties between the US and communist North Korea.
For the first time in more than half a century, trains crossed from South to North Korea on Thursday through a sunny opening in Cold War politics, and launched by a "celebration with fireworks, bands, balloons and hundreds of people waving the 'unification' flag".
In an encouraging sign for relations between the two countries, North Korea has handed over the remains of six U.S. servicemen killed in the 1950-53 Korean War to a U.S. delegation led by Democratic presidential candidate and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson