Since 1919, North Dakota has operated the nation's only 100 percent state-run bank, a genuinely socialist enterprise that spins tax revenues into loans for in-state farmers, students, and small-business owners.
Hundreds of Nigerian rebel fighters gave up their weapons and accepted an amnesty deal on Saturday in the most concerted effort yet to end years of fighting in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
"After decades of sometimes bloody disputes over the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon and Nigeria have settled their long-disputed maritime border, ending years of uncertainty as to who owns sections of Africa's oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.
To help protect the ecologically threatened native herb from depletion, researchers are encouraging New Mexico farmers to grow yerba mansa, called "the calming herb," which has been used for centuries by natives of the Southwest for ailments ranging from toothaches to sinus infections.
In a corner of the New Mexico desert, the largest solar plant in the United States, the Suntower, will provide power to some 74,000 homes when it opens in 2011.
Energy technology company Jetstream Wind recently announced plans that it will develop the world's first sustainable zero-emissions power plant. The plant will use power from renewable resources such as wind and solar power, which will then be converted into hydrogen and transferred back to the grid as available power, according to the New Mexico-based company.
The University of New Hampshire is the first in the nation to receive most of its heat and electricity from landfill gas. It showcased the achievement at the eco-themed graduation ceremony Saturday. The university has celebrated its efforts to be green by using gas from a landfill to power the loudspeakers at its commencement and turning leftover food from the ceremony into compost.
Papua New Guinea has created its first conservation area to save an area of pristine rainforest larger than Singapore and protect rare animals like the adorable tree kangaroo, conservationists said on Tuesday. Under the conservation plan, 35 villages representing 10,000 people have pledged to create a safe zone for forests and wildlife.
Conservation International scientists have discovered 56 species believed new to science in Papua New Guinea, including a tiny chirping frog, jumping spiders, and an elegant striped gecko.
Nevada, with abundant land and sunshine is becoming a hot bed for the solar industry. The result is green jobs and billions of investment dollars that are boosting this desert economy.
Nevada's first full-sized alternative fuel station and LEED-certified convenience store opened in Minden Tuesday. With solar panels and skylights, bamboo shelving and biofuels, the idea was to take a Whole Foods market, and shrink it down to the size of a 7-Eleven."
Children in rural Mali are being given the opportunity to develop their computer skills. Computer technology has arrived in one of Mali's rural villages providing children with access to laptops for the first time. The pilot program was launched in November, thanks to the charity, One Laptop Per Child.
In response to pressure from the US movie industry which loses 6 billion dollars per year from pirated sales of DVDs, Malaysia has launched a squad of DVD-sniffing dogs to help root out large caches of illegal disks.
Madagascar and France on Wednesday signed an agreement allocating 20 million dollars (13 million euros) to preserve Madagascar's rich biodiversity.
Pasadena, Long Beach, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, have all adopted new strict Green Building Codes, which on average can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% per building, but Los Angeles is poised to become the largest city in the nation to do so.
In one of the largest gifts ever to a dance organization, philanthropist Glorya Kaufman is donating $20 million to the Dance at the Music Center program and its 11-acre campus in downtown Los Angeles.
An old battleground of California's water wars could turn into one of the largest solar farms in the world, with thousands of shiny black and blue panels mounted across the desiccated, salty white crust of Owens Lake.
As knife crime and gang culture scar the streets of England, one program is offering a glimmer of hope.
London has opened its first exercise playground for older people, with specially designed fitness equipment to help the capital's aging baby boomers stay fit.
Two American veterinarians are heading off to war- torn Liberia this month to help the animals in the West African country who have suffered because of a 14-year civil war. The two vets are going on behalf of a nonprofit organization called Veterinarians Without Borders to establish the Veterinarians to Liberia Project.
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