photo: Dave Parker via flickr In the tug of war over whether organic farming is really better than conventional chemical-laden farming, a new study in the online peer-reviewed journal PLoS One comes out solidly in support of the benefits of organic. Self-described as the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers from Washington State University found that commercial organic farms produce was more...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo credit by batega via flickr. In its early days, Barcelona's Bicing seemed like an unparalleled success. With 400 stations and 3,000 of the squat, burly red-and-white bikes stationed around the city, Bicing quickly became part of Barcelona's big city atmosphere and was enthusiastically received by inhabitants. But after five years, something scary started to happen, in addition to the vandalism and Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Jonathan McIntosh via flickr With all the increased attention Canada's tar sands projects have been getting--both in terms of environmental impact and distributing them through pipeline into the United States--it's not surprising that many people are calling for a boycott on oil and fuel produced from tar sands. But is that really possible in a meaningful sense? ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Flickr, CC Should Access for Regular Hybrids be Phased Out? In California, vehicles that meet certain fuel economy and tailpipe emission criteria are granted special access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV, aka the carpool lane). In car-centric places like Los Angeles, it's a huge advantage. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill (SB 535) into law that extends HOV-lane access to 40,000 qualifying plug-in hybrid ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via FreeCat @ Flickr

Sometimes a name change can be a good thing (just ask Walter Willison, Jennifer Anastassakis, or Caryn Johnson, who you know as Bruce Willis, Jennifer Aniston, and Whoopi Goldberg). But for these fish, a new name meant new popularity — and an increased danger of being overfished.

Would slimeheads, mudbugs, hogs, and whore’s eggs stayed peacefully abundant under the water if they hadn’t had their identities stolen? Click on to see other weirdly-nam…Read the full story on TreeHugger