photo: Alexander Torrenegra via flickr. Just as its announced that Brazil and the United States will work together to slow Amazon deforestation, Cool Green Science asks an important question: Has it been policy or recession driving down deforestation in Brazil?...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Nissan Correction: It looks like BusinessWeek was wrong. A representative from Nissan contacted us 56,000 is not the number of pre-orders, but rather the number of people who have signed up on their website for more information about the LEAF once it is released. Incidentally, that number is now 71,000, and while it is a good sign for Nissan, it means a lot less for the future commercial success of the LEAF than actual pre-orders would. And That's Just for the United States... Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan and Renault, isn't the kind of guy who just dips his ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Guyon Morée via flickr. Let's take the idea of animal rights in a legal direction. Over the weekend voters in Switzerland rejected a proposal to start public funding for lawyers to defend animals in court. Which to many people in the United States may seem like a no-brainer. Public funding for animal rights lawyers? Come on!...Read the full story on TreeHugger

UltraTouch Jean fiber insulation. Credit: UltraTouch Today through March 14, bring your worn down denims to Gap stores across the United States and they will be recycled into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. The retail chain has teamed up with Cotton Incorporated for their COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive; once jeans are converted into insulation they will be donated to communities in need. Click through for discounts and more on the pro...Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: John Schanlaub via flickr. A new analysis of the United States' wind power potential for the lower 48 states has been released by AWS Truewind and shows that increases turbine height mean the nation gains an additional 2,500 gigawatts of onshore power....Read the full story on TreeHugger