The most recent city to join the effort to ban the bag is Portland, Ore., which has banned single-use plastic bags at the checkouts of large retailers. The change was met with overwhelming support from most Portlanders, says Stiv Wilson of 5 Gyres Institute, who helped give out free reusable bags at grocery stores to ease the transition for shoppers on October 15, when the ban took effect.

The Portland ordinance, unanimously approved by Portland City Council, was the culmination of a four-year campaign by the Surfrider Foundation Portland Chapter, 5 Gyres Institute, and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. It reflects growing public concern about the environmental impact of disposable plastic.

The destruction of two Washington State dams will restore depleted fisheries, create jobs, and maybe even change how we manage our rivers.

There’s been an amazing reversal of fortune for an undersea wildlife park off the tip of Mexico in Baha, California, according to a press release from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The number of marine species in Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP) rocketed by 460% between 1999 and 2009. Much of the credit for this terrific change goes to locals, who have ensured adherence to the park’s ‘no take’ law.

“Afghanistan has been devastated by 30 years of conflict, so you might not expect there to be a lot of large wildlife left. But there does appear to be a fairly large population of snow leopards, and that’s wonderful,” said Peter Zahler, who launched the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Afghanistan program in 2006.

Eco Amazons brings together for the first time the women leading the charge to create a sustainable future for all life on Earth. Their efforts demonstrate how individual concern gives rise to passion, how passion leads to action, and how action effects meaningful change—efforts that can be emulated by each and every one of us.

A decade ago, in a moment of inspiration, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority stumbled on a way to help the environment and its own bottom line: donating retired subway trains to the little-known cause of creating artificial reefs.

Frogs across may be recovering from a fungal disease that has devastated populations around the world.

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Listen to his speech at Bioneers: