Sustain us

Can Wal-Mart save the world? Does San Francisco really want to trash plastic bags? And are scientists truly at work on a machine that "zaps" garbage, converting it to pellets and fuel through "plasma gasification"?

Dig in to these questions and others on American Public Media's Sustainability page. Dedicated to following "the national and global dialogue over how we use Earth's resources," this treasure trove collects green-related reports from across the radio network's diverse pool of programming.

If you only have a moment, we recommend leaping in with "Consumed." This newly hatched, in-depth report traces the history of buying and selling—and dares to wonder whether this consumer society of ours has a limited life span. As we ready ourselves for the most frenzied shopping days of the year, that question may be the most critical of all.