When Ohio's Kent State University offered custodial staff the option of working four days a week instead of five to cut commuting costs, most jumped at the chance, part of a U.S. trend aimed at combating soaring gasoline prices.

Investing is a tricky business, and it's doubly so when you want to limit yourself to companies that are truly socially responsible. If you want to be scrupulously ethical as well as smart, how do you choose wisely?

France's celebrated Bordeaux wine-growing region kicked off "Bilan Carbone," a project to track the industry's greenhouse gas emissions with an eye toward bolstering environmental standards in response to growing concern about global warming.

"Paper or plastic?" The clerks at Whole Foods will cease asking shoppers that question as they discontinue the use of disposable, plastic bags at all 270 stores worldwide by Earth Day 2008 (April 22).

Measuring 0.16 of an inch and weighing in at 3 pounds, MacBook Air is the world's trimmest laptop computer. It's also the world's greenest, featuring a recyclable aluminium case, mercury-free display, arsenic-free glass and bromide and PVC-free circuits.