Dogs are humans’ best friends, immeasurable bringers of joy to all around them and the only good content left on the internet. They’re also a huge strain on the environment. Yes, I am here to be the total bummer to tell you that those good boys and girls and loveable fur faces have a gigantic carbon pawprint that leads to more greenhouse gasses being pumped into our air, poison washing into our waters and toxic chemicals entering our mouths.

Bats are woefully understudied. Perhaps it is because they are not cute, or because they're nocturnal and we don't see them very often, or, as "citizen scientist" Danielle Gustafson says in a Bloomberg report on a new bat app, because they just don't have good PR in pop culture.

We are drowning the world in plastic. It washes onto our beaches, it sits entombed for centuries in landfills, it floats around the ocean in a cloud of microscopic particles twice the size of Texas. Most of it — 88% in Australia — never gets recycled.

Recycling it still takes 10% of the energy of making new plastic — not nothing. It would be nice to use a little less in the first place.

Great news for people who hate doing dishes: if you have a dishwasher, washing your dishes by hand is a colossal waste of water, energy, time, and money, and you can prove it with maths.

Can we stop being mad at plastic straws for a minute? Some folks are saying plastic straws are stupid and useless while others make the point that I'm disabled and I need these to drink.

What if the fate of the ocean doesn't hinge on plastic straws at all? Because the largest source of garbage plastic in the ocean is fishing waste.

The holiday season is a time for family, friends, charity, and a tremendous amount of waste.

"The family cloth" is a reusable alternative to toilet paper, made of rags, old t-shirts, sewn fabric, or purchased cloth wipes. They are mostly used for wiping pee, but some families use them for poop and periods. The practice (common until the modern era) is now mostly featured in eco-conscious and "frugal" housekeeping blogs andEtsy shops.

Yesterday BuzzFeed published a sympathetic explainer about the wipes. (At the end, readers are asked to respond with "Good for them, not for me!" or "I'd try it at some point.") Before it grows any more, let's make it clear: "Family cloth" is not a life hack.

Here's another reason to hate smoking. Cigarette butts are among the most abundant types of human-produced garbage in the world's oceans - and they take decades to decompose.

Solar power is becoming an increasingly popular investment in Australia. Last year, more than 9500 solar panels were installed each day on average. However, there is still a lot of information out there about solar, particularly when it comes to upkeep, reliability and cost. Here are five myths that prospective first-time buyers need to know.

The plastic bag ban by the major supermarkets (and Coles’ pivot away from its ban after backlash, then pivot back to the ban after a backlash to the backlash) has left plenty of people scratching their heads.

What are the best replacements for single-use plastic bags? Given that reusable bags are much sturdier, how many times must we use them to compensate for their larger environmental impact?

We’re so used to using computers and phones that they feel like an extension of our brains — it isn’t just me, right? A Google query comes back as fast as a thought, and the information at my fingertips feels intangible like the information in my brain.

Even if you regularly eschew meat-eating and take public transportation, all your efforts at reducing your carbon footprint can be easily outweighed by indulging in one of the other biggest individual contributions to climate change: Flying. Most advice on lowering your carbon footprint notes that flying is bad, and stops there. But The New York Times has some more specific guidelines on how to pick and choose your air travel.

We told you to rinse your recyclables. "But what about the wasted water?" you asked. So we asked some scientists. The short answer is, a quick rinse is usually worth it. The long answer is also pretty interesting!

In a continuing campaign against single-use plastic, Woolworths has announced it will discontinue sales of plastic straws from the end of the year. It's a great step forward for environmentalism, but what does it mean for people who rely on straws for medical reasons, or just prefer it with their weekend cocktails? Here are some alternatives.

Do you have a few unused mobile phones gathering dust in your house somewhere? You're not alone: it is estimated that Australians are holding onto more than 23 million unused phones. All of these products contain valuable materials that could be returned to the supply chain via recycling. Here are seven expert tips for getting rid of unwanted e-waste in ways that will help the planet.

Android/iOS: Smoking is one of the best-known ways to poison your lungs, but good old fashioned air pollution plays a role, too. An app called Shit, I Smoke! (free on iOS and Android) puts your local pollution in terms you can understand.

Technology is unavoidable, whether it's the smartphone in your pocket, the computer on your desk, or the emails in your inbox. Unfortunately, all those gadgets and apps also have a pretty terrible impact on the environment.

First its Select range of products and now the humble plastic bag! It's political correctness gone mad I tells ya! Except, you know, it's not. Woolworths had decided to do what's best for the environment and by June 20, it'll have killed off single-use plastic bags in all of its stores.

Feeding wild birds in your backyard can be an exciting yet soothing experience - especially if you have small kids in tow. However, have you ever wondered if what you're doing is legal? Here are the rules (and warnings) you need to know about.