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by TreeHugger

What Does "The Pursuit of Happiness" Mean For American Communities?

12:04 pm in Design & Architecture, holidays, urban life, urban planning by TreeHugger

declaration of independence image The writers of the Declaration of Independence had a way with words; the promise of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness has a ring to it in a way that Canada's Peace, Order and Good Government doesn't. Over at the NRDC Switchboard, Kaid Benfield writes a long post about happiness, trying to answer the questions:
So the concept of happiness is embedded in our national DNA. But does "the pursuit" of this "inalienable Right" have meaning for public policy? For community? For the e...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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by TreeHugger

How an Elm Tree Helped Win America’s Independence

10:38 pm in Culture & Celebrity, holidays, united states by TreeHugger

liberty tree print photo Photo: Boston Public Library The story of America's struggle for independence tells tale of heroic men and women united in their noble quest for freedom -- but one of the most enduring figures at the center of that revolution was not a person at all. Years before the Founding Fathers gathered in stately halls and meetinghouses to shape what would become the Declaration of Independence, the seeds of liberty had been planted and nurtured in a far more humble setting -- beneath the branches of an elm tree....Read the full story on TreeHugger

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by TreeHugger

The Annual Green Whine: It’s Time To Lose The Fireworks

11:18 am in Business & Politics, chemicals, holidays by TreeHugger

fireworks image Oh No Mommy! Will the Greenies Take Fireworks Away From Us? They are shooting off fireworks for Canada Day tonight, and the Fourth of July is not far behind, so it's time to bring out our annual whine about how bad fireworks really are for the environment. It brings out the best in our commenters ("Eat my buttcheeks!" is typical) but one cannot escape the fact that the glorious lights fire over a quarter of a million pounds of perchlorates, barium, antimony, strontium and other toxic heavy metals into the atmosphere, falling back into our soil and our water systems. So for your reading pleasure we presen...Read the full story on TreeHugger

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