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An offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/katherine-goldstein/

CHICAGO — Burger King Holdings Inc., the nation's perennially No. 2 hamburger chain, said Thursday that it is selling itself to little-known private equity firm... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/colin-sterling/

Photo via Brian Gratwicke Does the intelligence of an animal factor in on your decision whether or not to eat them? Many people consider pigs to be incredibly intelligent, but they're still mostly factory farmed in often abhorrent conditions. Scientists are pushing for dolphins and other cetaceans to have non-human person status, complete with inalienable rights. But they're still hunted every year as a fish stock, as the documentary The Cove has highlighted. And what about cephalopods, a.k.a. octopuses and squid, which are known to be highly intelligent -- so...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Microsoft has gone meme. The Redmond giant has recruited Paul "Hungry Bear" Vasquez (aka "the double rainbow guy") of viral video fame to create a... Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/bianca-bosker/

The trailer for Charles Ferguson's new documentary "Inside Job" has been making its way around the web (hat tip to Nouriel Roubini's Twitter feed). The... Ryan McCarthy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/

All images from Push House In much of the world, hemp is thought of as a useful building material; Warren recently showed us an interesting house from Australia and it is common in the UK. But in America, it is still the butt of hippie jokes; Matt Hickman of the Mother Nature Networks describes a new house in Asheville, North Carolina with references to Tommy Chong and describes the interior:...Read the full story on TreeHugger

By Arvind Ganesan, director of business and human rights, Human Rights Watch Global Firms Violate International Labor Standards in America Many European companies that publicly... Human Rights Watch http://www.huffingtonpost.com/human-rights-watch/

Today tomato week continues with a very special treat...a short film that celebrates our passion for tomatoes by featuring passion and tomatoes. Perennial Love is... Maria Rodale http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-rodale/

By John F. Wasik Could you read another report that shows how little Americans have saved for retirement in these troubled times? I know it's... John F. Wasik http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-f-wasik/

Our willingness to tolerate the disappearance of wild foods, and the pleasures they bring, is deeply sobering. Andrew Beahrs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-beahrs/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions... Ryan McCarthy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/

Public debt sustainability in most advanced economies used to be a non-issue, or at most a back-burner one. A couple years back, if the topic... Jonathan D. Ostry http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-d-ostry/

The battle against terrorism requires that we understand its ideational roots, not all of which are intrinsically evil or irrational. Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-zimmerman/

Image via Elephant Journal We've had an influx of iPhone apps based on the Gulf oil spill, and many of them also donate proceeds to helping clean-up efforts. So what makes Puff Puff: Gulf Spill any different? It's still an app about the life post oil disaster and it donates 30% of net proceeds to ecosystem restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. But perhaps the importan...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cross-posted from Harvard Business Online Accept and embrace it: summer is almost over. After all, Labor Day is next week and doesn't that mean it's... Ron Ashkenas http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-ashkenas/

WASHINGTON — Productivity in the spring fell by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs rose, signals that companies may have reached... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/nathaniel-cahners-hindman/

Image credit: Brondell Simple Flush Dual-flush toilets have always been popular here on TreeHugger. After all, it seems insane to use the same amount of drinking water to flush your number ones as your number twos. (It actually seems insane to use drinking water at all, but that's another story.) But rather than just advocating ripping out your old fixture—we've always been keen on adapting your old throne. From the Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via The Daily Mail The ocean's whales are some of the Earth's most massive and majestic animals, reaching sizes of up to 80 feet long and 150 tons. As the targets of centuries of whaling, they have a violent history -- and are still recovering from an industry that depleted their numbers substantially. But while whales can be aggressive at times, they are more often gentle, curious creatures -- and likely to check out foreign objects in the water, including boats and photographers. Read the full story on TreeHugger

NEW YORK -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into certain types of stock trade orders that could be distorting share prices and trading... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/ryan-mccarthy/

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — American Samoa is going to make it illegal for stores to hand out plastic bags once a new law goes... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-news/reporting/travis-walter-donovan/