The success of recycling depends on several things, including efficient collection of recyclable materials, and a continuous demand for those materials to produce recycled products. Consumers play a key role in ensuring that this recycling loop remains strong. Here's how to help.

Find out how to donate clothing or organize a clothes donation drive. Links provided to pick-up instructions and drop-off collection locations for The Salvation Army and Goodwill

If you notice someone who is exhibiting symptoms of depression, ask the person how he is feeling and explain why you are concerned. Realize that you cannot diagnose the problem or offer treatment options, but you can be part of a support system. Tell the person that he is valued and deserves to feel better. Listen without passing judgment. Recommend that he discuss depression with his doctor and offer to accompany him to the first appointment. It may not be the easiest conversation you'll ever have, but it might be one of the most worthy. And whether or not the person chooses to take your advice, keep checking-in with him on a regular basis and extending invitations to partake in social activities so that he will feel he belongs.

Two of us folk singers are ditching our station wagons to tour the country by train instead. The music and the mechanism that will propel us around the country has become appropriately named Railroad Folk. Here is the story of how we sewed together our tour by train. ...

Image from Shuzo Shikano/Kyodo News Before you start getting worried, let me reassure you that this is not a case of a genetic engineering experiment gone terribly wrong. No, apparently it's just your typical case of polar bears swimming in a particularly algae-rich pond, as the AP reports:

Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae. Hi...

You probably have faced the dilemma of how to find out which products are Good and which products are Bad, never mind sorting out when Bad companies make Good products, or vice versa. A lot of consumers turn to the internet, to bloggers and reviews. But who can you trust? Who is the judge when a reputable company is accused of unsuitable practices? And what can you expect from a vendor of premium quality products? Almost Vegetarian sent TreeHugger a tip linking their article about New Moon Kitchen cookies, asking us to spread the word to our readers. The accusations are sensational. But....are they true?...

It's probably your best option in a pinch, but you could be in trouble if you don't pay back this loan to yourself.

Gain exposure to real estate without owning property. Here's how.

Tap into your home equity with a reverse mortgage, but beware the risks. Here's how you can get burned.

Monetary policy is a decent predictor of stock performance, and now it's saying to buy small-caps.

The mobile phone maker gets a huge haircut in stock price even though not much changed. I'm still buying.

A bunch of selling creates the opportunity to jump into these hot shares.

You don't need a Harvard MBA to mimic the returns of the university's endowment.

Turmoil in the markets can bring out the speculator in all of us.

New details are emerging on the ARPS scandal. The truth is uglier than I suspected.

Forget pesticides or kerosene. Instead, smother a badly placed yellow jacket nests with a translucent cover.

Sow leafy greens in late summer to reap abundant crops in the fall.

Don't worry about mole damage any longer; here's a nontoxic method of keeping them away!

Corner-office types can come in handy when closing a sale--if you don't let them screw things up.

Probably not--unless, of course, your energy bill is putting you out of business.

How to contain the problem before it does any real damage.