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Microbeads are bad news, but fortunately most of us know that by now. There has been growing resistance to the miniscule pieces of plastic, added to personal care products for their ability to exfoliate skin, or sometimes just to look pretty in a see-through bottle. These microbeads, however, wreak environmental havoc as soon as they're washed down the drain. The outcome is described here by campaign group 'Beat the Microbead':

Ford and H.J. Heinz are working to incorporate bioplastics made from dried tomato skins into various vehicle components. The plant-based materials are expected to replace traditional plastics derived from petroleum.

When Mexico City's new international airport is finished in four years, it will be one of the largest in the world, spanning over half a million square meters. It will also be the most sustainable airport ever built. Instead of a group of average warehouse-like terminals, the airport will use a single giant structure wrapped in a unique skin that lets in natural light and air, collects rainwater, and provides incredible views of planes circling the sky.

On eBay and elsewhere on the Internet, illegal wildlife and wildlife parts - from elephant ivory to tiger skins to monkey and crocodile skulls - are being sold. Bringing an end to this illicit activity is proving to be a daunting challenge.

Bio-inspired design is showing up in technology projects big and small, from telescopes inspired by lobster eyes to see more of space to swellable microneedle arrays that provide safer skin grafts, based on an insect with a similar swellable proboscis.

A coalition of companies with skin in the game - food and beverage giants General Mills, Driscoll's and Coca-Cola North America, Gap Inc., Symantec and home builder KB Home - are coming together to launch a new campaign urging companies to enact more aggressive measures to maximize California's local and state water resources.