In an effort to make mortgage disclosure forms more clear, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed that all key terms, such as "interest rate" and "prepayment penalties," be defined on the first page of a new, four-page, good-faith estimate that would be used by all lenders. If enacted, the measure would serve as a checklist for comparison with the closing document.

Across the nation, state and local parks are working to appeal to more constituencies. The Washington County Parks and Recreation Department recently sponsored a treasure-hunting game with the Three Rivers Informal Geocaching Organization. Geocaching is an activity where players use global positioning systems to search for hidden geocaches, usually waterproof containers filled with trinkets and a logbook to sign to prove it was found. Caches are often placed in areas of natural beauty or cultural significance, giving families the opportunity to get fresh air together and walk with a purpose.

In Pennsylvania, state parks are segmenting their "market"—providing services for upscale vacationers to bring in additional revenue. M.K Goddard State Park hosts instructor-led, multiday, outdoor activities. Activities include ice-fishing demonstrations and cross-country ski tours interspersed with picnic lunches and hearty Amish-catered meals. The activities can help lower-income visitors, too; the ecotour's paying customers help subsidize general admission fees.

A year after banning the sale of water bottles for city government employees, San Francisco Mayor Newsom is urging restaurants to stop offering them to their customers. This nonbinding request, which seeks to curb pollution, follows other recent measures imposed on restaurants such as the banning of trans fats and Styrofoam containers. Tests have shown that water in San Francisco has a very good taste and is free of contaminants.

If approved by the City's Board of Supervisors, San Francisco will require all new large commercial buildings and residential high-rises to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. These standards aim to reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings through the inclusion of environmental features such as solar panels, water-conscious landscaping, nontoxic paints, and bike storage. LEED standards have become common for public buildings but are rarely imposed on the private sector.

In King County, Washington, diners in most chain eateries will soon be able to easily check the calorie, saturated fat, carbohydrate, and sodium content of the food they order. Under a new public regulation, one of the first of its kind in the US, chain restaurants with 15 or more locations nationwide will be required to provide this information to their customers.

Because fuel convoys in Iraq are easy targets for insurgents, the US Army is planning to install two, newly designed, portable biomass refineries in Baghdad. These refineries can turn organic food waste into ethanol and turn other trash, such as plastic and cardboard, into propane and methane. The Army expects that this technology could have non-military applications. For example, in areas stricken by a natural disaster, energy could be derived from the trash produced by shelters and hospitals.

Through the Chicago Climate Exchange program, the world's first binding carbon credit trading system, two universities—Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Iowa (UI)—have entered a cap and trade agreement to lower their combined emissions. MSU, a growing campus, will buy 5,000 tons of carbon credits from UI; by burning oat hulls at its power plants, UI has successfully decreased its emissions in the last few years.

Book borrowers unable to arrive before closing time at Pennsylvania's Pequea Valley Public Library can take advantage of its 24-hour pick up boxes on the building's porch. Under the "Your Library Anytime" program, users let library staff know what materials they need, and the staff checks them out to the patron's account and deposits them into a designated locker. Patrons can then unlock the lockers at their convenience by inputting a personal code.

Senior citizens in the Chicago area can now take advantage of free mass transit. Illinois becomes the second state after Pennsylvania to offer this service to those aged 65 and over. Experts predict that seniors, who currently consist of only about 3% of the system's total ridership, will increase their usage of mass transit for medical, retail, and entertainment purposes.

In Oklahoma, Catoosa police officers are now carrying a digital video and audio recording device that attaches to an officer's shoulder. The VIDMIC gives a first-person perspective of crime scenes or crimes as they unfold, and can corroborate an officer's report if a complaint is made against them.

The US State Department recently launched its first-ever blog—Dipnote—to give interested parties an insider's view of diplomacy through informal posts from key players in Washington. Dipnote posts information ranging from how the department's diplomatic security agents protect foreign dignitaries to ideas behind specific foreign policy issues to videos documenting the average day of a foreign service officer. The blog also solicits comments on controversial issues, such as engagement with Iran or North Korea.

In a public-private partnership, St. Paul, Minnesota, is working with Financial Crimes Services (FCS) to pursue people who write bad checks. Under the program, businesses that receive such checks forward them to FCS, who then contacts the debtor to recover the money. Sanctions will depend upon the reasons behind the overdraft and whether a pattern is detected. The program does not cost taxpayers any money; the offending parties are made to foot the bill.