Wal-Mart is throwing its hat into the crowded ring of green-labeling schemes for merchandise -- and hoping to crowd out other certifiers of sustainability.

The design firm Pentagram got an unusual request from the Nature Conservancy.

"Buying a solar system for your home still is not as simple or inexpensive as say picking up a new water heater. But solar energy advocates argue that the systems are affordable and obtainable for just about everyone -- right now."

A five-day gathering of 650 marketing pros focuses on whether do-gooder marketing is the key to survival in a cut-throat economy. But are they merely 'greenwashing' the same old products?

A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts says that "green-collar workers" and the "clean-energy economy" have been growing faster than the rest of the U.S. economy and are poised for explosive growth.

Green collar jobs are at the heart of President Obama's economic program. Some laid-off blue-collar workers are starting to wonder what those green collar jobs will look like.

"Most global industrial companies that emit a lot of greenhouse gases are not adequately detailing their climate strategies in U.S. financial filings, two studies by environmental and investment groups showed on Wednesday."

"Underwriters Laboratories, whose ubiquitous product-safety labels have made it household name for more than a century, is pushing hard to make a new name for itself as a global environmental-standards tester."

As part of the economic stimulus package, EPA plans to spend $600 million -- double what it usually spends -- on cleaning up contaminated industrial waste sites.

Laid-off workers at the Owens Corning fiberglass plant in Newark, Ohio, hope to get jobs back as a result of funding in the economic stimulus bill for insulating attics in low-income homes.

The Indianapolis Speedway, site of yesterdays Indy 500, mounts a major effort to be environmentally friendly.

"It's an old energy problem with a new solution: After decades of facing prohibitively high costs to install solar panels, Massachusetts residents will be able to lease the panels for a tiny fraction of their upfront cost."

The push for greener cars will likely bring a boom for companies that mine and refine lithium -- a key ingredient in batteries.

"For some of its beverages, The Coca-Cola Company is introducing a new type of plastic bottle made partially from plants."

Some people are starting to weigh the environmental costs of caskets and other trappings of traditional funerals. And they have found alternatives.