Whenever we do a story on bike commuting there’ll always be a commenter concerned about what happens when they arrive at their workplace. How do they scrub up from a sweaty or rainy ride? Where do they safely and securely store their bike? And all their cycling clobber?

Fair questions, but for potential city work riders in Melbourne, Australia those excuses have been made redundant, with the opening of facilities such Bike Park. Recycled from a former nightclub, Bike Park offers room for 150 bikes to be stowed indoors. As well lockers, showers, fluffy tow…Read the full story on TreeHugger

In Russia, half this year’s crops are lost to drought – “Winter wheat crops are 50% of the yield, and spring crops, in some cases, are going to be virtually none.” – and hundreds of vodka pickled swimmers have drowned while seeking respite from the extreme heat. BBC has covered the impacts of extreme Russian weather extensively in the story: Russian deaths mount as heatwave and vodka mix The US media are more interested in an ineffective Rukssian spy ring being bus…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Adam Dillon was a contractor for BP, and worked to help coordinate the spill cleanup of effort. His first appearance on television found him chasing reporters of a spill-impacted sight in the middle of a news segment for WDSU in New Orleans. Now, the tides have turned, and Dillon is willfully going to the press himself. After seeing firsthand how BP is orchestrating its cleanup effort, and bearing witness to some of its more secretive policies — and getting fired for photographing sensitive sites — he’s decided to go public with the story. Video is after the jump. …Read the full story on TreeHugger

Of course, the story for the past week was the unremitting heat. One of the great things to serve on a hot day is a pasta salad. You make it ahead of time, and let the flavours meld together and then serve it at room temperature….Read the full story on TreeHugger