What "un-green" behavior do Americans feel most guilty about? A new national survey discovers wasting food tops the list.

A survey of the greenest U.S. cities shows that Raleigh is among the tops in the nation in offering eco-friendly services.

State regulators are threatening to revoke registrations of 112 renewable energy facilities because of incomplete paperwork.

The N.C. Utilities Commission today put the organizations on notice and gave them a July 1 deadline to file their annual certificates. Last year the commission revoked 18 green energy producers that were not properly certified to sell clean power in the state.

The organizations notified this time are among the 1,000 or so renewable facilities registered in the state, said James McLawhorn, director of the electric division of the Public Staff, the state's consumer advocacy agency in utility matters.

But the organizations on the list include some of the biggest and highly publicized green energy generators in the state, such as SAS Institute of Cary, Semprius of Durham, FLS Energy of Asheville, the City of Raleigh and Appalachian State University.

Contacted today, a SAS spokeswoman said the company is properly registered and blamed its appearance on the shame sheet as a glitch. The list was news to Raleigh assistant city manager Julian Prosser but he said the city has every intention of being registered and operating clean energy facilities. Both Raleigh and SAS operate large solar farms in the Triangle.

With Earth Day less than a week away, it's a great time to join Recyclebank, a website that rewards you with a little green for being green.

Through a points system, Recyclebank members earn coupons, gift cards and merchandise from companies like Kashi, Harris Teeter, Macy's and Home Depot -- all in the name of being more environmentally aware.

Recyclebank, which has more than three million members, is free to join, by the way.

In celebration of Earth Day, Target will be giving away free reusable shopping bags to customers on April 22.

But in the meantime, the big box store has issued a set of coupons on natural, organic and earth-friendly products. There are 38 coupons with a combined total of more than $50. The coupons are valid through May 5.

Apple revealed additional details Monday about its massive data center located in Maiden, North Carolina.

The 500,000 square foot facility, costing a reported $1 billion, hosts data for Apple's iCloud and Siri services. 

Having already obtained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the report from Apple includes plans to go greener by building what it calls "the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar array" and the "largest non-utility fuel cell installation."

The N.C. Sustainable Association is about to conduct a count of companies and jobs that make up the state's clean energy sector. 

The Raleigh-based group will begin its annual census Friday, with emails sent out to about 1,800 companies it identifies as part of the sector. The organization will follow-up with phone calls to companies that don't respond to email.

Classifying and estimating the size of the green economy is an inexact science at best, resulting in widely divergent results, depending on criteria used. There is no uniform standard on what counts as a green job.

The sustainable energy association limits its definition to energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart grid, green buildings and electric vehicles.

Trying to be greener is better than not being green at all, right? That all depends on your other actions. Driving a hybrid, but driving everywhere alone, buying everything organic but eating meat at every meal, and using reusable shopping bags but shopping constantly while buying alot of disposable items are some of the signs that you or someone you know is a green hypocrite. Find out if you fall under this label here.

Have you checked out June's Home of the Month? The modern and sustainable house is not only certified green, but its name even has green in it: GREENvilleHOUSE. You can take a photo tour of the home here.
 

A winner has been drawn from the pool of entries in the Green Giveaway – and it's Claire Watkins of Raleigh! She received a "green kit," which included a YakPak tote bag made from a recycled billboard and two green books. Here are the tips she shared: