Money

You can measure an area's income inequality in pay stubs, Census numbers and... its tree cover? Environmental writer Tim De Chant argues that sometimes you can't see a neighborhood's wealth for the trees.

Would you investigate the trajectory of a single dollar bill? Let me explain. So you go to the store and buy things, then you pay with a $100 bill. What happens to that note? In a nutshell, my question is: What is the route that a single bill takes? How does it circulate? How far can it travel? Homero, Sacramento, CA

Does money have a unique smell? We explore the scent of fresh (and not so fresh) dollar bills and how some dogs can recognize the smell of greenbacks.

Author Michael Sandel discusses what money shouldn't buy and the ethics of commodification.

Heidemarie Schwermer is taking thriftiness to an entirely new level.

Almost all the $7.5 billion worth of Hungarian banknotes in circulation pass through the Hungarian Central Bank annually, to make sure they are clean, untorn and suitable to be used to buy and sell things. The rest can be burned to serve as fuel for the poor.

When you're in pain and in need of treatment, it's hard to pay really close attention to your health care choices. Commentator Renee Lux describes how treating her stiff neck led to a huge hike in her insurance costs.

New government guidelines are taking incandescent bulbs off the market, leaving us with compact fluorescents and LEDs. But now there's a new language for bulb shoppers to learn.