MNN - Mother Nature Network

• Can the power of scent help you curb bad habits? Lifestyle blogger Starre Vartan explains how she's using aromatherapy to help her lose weight.

 

• Elephant poaching in Africa is running rampant because of a renewed lust for ivory around the globe. So is there anything you can do to help elephants? Read on for six ways to make a difference. 

 

• The burning photo above may look like a strange, ancient ritual, but in reality it's just a bunch of college kids in West Virginia burning a couch. It's part of our odd collection of wasteful college football traditions. Go team?!

 

• Anyone who has tried to type with a cat on the keyboard knows there is much to learn about these mysterious creatures. We started with a simple question: why do cats purr?

 

• From space, our planet looks like a pristine, peaceful place. Here on Earth, we know better. See seven ways humans are damaging the planet, as seen from NASA images. 

 

• Destruction means something else entirely when you add a dog to the mix. Courtesy of our long-suffering pet writer, here are five videos of doggie destruction.

 

• And if you're looking for peaceful, we've got that covered, too: Garden writer Tom Oder takes you on a tour of 13 must-see botanical gardens. You'll be planning your next trip in no time.

 

• Some restaurants are pledging to lower the sodium content of their food — and threatening to remove saltshakers from their tables. Food blogger Kimi Harris wonders aloud if it's just a PR stunt.

 

• Saving money is one the greenest actions you can take. Our money blogger delves into a question that you might ponder this fall: is layaway a good financial move?

 

We'll leave you with one of the more iconic images of the week — a walk in space. That's a small version of the spacewalk above, but you can see a more impressive photo of Sunita Williams at work here. (It will inspire you to do great things this week.)