New York City took a big leap this week towards becoming environmentally friendly by starting the process of hiring 70 workers to apply reflective paint on the city’s rooftops. The reflective paint can decrease internal temperatures of a building by around 30% and lower air conditioning costs.

Workers can apply anytime between now and July. They will be provided with 300 hours of paid work, including training, OSHA certification, and help with job placement for similar work afterward. The 70 workers will be split into two teams of 35, with the first group beginning in April and the second in July.

An analysis of the New York Building Congress of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey has shown that the New York City construction workforce has experienced a recent increase in younger and more diverse workers.

The analysis showed that the workforce now has .01% more Hispanics working than non-Hispanics, which is a first for the construction industry. Around the same time, the number of workers between the ages of 20 and 39 grew from 41% to 44%. There was also an increase in women, African Americans, and Asians working in construction.

With New York’s ever-present need for construction workers,

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on February 14 that blocked New York City’s proposal for a five-cent fee on plastic and paper carryout bags, but still issued a call for statewide action to combat the “plastic bag problem.”

Cuomo said in a public statement that he hopes to work with the Legislature in an effort to form a plan for combating the issue by the end of the year. When Cuomo blocked the NYC proposal, many people thought he simply didn’t care about the plastic bag issue, but his statement indicated otherwise.

Recycling just one ton of cardboard saves more than nine cubic yards of landfill space,

Staten Island senior, Roy Cotton, wants to live his life to the fullest. The best way to do that, he’s found, is on board his “Ouch Bus,” a converted and graffitied school bus named after his late son. While others may scoff at his unique way of life, for Roy, there’s no better way to be.

Roy’s son, Scott, died six years ago at age 31 due to kidney issues. His son used the moniker “Ouch” to tag his own graffiti work. So when Scott passed away, Roy got in touch with his son’s old friends and asked if they’d consider painting the bus in Scott’s memory.

Across the world, more than 14.3 million tons of donated American textiles help clothe people in need. Now, one pair of NYC siblings is doing their part to make it convenient for New York families to donate clothes, toys, and canned foods — plus, they’ll pick up and recycle your Christmas tree for you, too.

Siblings Dan and Morgan Sevigny founded Christmas Tree Brooklyn back in 2011. Since that time, thousands of New Yorkers have used their service to order a delivered Christmas tree before the holidays or to have it picked up to be recycled afterwards.

In the early 1920s, airplanes began trailing banners as an innovative new form of advertising. Today, although aerial ads are still popular, one significant advancement in technology is revolutionizing the marketing industry.

Many people have been interested in virtual reality over the last few years, but the technology has only recently become mainstream. Thanks to some innovative new virtual reality features, it’s now possible to tour New York City’s holiday display from anywhere in the world or take a ride on Santa’s sleigh.

Creativity-Online reports that Gear VR, a Samsung product with 4D virtual reality,

Telecommuting has become a more popular practice in today’s workforce, especially for those who work in big cities like New York. It’s an excellent way to promote productivity and accountability by cutting down on travel time and related expenses. Additionally, working from home or the coffee shop is generally well-received by employees, as 80% view the option to work remotely as a job perk. Even our future First Lady may end up doing her own version of telecommuting come January.

But while working from home may be a real advantage in many ways, it has its downside,

According to the Knot’s 2014 Real Weddings Study, the most popular month to get married was June. However, December is also a great idea for those who envision a winter wonderland wedding day.

While getting married in December may seem non-traditional, that is the way the trends are shifting. Non-traditional weddings are all the rage, and more brides and grooms are changing their thinking on their special day to be more modern, and less conventional.

This is due to Millennials, the generation born between 1982 and 2004, who have come to revolutionize standards of thinking concerning coffee drinking to workforce management and everything in between.

In the cold, holiday months, depression is not uncommon. While many people worldwide suffer from seasonal affective disorder, there is an often-forgotten demographic that is particularly prone to depression: the elderly.

According to a study by Genworth Financial, 55% of seniors fear that their long-term care is a burden on their families. As their families continue their daily lives, many seniors are conflicted. While they don’t want to bother their loved ones, many feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness that comes with old age.

“A lot of things happen with aging,” says Dr. Kim Lane,

The holiday season is a wonderful time for gathering around the table with loved ones. But with those gatherings come a host of health hazards: germs, foodborne illnesses, and weight gain among them.

“People are around friends, family, little kids. We’re all sharing our germs, going from place-to-place, house-to-house,” said family nurse practitioner Rachel Gruenberg. “Also picking up our germs out in the community. Everybody is out shopping, and you don’t realize the amount of things you touch, so number one thing we always talk about is washing your hands.”

That goes for the office parties as well as the home gatherings: