When my husband and I moved back to Montana three years ago, I fantasized about living far from town. We'd settle outside the city boundaries, where the Milky Way sparkles clear as a river and red-tailed hawks bank over bunchgrass meadows. My (imaginary) dogs could run over our five acres, frolicking in the ponderosa pines. That was the plan. But we didn't do it. And it's my father's fault. He kept me on track. Photo: iStockphoto. Before he retired a few years ago, my father spent more than 30 years as an electrical engineer for Bay Area Rapid Transit, the …

Vindication is a strange animal (like unto a marmot, or maybe an echidna) creeping up where one least expects it. Such as the BBC yesterday. A fan, nay, a necessary devotee of natural-fiber clothing (see: Multiple Chemical Sensitivities), I often get flak from fellow outdoorspeople for outdoorsifying in non-synthetics. Especially so on high-altitude peaks in Colorado. But, newsflash, people: natural fibers like wool and silk, when worn correctly in layers, can hold up to just about everything synthetics can, even on Everest.  Or on 14,000-foot peaks in the U.S. Or in the high Sierras. Of course, no material is perfect …

As an artist, Mark Beesley is drawn to subjects that others might find repellant. Beesley lives only a few miles from the Sizewell nuclear power station in Britain, and has occasionally made the plant the subject of his work. Despite his opposition to nuclear power, Beesley admits to a fascination with the plant's design. "When you drive by it, you see this semicircular dome looming over the trees," he says. "It's a powerful presence." Images courtesy REimaginations. But nukes are nothing compared to one of Beesley's true obsessions: wind turbines. He paints the emblems of wind power -- a form …

Jeffrey Hollender. What work do you do? I'm president of Seventh Generation, though lately I've been referring to myself as the Inspired Protagonist, providing the vision and inspiration to carry the company forward. How does your work relate to the environment? Photos: Seventh Generation. Our company provides nontoxic cleaners, recycled paper towels and tissues, and other alternatives to unhealthy conventional household products. But those products are really just the vehicle for promoting an idea called the Precautionary Principle, which says that when it comes to things that could affect the environment, we should take a good look before we leap …

Dear Umbra, We have been replacing our incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, but we notice that the compact fluorescents have an odd smell. Are they emitting something we should know about? Compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury; can the bulbs discharge the mercury into the air? Tom MurphyWellsboro, Pa. Dearest Tom, I don't know of anything that would be emitted from your bulbs and smell. If it is your CFL giving off an odor -- not something evaporating or burning in the lampshade or socket -- it may be from the plastic, and it should go away. But rest …

Don't hate the narrata, hate the game Much to the surprise of playa hataz, An Inconvenient Truth -- starring the allegedly "stiff" Al Gore -- is doing gangbuster box office, boasting the industry's highest per-screen average. This is driving certain parties nuts, leading to incoherent screeds and comparisons of Gore to both Goebbels and Hitler. Schadenfreude, friends. Live it. I'm mockin' it! At a recent "Serious Games" conference in the U.K., a team from McDonald's Interactive gave a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating the fast-food goliath's injurious impact on the environment. Suffice to say, it was a prank by notorious culture jammers …

Dearest Umbra, Are there compact fluorescent bulbs for lights on dimmer switches? Why can't I use regular CFLs in dimmers? Dimly, Julia L. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Dearest Julia, I feel like my brain is squinting when I try to understand electrical current and wiring, but here we go: the short answer is yes, there are now compact fluorescent lamps designed for lights on dimmer switches, and they're even made by big guys like GE and Philips. Now you can have your CFL and dim it, too. Photo: iStockphoto. The second lesson I will share from the research I did on …

As Sarah mentioned, this week's InterActivist co-owns Comet Skateboards. I first learned about the company from this video that aired on Current TV. Check it out if you want to see their solar-powered factory, learn how they make their sustainable 'boards, and watch some skaters tearing it up at over 50 MPH.

The Tyee is running an interview with University of British Columbia professor and sustainability guru John Robinson, with some sage advice on how to coax us out of cars: "We should stop guilt-tripping people, stop telling them that they are putting three tons of carbon a month into the air with their cars when they live 40 kilometers from work and there is no transit. That actually makes them more resistant to change. The way you get behaviour change is through integrated programs aimed at behaviour, not just people's heads. There is a lot of work in health promotion -- …

What goes around, they say, comes around -- or, in this case, hops about in a blue waistcoat, munching stolen radishes. Our subject today is no visionary CEO, but Peter Rabbit, probably the best-known creation of children's author Beatrix Potter. Peter, ever the rebel. The World of Beatrix Potter™ © Frederick Warne & Co., 1902; 2002. By turning the spotlight in Peter's direction, we hope to illuminate some lessons in the game of responsible global branding. You see, SustainAbility has been called in to advise Frederick Warne & Co. -- a division of Penguin Books, which owns the Peter Rabbit …