Latest Articles
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Ask Umbra on rinsing recyclables, flipping off fluorescents, and poisoning yourself
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, How important is it to rinse out containers before they go into recycling bins? Does a failure to rinse a jar contaminate the whole bin? What about peanut butter? Cleaning products with chemical residue? Thanks! kristallyCharlotte, N.C. A. Dearest kristally, Photo: SarahIvy via FlickrAy dios mio. I’m […]
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Obama needs to pay attention to a different kind of leak in the Gulf
There’s a lot of talk in the media about whether President Obama is sufficiently angry about the oil spill. Who cares? There are many more important questions, including: How effectively is the government managing the response? Is it forcing BP to be transparent and honest with the public? Is it making sure that the cleanup […]
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How food micro-entrepreneurs nourish cities
In her book The Economy of Cities, the great urban theorist Jane Jacobs praised what she called the “valuable inefficiencies and impracticalities of cities.” To explain her point, she invited readers to consider two examples from 19th century England: Manchester and Birmingham — or as she put it, “Efficient Manchester” and “Inefficient Birmingham.” As I […]
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The little black box that could save both lives and fuel
I recently took the Chevrolet Volt for a spin near San Francisco’s ballpark, checking another item off my electric-car life list. (Getting to drive pre-production EVs is one fringe benefit of covering green tech.) Then the other week, I took a drive in another car that promised to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The car […]
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Good neighborhoods have lots of intersections
It’s a little counterintuitive, but it turns out that having lots of intersections is really important for neighborhood walkability and transit use. A new study on Travel and the Built Environment by planning scholars Reid Ewing and Robert Cervero finds that “intersection density” is the single most important measurement for understanding what keeps folks out […]
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Who’s to blame for the Gulf oil gusher? We break it down
We all know there’s a lot of blame to go around for the ongoing disaster in the gulf. In the weeks since the Horizon rig first came unglued, all the principals in this mess have taken turns pointing fingers at one another. Now, it’s our turn. We applied Grist’s scientific, who’s-fault-is-it-really, assessment method. The results […]
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City brings renewable energy to the little guy
Solar power nerds are fond of an estimate that 100 square miles of Nevada desert — filled with solar panels — could provide enough electricity for the entire United States. But right now, solar supplies just 1 percent of the country’s energy. Cost is one reason that figure is so low. Unless you’re an independently […]
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Summer in a bowl: Blueberry buttermilk ice cream
April McGreger photos Ask me about my favorite foods, and I will inevitably list my favorite food experiences — all of which, by no coincidence, are cooked or eaten outside: boiled peanuts, barbecue, fried crappie, roasted oysters, boiled shrimp, watermelon, and homemade ice cream. Everything tastes better outdoors. With sun on our face and a […]
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How a city got real about solar energy
Photo courtesy of Gary ShaverWhen the city of Ellensburg asked the Washington State University energy program for help designing a community solar project, the state folks weren’t sure the city folks were serious. At the time, just a few years ago, solar projects were few and far between. But WSU energy consultant Gary Shaver jumped […]
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We don’t know how to completely kick oil, but we do know how to get started
Energy investment consultant Chris Nelder takes issue with my suggestions for upping transportation efficiency as a way to reduce the demand for offshore oil, saying they would “do absolutely nothing” to eliminate the need for risky deepwater drilling projects. In fact, he explains why a lot of oft-proposed green solutions aren’t going to do much […]
