Climate Culture

This guy owns only 15 things

Andrew Hyde owns only 15 things. And he knows what you're thinking right now:

The first question is always "Do you do laundry? How many pairs of underwear?" I'll never get a stranger’s obsession with my knickers, but that is *always* question #1. Question #2 is the "What do you own?" countdown, which is both fun and annoying to answer.

Karaoke and the power of ‘bottom-up self-organization’

In the season of budget-busting holiday spectacuthons, some cities are finding more humble ways to liven up parks and public spaces -- and the only fireworks are the ones residents bring with them.

Ask Umbra: Can air fresheners make you sick?

A reader wonders about the effects of air fresheners. Umbra clears the air.

Sinners, repent! How our natural self-bias got us into this mess

This interview originally appeared in the Last Word on Nothing. Dearest readers, we hope you had a gluttonous, slothful, greedy, and lustful holiday, with only the tiniest touches of wrath. My compatriots and I at the Last Word on Nothing are celebrating the season with a series of posts on the Seven Deadly Sins. I […]

Dispatches from a no-wrap Christmas

Photo: plastic_batFor my mother, sweet vindication came as an early Christmas gift this year on page 59 of a lifestyle magazine. This particular magazine, which specializes in snappy home décor, delicious cookery, and other ways to make your life more fabulous than your neighbors’, ran a spread on stylish new ways to wrap presents. There, […]

What are your green New Year’s resolutions?

What are your goals and plans for making 2012 the greatest, greenest year ever? Will you bike more? Cook more? Drive less? Go nuts with LEDs? Knit sweaters for penguins? Donate socks to weasels? Embrace the medium chill? Share your resolutions in the comments below, and we’ll round up the best of the bunch next […]

Decor that helps you feel good about your power source

These adhesive decals stick to any flat surface and are even PVC-free! Why opt for green energy if you can't remind yourself and your guests about it every time you turn on the light? I'm serious. h/t CleanTechnica

Critical List: Deaths rise in Philippines flooding; how to recycle your Christmas tree

The death toll for flooding in the Philippines is over 2,500. For the first time in six decades, harbor porpoises are hanging out in the San Francisco Bay. First Solar, a company that makes thin-film solar panels, has spent $2.2 million on D.C. lobbying in the past four years. That’s a pittance by Washington standards. […]

Top five New Year’s resolutions for planet and profit

It’s that time of year when someone at a holiday gathering inevitably asks about your resolutions for 2012. Feel free to plagiarize mine: 5. Grow more of my own food. China’s biggest dairy admitted that some of its products contained a toxin commonly found in corn and wheat, transmitted to the milk of cows eating […]

Mexico City cuts crime by banning cars

Banning cars from Mexico City's Centro Historico and replacing streets with pedestrian pathways has increased nighttime foot traffic and decreased crime, say local business owners. Before the street got pedestrianized, neighborhood business owners used to strike "unspoken" agreements with the local thieves, says Rogelio Murrieta, who owns a printing business on Regina. "The thieves who […]