Climate Culture
All Stories
-
![]()
![]()
Are Americans more worried about population than climate change?
A recent poll found 29 percent of Americans listing "overpopulation" as a major environmental challenge, while just 27 percent named global warming.
-
![]()
![]()
Can we turn mining pits into underground cities?
Architect Matthew Fromboluti designed this inverted skyscraper to make use of abandoned open-pit mining operations in Bisbee, Ariz. The 900-foot underground building (maybe we should call it a mantle-scraper?) wouldn't just be for residences -- it would comprise an entire self-sufficient subterranean city, including crops fed by skylights.
-
![]()
![]()
Talking to my son about sex and sustainability
"Are we going to talk about sex again?!" screamed my 12-year-old son. I had just sat down with him to have one of our father-son talks.
-
![]()
![]()
Stranded in suburbia: Why aren’t Americans moving to the city?
It's going to take more than wishful thinking to convince Americans to move back to the urban core.
-
![]()
![]()
The world's first vertical forest is under construction in Milan
We've pretty much established that trees are awesome -- they make you smart, improve your home's value, filter pollution, provide shade, and produce oxygen. But even in a city that prioritizes green spaces, surface area is at a premium. How do you provide enough trees while still living densely? Milan, Italy, has a creative answer: a forest in the form of a skyscraper.
-
![]()
![]()
Ask Umbra: Is banning clotheslines legal?
A reader wonders if neighborhoods can legally hang clothesline users out to dry. Umbra pins down the answer.
-
![]()
![]()
Remember when Americans used to care about population? [VIDEO]
These days, when people go out of their way to avoid mention of the P word, it's almost hard to believe that population used to be a mainstream issue.
-
![]()
![]()
California will ban BPA from baby cups
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that bans bisphenol A from baby bottles and sippy cups sold in the state, starting in July of 2013. The Environmental Working Group had been pushing the law, which is called the Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act and requires that manufacturers sub in the "least toxic alternative available" for hormone-disrupting BPA.
-
![]()
![]()
An indigenous take on family planning and population
A Mayan leader in Guatemala finds hope for the survival of his people in a combination of traditional and modern solutions -- including family planning.
-
![]()
![]()
Fighting climate change in the Navajo Nation
A physician-turned-street-artist takes an urban art form to a landscape where most of the walls are eons-old stone.
