Culture

Ruff part of town: Ask Umbra on dog-friendly cities

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I liked the article on pedestrian-friendly cities, but what I really want to know about is dog-friendly cities. There has to be a green message in there … or maybe just a peace and well-being message. I hate my city (Wichita) for being so pet-unfriendly. Where should […]

Ask Umbra® Culture

I hear my mother calling: A new documentary on women and population [VIDEO]

This is not your father’s population documentary. The new film “Mother: Caring Our Way Out of the Population Dilemma” takes a feminist/humanist view as it explores the issue of our exploding numbers. It’s now showing at a handful of film festivals and events. Here’s the trailer: The film features a number of the usual eco-suspects […]

Lisa Hymas Culture

Calling all artists: The climate movement needs you!

See related slideshowThroughout history, artists have joined forces with political movements to battle injustice and demand a better and more beautiful world. Picasso’s “Guernica” captured the horrors of the German bombing of civilians in 1937. “Solidarity Forever,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Give Peace a Chance” expressed the optimism and power of the labor, civil rights, […]

Joe Uehlein & Bren Smith Culture

Protect the coral reefs — the life you save might be your own

Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Pacific RegionCoral reefs are in big trouble worldwide — and that’s not just bad news for snorkelers. It could mean death instead of life for millions of people … maybe even you. Here’s why: Coral already provides the elemental compounds for a growing number of crucial medicines and […]

Robert Lalasz Culture

Education leads to lower fertility and increased prosperity

This post was written by Brigid Fitzgerald Reading, staff researcher at the Earth Policy Institute. Data and additional resources available online at www.earth-policy.org. As the world continues to add close to 80 million people each year, high population growth is running up against the limits of our finite planet, threatening global economic and political stability. […]

Earth Policy Institute Culture

Two hours of your work day goes to paying for your car

Americans work 500 hours a year — two hours every work day — just to pay for their cars, says James Schwartz of the blog The Urban Country. That's 12 and a half working weeks. Basically, you only work to pay your rent, feed your family, clothe yourself, buy iPad apps, etc. through about the […]

Jess Zimmerman Culture

Critical List: Fracking connected to flammable tap water; eco-friendly paintballs

Remember those people with flammable tap water? Yup, hydrofracking is responsible, according to Duke University scientists. Chile wants to dam two incredible rivers, despite opposition from both locals and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. A judge in Utah shut down Koch Industries' search for the clever people who sent out a fake press release claiming the […]

Sarah Laskow Culture

New study: How to get your kids to become environmentalists

LEAF participants enjoy an afternoon at the beach after a morning of work at the Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge in the Delaware Bayshores region.Photo: Erika Nortemann/TNCCross-posted from Cool Green Science. Want your kids to become ecologically conscious as adults? Get ’em into nature now — that’s the most reliable way to build their […]

Robert Lalasz Culture

New app lets you identify the few remaining trees

Wouldn’t it be nice to get to know trees while they’re still around? Leafsnap can help. The new app, developed by a team of researchers at Columbia, University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution, contains a database of beautiful photos of leaves, barks, flowers, and fruits. All the lazy naturalist has to do to identify […]