Climate Culture
All Stories
-
What Google predicts for the future of life on earth
XKCD has collated Google's predictions for the next century, and it is dire, and also optimistic, and also weird. Another excerpt and some key findings below the fold, or see the whole thing here. Here's how the future is shaping up, according to Google: Jesus will return in 2018 and again in 2023, and will […]
-
A warm welcome: Ask Umbra on green housewarming gifts
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, A friend has finally been able to buy a home in Florida, and I want to send a gift card. I know she will have plenty of occasions to patronize the big chain hardware stores, but I am wondering whether there is a green alternative — either […]
-
With a rain barrel, April showers can bring more than flowers
Barrel essentials.Photo: kierkierAs the old adage goes, April showers bring May flowers. But for those looking to green their homes, April showers also provide an easy way to reduce water bills and water waste. Rainwater harvesting is a simple and efficient way to capitalize on the naturally occurring precipitation in your area, and reduce dependency […]
-
Scarlett Johansson tells GOP to lay off Planned Parenthood [VIDEO]
Before the budget deal was hammered out last week, Scarlett Johansson made this video in defense of Planned Parenthood. As it turned out, funding for the group’s health-care services escaped the guillotine — this time around. President Obama put his foot down after hearing from a lot of pissed-off Americans. Though the immediate threat has […]
-
Top 10 greenest states — how does yours stack up?
Vermont New York Washington Oregon Minnesota California Nevada New Hampshire Massachusetts Maine Hmm … based on this, we're going to go ahead and say that if you want a green state, the best possible location is the middle of the alphabet. Beyond that, any surprises here? Vermont has "green" right in the name (albeit in […]
-
Now you’re cooking with gas: Ask Umbra on energy-efficient stoves
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, My wife would like to remodel the kitchen. This frightens me, personally, but I look it as an opportunity to buy some more energy-efficient appliances. Right now we have an ancient electric stove. Would replacing it with a natural gas stove be more efficient, or should we […]
-
Ohio Gov. Kasich wants state to be ‘cool,’ fails to get what that means
Is there anything more uncool than a 50-something politician in a suit talking about wanting his state to be “cool”? Nah. Probably not. Witness Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a newly elected Republican whose union-busting policies have made him pretty unpopular, as he delivers one of the more delicious soundbites in recent memory. The video moment […]
-
Why the sustainable food movement should learn to love Nathan Myhrvold’s ‘Modernist Cuisine’
The most expensive cookbook you’ll (n)ever buyNathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine — in all of its six-volume, 2,438-page splendor — explicitly aims to “reinvent cooking.” Maybe it will; and it will almost surely reinvent a certain kind of high-end book retailing. It sells for a cool $625, and its initial 6,000-copy print run has already sold […]
-
The lawn goodbye: A desperate nation paints its yards green
The grass is always greener.Photo: ClaudiaAh, the American lawn! Symbol of prestige! Source of unending drudgery! Environmental nightmare! Why do we have this thing, anyway? The lawn originated in Europe, perhaps first as an area cleared near castles to allow for the easy sighting of potential attackers, then later maintained as a sign of social […]
-
Can genetic engineering save the redwoods?
A group of tree-lovers wants to save giant redwoods by cloning existing trees, reports The New York Times. There are a couple of problems with this plan: Giant redwoods are three things: red, wood, and GIANT. Where are you going to put them? (The group says they have plans for slightly more travel-sized trees as […]
