Climate Culture

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  • As we head toward 7 billion, what does a typical person look like?

    Here’s the latest video from National Geographic‘s year-long series on population (set to music that’s got me feeling all jittery and peppy): The gist: The most typical person on the planet is a 28-year-old Han Chinese man; there are more than 9 million such chaps living right now. Here’s what he looks like: Also as […]

    Lisa Hymas Culture

  • Climate activist Tim DeChristopher talks about his guilty verdict

    Photo: (C) 2011 Daphne HougardDearest readers, I had the good fortune of sitting down to chat by phone with climate activist Tim DeChristopher the other day. I wanted to hear how he’s doing and how he’s feeling about being sent to the clink. Ever joyous in his resolve to stand up for what he believes […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Your next bike could be made out of nylon and 3D-printed at home

    Okay, so this isn’t something you can do with your home printer … yet. But this gorgeous hunk of bike might represent the new wave of bike manufacturing. It’s made using 3D printing technology, which adds nylon powder in thin layers to achieve the desired shape. In this case, that shape can be perfectly tailored […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • How to not buy anything ever again

    Photo: Toban BlackNeither a borrower nor a lender be? Stuff it, old man. Shareable has collected a primer on “collaborative consumption,” i.e. the fine art of consensual mooching. At the risk of sounding like a dangerous commie: It turns out there’s basically no reason to be the sole owner of anything ever again. Among the […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • Where do the greenest commuters live? Not Portland

    New Yorkers on the evening commute.Photo: Mo RizaQuick: Who are the loneliest commuters in the nation? That would be the residents of Southgate, Mich., where 91.6 percent of workers drive alone. The city with the most pedestrian commuters? That’s Ithaca, N.Y., where 41.8 percent of commuters walk  to work (particularly impressive given upstate New York’s […]

    Todd Woody Culture

  • James Howard Kunstler: The old American dream is a nightmare

    Photo: Charlie SamuelsThe Great Depression gave rise to hobos and Hoovervilles. The Roaring Nineties brought us what New York Times columnist David Brooks termed “bobos in paradise.” Now our current round of layoffs and foreclosures has unceremoniously transferred millions of folks from the “affluent” to the “afflicted” category, exiling them from Brooks’s mythical exurban Eden. […]

    Kerry Trueman Culture

  • Rep. Anthony Weiner tweets that he was ‘joking’ about ripping out NYC bike lanes

    Rep. Anthony WeinerPhoto: Nadia ChaudhurySo Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) says he was just kidding around about ripping out those New York City bike lanes. Here’s how The New York Times reported Weiner’s remarks in a recent piece about New York City’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan: “When I become mayor, you know what I’m going to […]

    Sarah Goodyear Culture

  • Biodegradable shoes go from footwear to fertilizer

    Photo: OAT ShoesAre your shoes on their last legs? If they were OAT shoes (which they aren’t, because you can’t buy them in the States yet), you’d be able to just shuck ’em off and bury them in the yard. Kicks from this new line biodegrade completely, a neat trick that just netted them an […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • Seven ways to live in a small space with kids and not go crazy

    Whee! Living small is fun!Photo: Anna MSo you want to raise your family in a city but can’t afford much square footage? Never fear. Despite the challenges, it’s possible to live in a small space — with kids — without sacrificing your sanity. First, let’s define small, since our idea of an acceptable amount of […]

    Carla Saulter Culture

  • Yogis go from lotus position to lobbying

    They’re turning D.C. lobbying culture upside-down.Photo: Lululemon Athletica“Yoga” and “angry” go together like taffy and dentures … or at least they used to. But maybe D.C. politicians should start looking out for flying vials of essential oil. L.A.-based organization “Off the Mat and Into the World” is turning yogis into activists next week, following International […]

    Holly Richmond Culture