Climate Culture

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  • Social network for mass transit almost redeems social networks

    Photo: Sveter SveterMan, what did we do before we had smartphones to answer all of life’s questions? Wracking your brains to remember who played Chunk in “The Goonies”? You can haul out IMDB at the bar. Wondering where to go for dinner? There are apps to tell you the best place within walking distance of […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture

  • Ask Umbra Book Club: How coal lit a fire under human society

    Bring in the chimney sweep!Photo: Thiophene GuyDearest readers, In our last book club conversation about Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History of Private Life, we discussed some of the sordid history of the food we eat. Now let’s turn our attention to the way we heat. Back in the Middle Ages, people were in […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Peter Calthorpe on why urbanism is the cheapest, smartest way to fight climate change

    Peter Calthorpe.Cities may be the trendy topic du jour, but Peter Calthorpe has been talking about the benefits of urbanism since the 1970s. In 1993, he was one of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, an influential national organization that promotes walkable, mixed-use, transit-rich development. Now Calthorpe has come out with a […]

    Sarah Goodyear Culture

  • TreeShagger: 10 great green date ideas

    Welcome to TreeShagger, our new column on green dating. If you’ve got green dating questions, send ’em our way! So Valentine’s Day came and went, and you’re in the doghouse since you couldn’t get a reservation at Olivebee’s Factory? Cheer up, smuckers! Lean in close for some non-obvious, mostly cheap green date ideas, many of […]

    Holly Richmond Culture

  • Hey, Tina Fey, one kid is OK — and greener too

               “Don’t even ask.”           Photo: George ArriolaThe ever-entertaining Tina Fey has a piece in the latest New Yorker on my designated topic of the week: whether to have more than one kid. “The second-worst question you can ask a woman is: ‘Are you going to have more kids?'” Fey writes. (The first-worst question: “How do you juggle […]

    Lisa Hymas Culture

  • The world is one poor harvest away from chaos

    An Indian woman sifts grain from a previous harvest. Water shortages could drastically affect this year’s harvest.Photo: World BankIn early January, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that its Food Price Index had reached an all-time high in December, exceeding the previous record set during the 2007-08 price surge. Even more alarming, on […]

    Lester Brown Culture

  • How buses and ferries and light rail have made it cool to live in New Jersey [VIDEO]

    Ever heard the phrase “transit-oriented development” and felt like you’d rather take a nice nap than learn what it means? Well, wake up and spend 3 minutes and 18 seconds watching this video from the Streetfilms crew. It shows how investment in excellent transit (light rail, buses, ferries, and commuter trains), along with some zoning […]

    Sarah Goodyear Culture

  • The only kids are alright: Good reasons to consider stopping at one child

    This only kid is A-OK.Photo: Omar GurnahSnooki of MTV’s Jersey Shore is immature, whiny, and self-involved — in other words, your typical reality-show star. But a New York Times article about her improbable rise to fame pinpoints one of her less typical qualities: “Not surprisingly, Snooki is an only child,” writes Cathy Horyn. Ouch. Harshing […]

    Lisa Hymas Culture

  • Cyclists shouldn’t ‘share the road,’ they should have their own

    A physically separated bike lane in Vancouver, B.C. Looks nice, right?Photo: Paul KruegerIt’s long been the most controversial issue in bicycling: Should people on bikes ride in traffic with cars, using the same infrastructure and following the same procedures (a style of riding known as “Vehicular Cycling”)? Should we ride on the sidewalks and off-road […]

    Elly Blue Culture

  • Happy birthday, Darwin! Have a giant recycled squid

    Sometimes, despite your best intentions, you end up with plastic bags. This is why nature invented the giant squid, humans invented knitting needles, and Deadly Knitshade invented Plarchie. He’s knitted out of 162 plastic bags, and is shown here cuddling with Charles Darwin, who celebrated his 202nd birthday on Saturday. If you want to celebrate […]

    Jess Zimmerman Culture