Climate Culture
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Who’s got the greenest house on the planet?
It’s pretty easy to determine the biggest pie, or longest fingernails, or fattest twins. But what about the greenest house? AOL’s consumer finance site, of all places (they’re into journalism now!) has a nice roundup of what, exactly, it means to have a green home. There are a number of buildings that have claimed or […]
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Ask Umbra: Is there such a thing as an environmentally friendly cigarette?
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I’m a smoker. So, is it better to smoke organic tobacco? Will I put less of a strain on the planet by smoking e-cigarettes? Or can you make a case from a sustainability standpoint for why I should quit? Thanks,GregPotomac, MD Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.Photo: SuperFantasticA. […]
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Beware, moms-to-be: Insecticides could make your kids dumber
No raid for you.Photo: Dhini van HeerenStop huffing the Raid, moms: In other “sh*t that makes kids dumber” news, toddlers’ brains developed more slowly if their mothers inhaled a lot of a common insecticide ingredient while pregnant, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. Reuters explains: On average, women breathing the highest […]
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Use your smartphone to become a ‘citizen scientist’ with Project Noah
We all know people who seem to spend more time gazing into their smartphones than they do looking at the reality in front of them. But one app is trying to reverse the trend, and make your iPhone (or Android) into a tool that encourages you to dial into the biodiversity around you. It’s called […]
