Climate Culture
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Keep the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall!
The Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in 2009.Photo: NREL Solar DecathlonThe National Mall has long served as the nation’s front yard, a place where citizens can gather and display what’s important to them — whether it’s a protest to end wars, a rally to restore sanity, or even a celebration of mid-Atlantic maritime communities. […]
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Ask Umbra’s 5 surprising things to make you a lover like no other
Send your question to Umbra! Dearest readers, It is said that only amateurs wait for Valentine’s Day to express their love. Readers of this column, I know that you are not in that category. That said, we could all stand to add a few tricks to the sometimes dusty lusty repertoire. So I created this […]
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6 things you didn’t know about condoms
Rock and unroll.Photo: OhMiBod It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and you know what that means: time to gird your loins. Here are some wacky prophylactic facts to get you excited (ahem) about condoms, if the whole “prevent kids and the spread of disease” thing isn’t sexy enough for you. 6. Valentine’s Day is also National Condom […]
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A new documentary about the real wealth of nations — happiness
Money can’t make you happy, they say. Maybe a new kind of economy can?What if GDP stood for Great Domestic Pleasantness? How about an economy whose success is not determined by growth for growth’s sake? A new documentary, The Economics of Happiness, explores this rich territory. The film makes a connection between the economic crisis, […]
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For the love of God, stop having babies, says U.N.
Having more babies like this one is like jabbing Mother Earth in the eye, says respected international body.Photo: HORIZONThirty billion people on planet Earth by 2300. That’s the head-exploding projection of the United Nations population division if we don’t get it together, people, says the BBC. As if that weren’t terrifying enough, the U.N. population […]
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Green Giant Press Release
The Green AwardsTM Program Launches to Recognize and Inspire Everyday People Who Are Making the World a More Sustainable Place Survey Finds 97% of Moms Take Steps to be Green at Home and Encourage Their Children to do the Same Minneapolis, MN (January 24, 2011) – A coalition of some of the country’s leading environmental […]
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Climate refugees star in Oscar-nominated ‘Sun Come Up’ [VIDEO]
Photo: Sun Come Up If you’re tracking this year’s green Oscar nominees, another one to watch is Sun Come Up — which could really be titled Water Come Up because it’s about rising sea levels. Filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn tells the story of climate refugees in Papua New Guinea. All 3,000 residents of the Carteret Pacific […]
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Crematorium to heat U.K. swimming pool
An angel just got its water wings.Photo: Tommy KlumkerA town near London plans to warm its new sports center and public pool with heat from a nearby crematorium. It could save the town $100,000 as well as boost its environmental cred. “[T]his form of energy is certainly renewable, unless locals stop dying,” writes Triple Pundit. […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: Next week the discussion begins about Bill Bryson’s ‘At Home’
Dearest readers, I hope you’re reading this from the warmth of home. If where you are is anywhere like where I am right now, you’re glad to have good insulation, heat, and a roof over your head to keep the freezing rain off. But human beings have not always been so cozy. This and many […]
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How to make sure there will be enough food
We shouldn’t be getting so much of our energy from cornfields.Photo: Ben HusmannToday there are three sources of growing demand for food: population growth; rising affluence and the associated jump in meat, milk, and egg consumption; and the use of grain to produce fuel for cars. Population growth is as old as agriculture itself. But […]
