Climate Culture
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Umbra on hot tubs
Cool your jets. Dear Umbra, We purchased a home with an existing four-person, 500-gallon wooden hot tub with a two-stage electric pump. When should a hot tub be turned off to save energy? City Light recommends that our tub be on a timer to save electricity; our tub manufacturer insists that, unless we’re not using […]
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New jobs program, school buses in the Golden State
Two news items of note from sunny Californ-i-a: Gov. Schwarzenegger officially unveiled the California Green Corps, a program that will train 16- to 24-year-olds in green-tech industries. “It’s the kind of program President Obama envisioned when he put together the economic stimulus package,” he said. “It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs.” The L.A. school district […]
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First five steps to a greener home are not what the article says
On Friday, the New York Times Andy Revkin directed his readers to the new column, “The Green Home” by Julie Scelfo. The column he linked to, “Five Beginners’ Steps to a Greener Home,” is not terribly useful at all — indeed I would say it is counterproductive. Only one of her five steps make part […]
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Umbra on water softeners
Dear Umbra, I live in an area that has fairly hard water. The calcium build-up on the sink faucets, shower enclosures, and even the dog water bowls is really bad, and hard to remove. So I have considered a full house water softener. However, I know nothing about them — but I do know you […]
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From Clooney to Cocoa
CloFu-bar Dear PETA, the meat-eating masses are not going to be swayed by flavored tofu. No, not even if you flavor it with George Clooney’s special sauce. Lexicon-artist Oxford’s kiddie tome has undergone a Gen-Y makeover, replacing nature words like beaver, newt, and parsnip with techno-speak like blog, MP3 player, and voicemail. Also newly added? […]
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A volunteer army takes on oceans of trash
This photo of a trash-covered beach in the Philippines was taken during the 2008 cleanup. Photo: Tamara Thoreson Pierce On a single day last September, some 390,000 volunteers collected 6.8 million pounds of garbage from coastal locations and waterways throughout the world, providing a stark and detailed snapshot of the trash polluting the world’s oceans. […]
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Umbra on incendiary topics
Dear Umbra, Your investigation for the raw milk advice apparently didn’t trip over the Real Milk Campaign of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I hope you can remedy the oversight in a future column. Stephen Guesman Alabama Dearest Stephen, Thank you for your kindly upbraiding and the opportunity to further discuss the problem of incendiary […]
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Schwarzenegger tells techies to go ‘green’
HANOVER, Germany — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the world’s biggest high-tech fair Tuesday, telling executives to seize the economic crisis as a moment to shape up and go “green”. Schwarzenegger, this year’s guest of honor at the sprawling CeBIT fair in this northern German city, toured stands with Chancellor Angela Merkel as the […]
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Umbra on cleaning cars inside and out
Dear Umbra, I recently bought a new-to-me car (fuel efficient!). It’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned, so I want to keep it well-maintained and clean. What are some environmentally friendly ways to keep my car clean, both inside and out? I’d rather not use gross chemicals and harsh soaps. Will good ol’ vinegar and […]
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From Mafia to Mushroom
Three cheats to the wind “Italy police arrest eight in Mafia wind farms plot.” And the climate takes another hit. Can you rig it? Oil rigs: The new wind farm eco-resort. Home is where the Honda is Living out of your car? Take the junk in your trunk and turn it into an auto-mobile home. […]
