Climate Culture
All Stories
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Umbra on burning wood and gas
Hey Umbra, I’m from Quebec and there is a movement underway to prohibit the new installation of wood burning fireplaces. I’m curious about how much carbon is produced by burning a cord of wood in a fireplace, compared to a tank of gasoline burned by an automobile. Ron F.Montreal, Quebec How does firewood stack up? […]
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Putting organic baby foods to the test
Mmm. When I had my son last year, I wasn’t lulled into thinking his body was a pure, unsullied canvas. I knew that babies are born polluted and that breast milk is full of rocket fuel. Still, it’s nice to maintain the illusion of purity, so as not to go completely insane. So I buy […]
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This post brought to you via clean solar electricity
I’m staying with a friend in San Francisco who just recently (in the midst of doing a massive renovation of his 1870s row house) put up a solar PV system on his roof. Two systems, actually, one to power his unit and one to power the downstairs unit. After all the city, state, and federal […]
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Umbra on the other greenhouse gases
Dear Umbra, I have heard and am beginning to understand one of the biggest movements of social change occurring right now: we need to reduce our carbon footprint. I have also heard that while carbon is our most abundant greenhouse gas byproduct (by way of the burning of fossil fuels) other gases, such as methane, […]
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From Wings to Wrappers
On a wing and a prayer It’s a car … it’s a plane … it’s the Terrafugia Transition. Part car and part airplane, this hybrid combines the best of two pollutey products into one scary contraption. We’re sure it’ll take off! (Click below to see the next item in this week’s Grist List — or […]
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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? […]
