Climate Culture
All Stories
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Umbra on straw-bale homes
Dear Umbra, Do you recommend building straw bale homes? And/or can you insulate an existing home with straw bales on the outside of the home and then finish it using siding, wood, or stucco? I wonder why this renewable, economical, and easily available resource is underused and undervalued … am I missing something? What do […]
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Architecture 2030’s challenge targets would provide five times the energy as offshore and nuclear
Because America’s energy crisis is adversely impacting our economy and national security, it is critical to take a realistic look at the energy solutions currently being proposed by politicians, industry, and the media. Architecture 2030 in its latest E-News Bulletin illustrates that the centerpiece of America’s proposed "Bold Energy Plan," consisting of 45 new nuclear […]
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From Summer to Starr
Heel the world Summer Rayne Oakes and Payless make quite the pair … of shoes. The duo are stepping up to offer a line of eco-friendly kicks made from organic cotton, hemp, and recycled materials — all at a price even Joe the Plumber can love. Elephant out of room Hey Ranger, Coming 2 town. […]
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Gas-efficient and diesel ‘city’ cars are creating a buzz
This Guardian story was written by reporter Bibi van der Zee. Grist is a member of the Guardian’s Environment Network. —– The Paris Motor Show is so dazzling, so enormous and so festooned with models, champagne bars and plasma screens that it almost convinces you that everything is marvelous. The car salesmen are all smiles […]
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Age-old cooking and preserving techniques could relieve food insecurilty worldwide
Today is World Food Day, and it’s time to assess the prospects for the short- and long-term future of our food. As I write this, there are more than 100 million new starving people in the world since last year. As I write this people in Iceland, one of the world’s richest nations, are wondering […]
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Toyota Prius again tops EPA list of most fuel-efficient cars
It’s almost 2009 — do you know where your fuel-efficient car is? (And with oil dipping below $70 a barrel, do you care? Oh, calm down, we kid.) The U.S. EPA has released its annual list of the most and least fuel-efficient vehicles. Topping the list: the you-ain’t-cool-unless-you-have-one Toyota Prius, achieving an estimated 48 miles […]
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From Iowa’s apple orchards, a delicious heirloom and a recipe for stuffing
This column is an excerpt from Friese’s new book A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland. Truly scrumptious: the “red delicious” apple’s heirloom antecedent. Photo: Kurt Michael Friese One cool spring morning about 1880, a farmer in Madison County, Iowa, named Jesse Hiatt was walking the rows of his young […]
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Try skipping the Pringles
Looking for political information on CNN.com, a headline caught my eye: “How to be sodium savvy.” Since I recently developed some concerns in that area I clicked the link. The story was written by a chef named David Hagedorn for Cooking Light Magazine, a part of the CNN/Time/Warner empire. What I found at the outset […]
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Bottled water is a sham answer to low-quality tap water
Speaking of bottled water, get this, from Environmental Working Group: The bottled water industry promotes an image of purity, but comprehensive testing by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reveals a surprising array of chemical contaminants in every bottled water brand analyzed, including toxic byproducts of chlorination in Walmart’s Sam’s Choice and Giant Supermarket’s Acadia brands, […]
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Umbra on eco-themed Halloween costumes
Dear Umbra, Every year my friends and I throw a big Halloween party, and I had the amazing idea of dressing up as Sarah Palin. Unfortunately, I just found out that’s currently the most popular costume in my city (and most likely the U.S.), so I’m thinking about tipping my hat to my love of […]
