Climate Culture
All Stories
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Hot new ergonomic desk chair: 96 percent recyclable
The successor to Herman Miller’s wildly successful Aeron ergonomic desk chair is coming to a lazy, cube-drone posterior near you. It’s called the Embody and … gimme. As a DFH, though, should I be satisfied with a chair that’s only 96 percent recyclable? After last year’s epic hunt for the best ergo chair, I ended […]
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Umbra on aerosols
Dear Umbra, Love the column. Keep up the great stuff! A question: My co-workers and I are suspicious of buying spray cans, even though we know they no longer contain CFCs. We suspect that aerosol cans contain HCFCs — hydrochlorofluorocarbons — which are proving to be dangerous as well, this time as greenhouse gases. Do […]
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The Wolf Trap Center connects art and nature
This is a guest post from my travel partner, Todd Dwyer, head blogger for Dell’s ReGeneration.org. —– After our visit to the amazing Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis, Maryland, Sarah and I hopped in our trusty steed, Cletus the Prius, for a drive to the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts […]
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Phthalates linked to abnormal genitalia in baby boys
Mothers exposed to high levels of phthalates during pregnancy are more likely to bear sons with abnormal genitals, says new environmental research published in the journal Environmental Research. (See what we did there?) The study looked at only 106 mothers and sons, and the afflictions — undescended testicles, smaller penises, and a shorter anogenital distance […]
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From Goldilocks to the Three Bears
Hedwig and the extra inch Blondes have more fun — if you call not being creamed by a truck fun. Which we do. Fore minutes to save the world Justin Timberlake’s got some summer love for golf, and his new course is n’sync with LEED certification. He’ll put those sticks in a box and go […]
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How to turn black walnuts into a delicious dish
When I was growing up in central Ohio, school began right after Labor Day. This was advantageous compared to today’s August start, and not just because of the longer summer break. The extra time also allowed the black walnuts to ripen just in time to give us something to hurl at each other as we […]
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As Halloween nears, beware of the ‘fat-free’ candy corn
It’s the beginning of October and as the cooler temperatures and colorful leaves start to make an appearance, every retailer in America is switching storefronts to include pumpkins and of course, Halloween candy. The orange and black packages are cropping up in drugstores and supermarkets nationwide, and the glycemic high that lasts from Halloween through […]
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Oh noes, driving down!
As of July, U.S. driving declined for nine months straight. Average gas prices have dropped almost 50 cents since then — I’ll be very curious to see the figures for Aug. and Sep. This seems like a good time to revisit the fact that our transportation infrastructure is funded by gas taxes and thus is […]
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Raising a glass to sustainability at New Belgium Brewery
Our visit to New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, began with a bike ride into town for some lunch at a Mexican café. So too began the New Belgium company itself. But it wasn’t Mexican food that founder Jeff Lebesch was after during his bicycle tour through Belgium. From the seat of that two-wheeler, […]
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CFLs can increase mercury pollution in some areas, study finds
Energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs can lead to an increase in mercury pollution in some regions, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study looked at mercury emissions in 130 countries and all 50 U.S. states to determine what role CFLs, which contain mercury, may have in upping mercury […]
