Climate Culture
All Stories
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Umbra on green cookware
Dear Umbra, I’m thinking it’s time to start switching out my family’s cookware. When hubby and I got legally partnered, we received some Calphalon (am I allowed to name names?) and pseudo-Calphalon non-stick cookware, and we’ve used it for a number of years. While the non-stick finish has been well cared for and is not […]
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July sees another sharp drop in U.S. driving
July saw another sharp drop in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) according to the Federal Highway Administration’s monthly report on “Traffic Volume Trends.” Lost in all the news about the financial meltdown and the election is the report that Americans drove 3.6 percent less, or 9.6 billion miles fewer, in July 2008 than July 2007. Okay, […]
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A tasting of five fall-friendly organic dark brews
According to hippie wisdom, early fall is a delicate time, holistically speaking. The season’s first chill causes sniffly noses and sour moods. To chase the fall blues away, one alternative-medicine-minded friend recently suggested eating plenty of greens. Well, I already eat plenty of greens. What I really need now is a beer — one dark […]
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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 […]
