Climate Culture
All Stories
-
Eleven organic breakfast cereals get put to the spoon
The scene was surreal … I mean, cereal. I awoke from deadline-anxiety dreams one Sunday morning, and crept down to the kitchen at the farmhouse where I work. There I found a dozen people chomping breakfast cereal, scribbling down notes, and trading bon mots. Coincidentally, the farmhouse had been packed with guests that weekend, including […]
-
Umbra on bedbugs
Dear Umbra, I desperately need your help. My house has become infested with bedbugs! I’m trying to find an environmentally friendly way to get rid of them. I’ve tried a thorough cleaning and tried using diatomaceous earth (fossil shell flour) to no avail. The local exterminator is looking more and more appealing. Please stop me […]
-
Slow Food Nation was magnificent in many ways, but overshot its mandate
Photo: karmacamilleeon Slow Food Nation — that grand, sprawling culinary event that seemed to permeate San Francisco over Labor Day weekend — has passed. Now we can ask: What was it? A brazen display of foodie elitism, as some critics charge? A transformative moment in an ongoing effort to overthrow the industrial food system, as […]
-
From Drink to Drive
No beefeater allowed Is it bad that veg-friendly rehab only makes us want to drink more? Hairy spotter Unable to bear it any more, the British army is looking to find a substitute material for its tall, fuzzy hats. Paging Devendra Banhart! Photo: Ella Mullins Stranger than friction If Smencils are smelly pencils, then Sliquid […]
-
A few thoughts on an amazing event — and a recipe for a delectably slow-cooked pasta sauce
Say cheese: a sample of Slow Food Nation’s Taste Pavilion. Photo: Russ Walker It’s going to take me more than just a few days to fully understand the effects and implications of the first Slow Food Nation, held in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. The brain power on display was impressive enough: Wendell Berry, […]
-
Under pressure from Big Canned Tuna, FDA lax in mercury regulation
Under strong pressure from Big Canned Tuna, the Food and Drug Administration is crazily lax in regulating mercury in tuna. Among many examples: In 2000, a draft advisory to pregnant women listed canned tuna as a product highly contaminated with mercury; after FDA officials met with the three largest tuna companies, the final advisory left […]
-
National Toxicology Program still concerned about BPA
The National Toxicology Program begs to differ with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent conclusion that common chemical bisphenol A is safe at currently regulated levels. In a report released Wednesday, the NTP notes “some concern” that BPA can affect children’s brains and reproductive systems. The agency made the same conclusion in a draft report […]
-
Ecoflip offers a twist on online classifieds
Buying something used and local is already a fairly green way to consume (if consume you must) so I was curious what Ecoflip, which calls itself a “green craigslist,” would entail. The categories are fairly standard but have a splash of hippie: Fuel-efficient vehicles get their own section (along with the more expected green living […]
-
Umbra on recycled vs. certified paper
Dear Umbra, Our office is trying to develop an environmental paper procurement policy, and we were wondering which component is most critical — certification by the Forest Stewardship Council, or recycled content? If you could help us understand which is best to support, we would greatly appreciate it. Dan S. Denver, Colo. Dearest Dan, We […]
-
How to commute by bike
Easy rider. Ever glance enviously at the cyclists whizzing past while you’re stuck in traffic? Joining ’em is easy — and it doesn’t have to involve full-body spandex. The health benefits of biking to work are plenty, from helmet hair a svelte physique to breathing fewer air pollutants than those stuck in cars. Regular bikers […]
