Climate Culture

My yard, a source of shame

When my fella and I bought our house last year, we tried to make thoughtful decisions as we accessorized our new lives — years of editing Umbra have left me with little choice. So we bought a reel mower — completely manual, no gas, no cord, just a few blades and some sweat. And I’m […]

Toward a civil, inclusive national conversation on food — over a savory tart

As the date for Slow Food Nation — the big sustainable-food conference scheduled in San Francisco this coming August — draws near, I’ve been thinking about attitudes toward food in the erstwhile Fast Food Nation. Like a big pot of water that’s been on high heat seemingly forever, our national conversation on food seems to […]

Inconvenient Truth gives an encore — as an opera

Climate change ain’t over ’til the fat Albert sings …

A fool and his money

I’m guessing these people just want attention, so I’ll give them a little: Conservative grassroots group Grassfire.org wants people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by “hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars.” But only a little.

City residents emit less CO2, study says

Residents of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States emit less carbon dioxide pollution per capita than the U.S. average, according to a new study. The Brookings Institution analyzed data on household and transportation energy use and found that the average U.S. resident was responsible for about 2.87 tons of carbon pollution a […]

Early appearances of climate change in popular literature

Last week, I picked up a copy of the newly reissued 1971 Ursula Le Guin classic The Lathe of Heaven, which takes place in dystopic, post-collapse Portland, Ore., circa 2002 or so. It's typical brilliance from Le Guin, of whom I can't read enough, but I was interested to see that the novel begins by describing Mt. Hood devoid of snow due to the greenhouse effect. The climate is entirely different from that of the 1960s, with blue skies a thing of the past and rainfall patterns completely shifted.

It's the earliest "popular literature" mention of global warming I've come across. Le Guin is often way ahead of her time (she invented Harry Potter and Hogwarts in 1968's A Wizard of Earthsea, for example), though perhaps there are earlier instances of authors adding climate change to the collective body of literature.

Recount

I watched Recount last night, and my god, it is a gut punch.

Evidently, women, infants, and children in need don’t deserve organic

The Women, Infants, and Children program provides food aid to “low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk,” according to the USDA website. The federal government funds the program through grants to states, which then decide how to allocate […]

Brangelina drink to life on an organic vineyard

Back in August, we hinted at the possibility that Brad and Ange were looking to sample some eco-friendly wineries. But now we’ve heard official word (through the grapevine) that they’ve chosen a lovely organic variety in the south of France. The Jolie-Pitts have purchased Château Miraval, a 1,000-acre property featuring two swimming pools, two gyms, […]

How to green your commute

Greening your life in lots of areas is a relatively simple affair, involving you, your conscience, and your wallet. Greening your commute is a tad bit more complicated, involving you, your conscience, and your job — that annoyingly mandatory life entity that puts scratch in the aforementioned wallet. Complicating matters further, the eco-level of your […]