Climate Culture
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Green Living For Dummies: yet another addition to slew of easy-being-green books
I know no Grist reader will need this book (especially if you’ve got Grist’s opus), but the ubiquitous bumblebee-colored series has now turned its all-dummifying eye to the environment. Somewhere between Heartburn & Reflux For Dummies and Coaching Lacrosse For Dummies is your chance to learn what you’re really supposed to do with those mysterious […]
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Senate passes consumer-safety bill that would reduce toxics in toys
The U.S. Senate has passed legislation aimed at decreasing consumer exposure to dangerous products (like, oh, lead-tainted toys, to pick a random example). Specifically, the measure passed Thursday would increase the staff and budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; sharply reduce acceptable levels of lead and phthalates in toys; create a database of public […]
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Cuteness saves the climate
I thought this was clever -- a Cliff Notes version of climate-friendly lifestyle choices. Click the image for the full-sized version.
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Rising food prices hit home around the world
Is a change coming to your cart? Photo: iStockphoto Hey you, in the supermarket line — yeah, you, the one with the stuffed cart. Are you ready to pay up for those groceries? You’d better be, pal. That’s the message from Bill Lapp, former chief economist for the food giant Conagra. “I think [U.S.] consumers […]
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Umbra on organic honey
Dear Umbra, I was looking for a nice, local, organic honey to use in reworking some recipes so that they didn’t use sugar. So I headed to Whole Foods, and was stuck looking at a honey in a plastic container labeled organic from Brazil, and a local product in a glass container but not labeled […]
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How to green your car
It doesn’t take a paint job to make your car greener. Photo: iStockphoto Wherever you are at this moment, you probably won’t stay there long. Most of us don’t like staying. We like leaving — in our cars. Americans, the owners of nearly 250 million vehicles, take about 356 billion trips in them every year. […]
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Americans using less gasoline
Well, it’s finally happened: Americans are starting to use less gasoline. It took a weakened economy and record oil prices — crude hit an all-time high of $103.95 a barrel Monday — but in the past six weeks, U.S. gasoline consumption has fallen by an average 1.1 percent from 2007 levels, the most sustained drop […]
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Umbra on pearl production
Dear Umbra, I’m nearly drowning in jewelry ideas for my valentine, but wary of mined gemstones. Do you know anything about the ecological impact of cultured pearls, or the faux “shell pearls”? Swimming to the Surface Slowly Portland, Ore. Dearest SSS, I apologize for missing your Valentine’s window, but you may have seen my wee […]
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An interview with green designer and TV personality John Bruce
John Bruce is living in a material world. But he’s no cone-chested pop star — he’s a green designer. A green designer who, during the course of an hour-long conversation, speaks excitedly about various eco-building materials, professing his love for natural clay plaster and calling sunflower-seed-based particle board “super beautiful.” He even credits his love […]
