Climate Culture
All Stories
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U.S. Transportation Secretary blames bikes for decay of roads and bridges
When one rides a bicycle, one is able to transport oneself from place to place — thus, one might call a bicycle “transportation.” But not if one is U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters. Despite the fact that 10 percent of all U.S. trips to work, school, and store happen on bike or foot, Peters said […]
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It’s not that individuals can’t do anything about climate — they just can’t do it by themselves
I’ve been thinking about this debate over voluntary individual action and its place in the larger fight for sustainability (see here, here, and here). It’s missing something. A huge gulf has developed in America between public and private life. This has put green activism — all of progressivism, actually — on the horns of a […]
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Talking Rain adds organic water flavors
Talking Rain now has four flavors of organic bottled water. Wow.
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Alex Steffen on individual action in context
The perennial debate over the value of voluntary individual action — recently revived by Tidwell’s piece and the sociologists’ response — reminded me that some of the best, or least my favorite, writing on the subject comes from Worldchanging’s Alex Steffen. Like this: And here’s the essential break between lite green and bright green thinking: […]
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Washington Post vets green sporting gear
The Washington Post takes a look at athletic products claiming to be green — surfboards, sports balls, skateboards, bikes, and snowboards — and gives a rundown of their eco- and consumer-friendliness from both a layperson and expert perspective.
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Umbra on vegetarian remorse
Dear Umbra, I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 10 years. I started when I was 15, on pretty much a whim just to see if I could do it, but since then I’ve come to appreciate what I’m doing for my body and the planet. Lately, though, whether from boredom or subconscious protein cravings, I’ve […]
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ANTM models green advice
The fact that I watch America’s Next Top Model (it’s fierce, y’all!) is no secret. But it looks like this season all that pointing and laughing and catty-remarking will be work-related. That’s right, even ANTM is going green. (Should we call it ANGM now?) From Entertainment Weekly: [T]he fashion color this season is … green! […]
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Municipalities try to encourage students to walk to school
Cities across the U.S. are turning their attention not only to green education, but to how students get to school. Forty years ago, half of all students walked or bicycled to the schoolhouse. Today, that number has dropped to 15 percent, while 60 percent of youths are toted in a car. The shift, brought on […]
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Social scientists respond to Mike Tidwell
The following is a guest essay in response to Mike Tidwell’s recent piece on Grist, “Voluntary actions didn’t get us civil rights, and they won’t fix the climate.” It is signed by a collection of social scientists, mostly psychologists. Their names are listed at the bottom. —- We agree that institutional and policy changes are […]
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Freegans get by just fine on others’ castoffs
Changed your light bulbs, gone vegetarian, sold your car, but still feel like your consumer impact is intolerable? It may be time to go freegan and learn to live off the waste that others throw out. Freegans gain most of their possessions and sustenance by foraging — for clothes, for furniture, and for grocery-store food […]
