Climate Culture

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  • Debunking the notion that walking is bad for the planet

    Sheesh. Wouldn't you know it, the "walking is bad for the planet" meme has reared its head yet again, this time in a British newspaper:

    Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk ... than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes.

    This made its way to the top of Digg over the weekend, and it's little wonder. It's got all the characteristics of a "sticky idea": it's simple, it's memorable, it seems credible, and most of all, it's unexpected -- which makes it perfect for passing around at the water cooler.

    Yet it's actually nothing new. Versions of this idea have been circulating since at least the 1980s. I blogged about a similar claim a year ago. Moreover, as I found out when I ran the numbers, there's a good reason this claim is so counterintuitive: it's false!

    Clark Williams-Derry Culture

  • Leo’s new eco-flick

    I saw The 11th Hour last night, a new movie produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie is a pastiche of interviews of about 50 different thinkers and scientists, interspersed with stock footage of obligatory mountains and seal clubbings. Here's how Leonardo describes it:


    Adam Browning Culture

  • 15 Green Colleges and Universities

    See which colleges got top marks from Grist, then grade our effort in the comments section at the bottom of this page. Photo: Mauro Carballo College of the Atlantic This small school in Bar Harbor, Maine, has just one major: human ecology — or “the study of our relationship with our environment.” So it only […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • From One Day to One Night

    Bauer beware He’s survived 20 months of torture in a Chinese prison, thwarted presidential assassination attempts, disarmed nuclear bombs, and saved Kiefer Sutherland’s career. Did you doubt he’d eventually take on global warming? Clearly, you don’t know Jack. Bottled rage We heard it through the grapevine that Brangelina may be purchasing an eco-friendly winery in […]

    Sarah K. Burkhalter & Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • The Big Green Bus rides again

    Witness the Big Green Bus. Hard to miss, even amid the glaring sun and smog at Bonnaroo. I happened upon the crew of Dartmouth students at the festival last year and got just a few minutes to chat with them. This year, I sought them out on the festival grounds and then met up with […]

    Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • Paris bike rental scheme takes off

    But wait, I thought bikes were impractical! Taxi drivers and other critics said that it would never work, but three weeks after Paris was sprinkled with 10,000 self-service bicycles, the scheme is proving a triumph and a new pedalling army appears to be taming the city’s famously fierce traffic. Bertrand Delanoë, the city’s mayor, and […]

    David Roberts Culture

  • 15 Green Fashion Finds

    Does your summer need a little sartorial splendor? Of corset does! We’ve put together a head-to-toe eco-ensemble that proves innovative designers are giving green a new look. (Of course, the greenest route is to shop secondhand, and those fashion finds you’ll have to dig up yourself.) Shaun Deller Wheely cap Cyclist — or rather, recyclist […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • This store takes its green role seriously

    Last month, we reported on a few regional grocery chains that are earning organic certification. I went to one of them, a Hannaford, the other night, and have been meaning to publicly praise them ever since. Not only do they have huge, clearly marked organic sections (none of this shy, tucked-away business), they also had […]

    Katharine Wroth Culture

  • TV watching inhibits learning

    Neil Postman and Jerry Mander have said that educational TV is a fraud for decades -- what you learn watching television is how to watch television. Period.

    The conceit of "educational TV" is the same one that sells "eat all you like" diet books and "think yourself rich" plans to fools: the idea of something for nothing (someone else, smarter than you, will handle raising your kids -- just pop in the video).

    You learn to be human by interacting with humans, not appliances.

    JMG Culture

  • 15 Green Fashionistas

    These fashionistas aren’t just talking the talk, they’re walking the catwalk. See who’s shining a spotlight on clothing with a conscience, then join our comment thread below. Tierra Del Forte Just call her Ms. Green Jeans. This designer and founder of Del Forte Denim has created a line of premium organic denim for women. And […]

    Grist staff Culture