Climate Culture
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Their eco-song doesn’t suck. Too much
I have been remiss in my music-related reportage, and I apologize. I had heard prior to Live Earth (which was three weeks ago) that, like Madonna, the Black-eyed Peas would be writing a song specifically for the spectacle. But I never updated you as to how that worked out. Then, today, thanks to my "media […]
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They just keep coming
There is constant drumbeat of accusations of hypocrisy against Al Gore for using offsets. Although the people who do this sort of thing are aiming for the lizard brain, I suppose it is worth pointing out that it is an obviously bogus accusation.
Look, I'm an offset critic. I think offsets are one of the biggest wrong turns we can make in fighting environmental destruction, especially global warming. Al Gore, on the other hand, is a strong advocate of offsets. He helped get them into the Kyoto treaty. If I were to buy offsets, I would be a hypocrite -- acting against my beliefs. When Al Gore buys offsets he is acting according to his beliefs. Regardless of whether those beliefs are right or wrong, no hypocrisy is involved.
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Making climate destabilization into art
Artist Chris Jordan portrays our culture's excessive waste and consumption.
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Cherries, their cousins, and a clafouti recipe
I went to a friend’s house for breakfast a few days ago, and she placed an enormous colander full of ripe cherries in the center of the table. Gazing at it made me feel like we were experiencing the very quintessence of summer. It was right up there with the feeling of walking barefoot in […]
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Let’s go all the way
When David pointed out that plug-in electric hybrids (PHEVs) can reduce carbon emissions in all possible futures, two main arguments were raised in opposition -- practicality, and the possibility that they will provide too low a reduction, while blocking the path to something better.
The way commercial plug-ins look to be implemented within the next five years is that normal hybrids will be built with large batteries and the ability to plug into a socket in your dedicated parking space. They will travel the first twenty miles or so on electricity and then turn on their gasoline engine around the 21st mile or so. Even with our current grid, they will emit less CO2 per mile than when they switch to their gasoline engine.
Like hobbyists, who manually convert existing hybrids, these will have to be more expensive than a normal hybrid, because they have every expense a normal car has plus the extra battery cost. If gasoline prices rise high enough, I suppose they may pay for themselves in fuel savings, but mostly they will sell on the "cool" factor.
However, there is another way to implement plug-ins, one we could begin now with a large enough investment, which produces savings comparable to a full electric car -- and which, if run on wind, or sun, or other ultra-low-carbon electricity sources, could actually provide a 98 percent emissions reduction.
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Alan Durning on whether biking is for children and for losers
You don't have to go farther than Hollywood to see one reason Bicycle Neglect is so rampant in North America. Consider the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The middle-aged protagonist, obsessed with video games and action figures, seems stuck in early adolescence. The film spends two hours lampooning him for being emasculated, immature -- not a real man. His vehicle? A bike. (You can almost hear the schoolyard snickers.)
To be a successful adult, apparently, you have to drive. Cycling is for children; cycling is for losers. In this view, it's fitting that the pinnacle of the sport of cycling is the Tour de France. (Implied snicker about France as a symbol -- unfair, of course -- of all that's cowardly, effeminate, and weak.)
Call this Bicycle Shame.
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Mock, yes, but then take a closer look
How about that GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum MasterCard? Hard not to make fun of it, right? So hard, in fact, that Daily Grist failed. To not make fun of it. That is to say, they made fun of it. And by "they" I mean "we." Moving on. Beyond the mockery, there’s actually a reasonably […]
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Who are the people in your neighborhood, and what have they got to lend?
I don’t actually have a question to respond to this week, so … pretend like somebody asked something. Remember back when people actually used to stop by their neighbor’s house and ask for a cup of sugar? OK, neither do I. Actually, the other day my boyfriend’s neighbor came over and asked to borrow some […]
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