Climate Culture

Noah Scape

Big-budget, zero-carbon comedy Evan Almighty opens today Today marks the debut of a movie that is, depending whom you ask, either a shining star in the eco-entertainment pantheon or a crass manifestation of green gone bad. Evan Almighty, with Steve Carell as a latter-day Noah, bills itself as “the first major motion picture comedy to […]

Communities taking action for clean water

Communities around the country are getting wise to the threat posed by the common practice of flushing old drugs, which inevitably end up in rivers after passing straight through sewage treatment facilities, feminizing fish, mutating frogs, and worse, probably.

One recent effort in coastal Maine collected hundreds of pounds of drugs for proper disposal, but this impressive total was crushed by another grassroots "clean sweep" that collected over a ton of pharmaceuticals plus an estimated $500,000 in narcotics in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in April.

These initiatives make the point very well that there is no "away" when it comes to society's waste. More resources and collection program info for Berkeley, Calif. and the states of Missouri, Maine, and Washington are listed by the Green Pharmacy Campaign here.

15 Green Musicians and Bands

Give a round of applause to these green-leaning musicians, then cheer for your own favorites in the comments section at the bottom of the page.   Photo: Danny Clinch Pearl Jam These down-to-earth rockers made headlines during their tour last year when they donated a total of $100,000 to nine organizations working on climate change, […]

In Black

Hey, L.A.-area folk — if you’re around this weekend, head to the Jazz Bakery in Culver City at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, to watch talented teenage jazz musicians In Black. (Here’s their MySpace, with songs for your listening pleasure.) The Culver City stop is part of the group’s climate-focused Solutions Tour, and you […]

Well, There’s One Thing They Can Agree On

National party conventions aim to go green You’ve maybe noticed that green is the Hot New Thing these days — and the U.S. political arena is no exception. The 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions both plan to get hip to the greenness. Denver, Colo., site of the Democratic potlatch, is primed to beat eco-friendly […]

A valedictory to Colin Fletcher

For most of us who care about ecology and the environment, there was some personal experience that brought us there. For me, it was wilderness hiking, beginning 30-plus years ago in the Grand Canyon and continuing across the American West. Two books helped instigate my journeys and those of thousands of fellow adventure-seekers and nature-lovers. The Welshman who wrote them, the intrepid and blessedly individualistic Colin Fletcher, died earlier this month, at 85.

I can't recall which I read first -- The Man Who Walked Through Time, in which Fletcher chronicled his 400-mile hike through the Grand Canyon, or his compulsively detailed guide to backpacking, The Complete Walker. That's probably because I read them both repeatedly and obsessively.

Umbra on solar funding

Dear Umbra, I have been looking high and low regarding ongoing tax credits and incentives for solar installations on private residences. I may be looking for something that doesn’t even exist, but the rumors certainly do. Is there some website I can confer with to see if there really is such a thing? I have […]

EWG takes a look at how sunscreens stack up

As the summer sun starts to heat up in Seattle, I’ve been wondering what sort of environmentally sound sunscreen options are out there to protect my pale, pale flesh from certain scorching. I considered writing to Umbra under a pseudonym to get an answer, but the Environmental Working Group jumped on the subject before I […]

It ain’t enough to make a tour green

Bonnaroo isn’t the easiest place to transcribe interviews, what with the 24-hour music for four days straight. So I’ll be continuing to post new material from my time at the festival for the next couple days. And I’ve also got some longer interviews planned for the future. Get psyched! Next up, my chat Sunday with […]

Two great tastes?

Christina Larson has the latest on the flowering cooperation between greens and the hook & bullet crowd. This bit is funny: Hunters are predominantly male. Yet the folks who’ve been most successful in reaching out and forging partnerships haven’t been green dudes, talking man to man — but rather the enviro ladies. A few possible […]