Climate Culture

New Year’s Resolutions 2007

Answer the call of the wild “Ring, ring” is so 2005; “Buttons” is so 2006. This year, celebrate The Year of the Endangered-Animal Ringtone. Ash-breasted tit-tyrant calling! Photo courtesy of Lynne Howse and the Center for Biological Diversity Date sexy eco-geek(s) Hey Tom Szaky — we like worm poop too. Or we could, for you. […]

Umbra on New Year’s resolutions

Dearest Readers, Happy New Year! Welcome to 2007. Who knows what it will hold for us all. I hope you have a few parts of your year planned and have resolved to leave the rest up to chance, fate, and short-term impulses. As has become my tradition, I shall start the year with a few […]

Guaranteed true, top to bottom!

In 2007:

1. Prius sales will peak and begin a slow decline as consumers anticipate 2008 models from competitors that will have similar or better performance and therefore higher status.
2. Electric hybrid bikes will become increasingly popular as a commuting tool thanks to improved battery technology.
3. The SUV fad will continue to fade.
4. The corn ethanol pyramid scheme will continue to play out based on the canard that the use of environmentally destructive biofuels is a necessary (but in theory, temporary) evil.
5. Biofuel crops (primarily those used for biodiesel) will accelerate the loss of rainforests and other carbon sinks (and the biodiversity contained within them).
6. More biofuel will be imported than in any previous year.
7. More lifeforms will be declared extinct.
8. The number of hungry people in the world will increase (as it did this year, by 4 million).
9. Mustaches will return as an attractive and stylish fashion statement.
10. Grist will kick some serious ass.

Happy New Year.

A new reality series reveals what it’s like living with eco-celeb Ed Begley Jr.

Nick and Jessica had their “chicken of the sea.” Sharon and Ozzy had their bleepity bleep-bleep. And now Ed and Rachelle have … plastic rain barrels. Ed Begley Jr. Photo: Tricia Lee Pascoe That’s Ed Begley Jr. and his wife, actress Rachelle Carson. They’re the stars of Living with Ed, a six-episode series premiering on […]

The year, alphabetically

When it comes to global warming and the environment, everything seemed to change in 2006 -- at least in terms of public awareness. Here's an A-to-Z accounting of just some of those changes:

A is for An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's scientific but surprisingly human documentary on the threat of climate change, which was expected to take in at most $6-7 million at the box office but went on to gross over $45 million, the biggest documentary of the year and the third-largest of all time.

B is for biofuels, which went from becoming a hippies-only fringe product to a highlight of the State of the Union address. To date, Washington has been focused mostly on ethanol, but other fuels requiring much less fossil energy to produce are coming to the fore and proving surprisingly popular. Or as the bumper sticker says: "Biodiesel: No war required."

C is for California, which set a new standard for pollution control by passing a bipartisan package of bills designed to cut tailpipe greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent by 2016 (and many other measures). For this, Iain Murray, a fossil fuel-funded think tank writer for the far-right National Review, declared: "It is hard to escape the conclusion ... that what California has done is to decide to join the Third World."

The top 10 green stories of the year

Photo: iStockphoto 10. A Stern reminder In October, venerable economist and senior U.K. government adviser Sir Nicholas Stern released a major report on global warming. Its claims were explosive. On the grim side, global warming stands to shave up to 20 percent off the world’s annual GDP by the end of the century. On the […]

Bitch’s green issue is definately worth killing trees for

The winter issue of Bitch magazine is all about green issues as they relate to feminism and pop culture. As always, Bitch is dead on in their content and critique, especially the piece "Green and Not Heard: Al Gore, Rachel Carson, and the feminizing of eco-activism." Recommended highly, though it's only available in print.

Wait, there's still print media? And print media that doesn't have the full text of their articles available online? Despite the horror of having to leave your house, travel to a bookstore (preferably a small, local, independent one), and interact with other human creatures, Bitch, particularly this issue, is worth it.

A little holiday guilt for ya

Just in time for your holiday flight back to whence you came, a little news about the environmental effects of your holiday airline travel that will make you feel almost as guilty as your relatives will. Much like your family tree (OK, maybe just mine), your trip will inevitably generate trash.

Umbra on wrapping creatively

Dear Umbra, Due to my procrastinating nature, I once again find myself in the position of having to wrap what seems like hundreds of gifts in wasteful wrapping paper, only to have it torn apart and thrown away the very next day. I’m a proponent of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” philosophy, but during the holidays, […]

Barenaked Ladies vocalist Steven Page lays bare his hopes for a green future

Barenaked Ladies (L to R) are Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Tyler Stewart, and Steven Page. Photo: Nettwerk Records / Chris Woods Steven Page has seen the future. In it, there are walkable cities with plenty of bike paths, cleared for cyclists even in the dead of winter. Whole communities are powered by wind […]