Climate Culture
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Frank Scura’s green ideas are sick
Xtremely green demo at a Whole Foods in San Mateo, Calif. Photo: Courtesy ASEC With the recent profusion of green takes on everything from diapers to caskets, Frank Scura’s proposition might sound like more of the same: “We’re about greening the planet, one skateboard at a time.” But Scura, founder of the Bay Area-based Action […]
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Umbra on dropping out of society
Dear Umbra, Although I have always been one to conserve, recycle, etc., it is only in the last year that I have realized the extent of the catastrophe coming upon us in terms of climate change. I am 40-something, live in a city, own an older home with a sizeable mortgage that requires my husband […]
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Can industrial civilization really become sustainable? Should it?
To be, or not to be — that is the age-old question, and civilization today faces its own dire version of it. As the negative social and ecological effects of 150 years of industrialization are becoming impossible to ignore, people are asking whether we can maintain our standards of living. But very few are asking […]
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Jason Wentworth, eco-friendly laundromat owner, answers questions
Jason Wentworth. What work do you do? I am the owner, along with my wife Sandrine, of the Washboard Eco Laundry in Portland, Maine. How does it relate to the environment? We have attempted to create a new model for the coin-laundry industry by designing our business around the goal of minimizing the environmental impact […]
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From Hova to Happy Meals
H to the two oh Shawn Carter Jigga Hova Jay-Z’s got 99 problems, and clean water is one. “Every 15 seconds a child dies from not having access to clean water,” said the hip-hop mogul, who has teamed up with the U.N. and MTV to raise awareness about the world’s water crisis. “I want people […]
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Why won’t America’s environmentalists accept positive developments?
There are winners, there are losers, and there are people who just don’t get it. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that in spite of the best efforts of tens of thousands of dedicated environmentalists and the spending of literally hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars, the environment has been losing. Hey greens, open […]
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Words Fail Us
Hummer propaganda aimed at kids through McDonald’s Happy Meals Sometimes a story comes along that so perfectly captures a culture’s pathologies that it should be put in a time capsule, so future generations … oh, right, there won’t be any future generations. It seems that, according to fast-food behemoth McDonald’s, this is a “Hummer of […]
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Economies of Bale
Straw-bale construction a little less marginalized Straw-bale construction has slowly been catching on in the green-building set, but its positive performance in recent fire, durability, and eco-friendliness tests could take it to the next level. The latest was an independent fire-resistance test, which proved that the material lives up to industry standards when it’s covered […]
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Umbra on eco-friendly tents
Hi Umbra, When I posted this question locally, I started a brouhaha about owning a car. Hopefully you can answer more succinctly — any suggestions for a tent made out of reasonably friendly materials? Alex BernardinSan Francisco, Calif. Dearest Alex, There’s plenty to say about friendly tents, and nary a brouhaha in sight. Since I’m […]
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Another Nail Polish in the Coffin
Many nail polishes contain shady ingredients A question for all you women, girls, drag queens, trannies, metrosexuals, goths, punks, and so on: have you ever wondered what’s in that nail polish? If you’re in the U.S., one ingredient is likely the nefarious dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, which has been linked to cancer in lab critters […]
