Climate Culture

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

From Guzzlers to Greenlanders

Size does matter Fingering the Hummer H2 is so last year. The latest trend in Hummer humiliation? Video of die-hard haters humping the gas guzzlers. If a picture’s worth 1,000 words, this specimen is infinity squared. (Safe for work, but only if your boss has a sense of Hummer humor.) Photo: ihumpedyourhummer.com Damn those special […]

Bawh-Chikka-Baaawh

Report accuses U.K. media of indulging in global-warming “porn” The first comprehensive analysis of climate-change coverage in the U.K. media has deemed it “confusing, contradictory, and chaotic.” Produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research, the report, “Warm Words,” accuses media outlets of presenting apocalyptic pictures and portents as a kind of “climate porn” to […]

Selfishness

I was somewhat dismayed to hear that environmentalism can only save itself by explicitly becoming "selfish" and "cool." (Or is there a difference?)

I was even more dismayed to find that Grist is, apparently, the house organ for this line of thinking:

From Roberts to Redford

The Brockovich is back America’s sweetheart (back off, Witherspoon!) Julia Roberts has agreed to serve as a spokes-star for clean-energy developers Earth Biofuels, joining fellow Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and country singer Willie Nelson. We’re glad she’s green and all, but still, let’s hope she burned that unsettling sprite get-up from Vanity Fair. Photo: Kevin […]

Green-burial movement gets more ambitious

Resting in peace at Ramsey Creek. Photo: Memorial Ecosystems. “I’d prefer to be put in the ground, under a tree,” says Joe Sehee, contemplating his inevitable demise. “But I don’t want to go in the ground with anything, I just want to be buried in a simple pine box or shroud, and that’s it.” If […]