Climate Culture

From Wine to Wood

Nice jugs When winemaker Carlo Rossi looks at a pair of jugs, he sees art. His new furniture collection — or “functional pieces of pure jug leisure” — includes a Chardonnay Chandelier, a Cabernet Couch, and a Sangria Sound System. For this oenophile, it’s all about “jug shui.” Photo: carlorossi.com The “Greatest Generation” thing was […]

Lawn Gone

Homeowners rethink their water-sucking lawns A “delawning” movement is sprouting up around the U.S., as a handful of homeowners switch from resource-intensive grassy green expanses to drought-tolerant, native, and/or edible gardens. “It’s about shifting ideas of what’s beautiful,” says Fritz Haeg, an L.A. architect whose Edible Estates project transforms front yards into fruit and vegetable […]

Talking Points

Climate and energy have entered mainstream dialog. They're being discussed on op-ed pages and cable news, by ordinary people around the water cooler (do they still have those?), outside of environmental and policy-wonk circles. Hell, Rory's grandparents bought her a Prius on Gilmore Girls. Or so I hear.

This is all to the good: these are extraordinarily important issues, and every concerned citizen should be at least minimally educated about them.

Problem is, there are lots of folks out there with a vested interest in confusing people and derailing these discussions. They are armed with misleading factoids and bogus rhetorical tricks, and seek to kick up enough dust to convince the public that it's all just too complex and they should leave it up to politicians -- politicians bought by the very vested interests in question. There are massive misinformation campaigns afoot, and your average Joe or Jane is outgunned.

So, I'm starting a series of posts called Talking Points. The idea is to provide short bits of ammunition for y'all to take out into the public square. I want to collect arguments or ideas or notions or turns of phrase that might be useful when talking to people about climate- and energy-related matters. I'll try to avoid wonkiness and scientific jargon.

And of course I'd love it if you left your own talking points in comments, or emailed them to me.

Stay tuned.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — Well, One Out of Three Ain’t Bad

The happiest nations are not the high-consuming ones, survey says A new Happy Planet Index supports the cliché that money can’t buy happiness. The New Economics Foundation, a British think tank, looked at 178 countries’ consumption levels, life expectancy, and happiness, and concluded that people can live long, happy lives without sucking up large quantities […]

Umbra on recycling foil

Dear Umbra, Summertime grilling is in full swing at our house, but I am wondering what the ecological cost is of all that aluminum foil we’re using in place of our regular pots and pans. Sure makes for great clean up, but it is not recyclable as aluminum cans are. Sandra Liebe Paris, Ill. Dearest […]

From Succor to Soccer

View unto others A group called Inconvenient Christians (best! name! ever!) is offering “committed, Bible-believing” peeps free tix to Al Gore’s movie. In return, Truth-seekers agree to post mini-reviews on the group’s site — and to shut up about The Da Vinci Code already. Weather or not China to scientists: Stop carrying out fraudulent research. […]

An Incandescent Truth

Just change your dang light bulbs already If efficient, low-energy lighting were installed all around the world, global energy costs could be cut by nearly a tenth, says the International Energy Agency. The technology is widely available, would curb light pollution, and, according to a new IEA report, could keep up to 16 billion tons […]

Umbra on old clothes

Dear Umbra, I promise that I searched the archives before emailing you, so hopefully you haven’t already answered this question. I’m wondering about the best way to dispose of old clothes and shoes — the tired, well-loved, and much-worn items that thrift shops really don’t want. I wear my clothes until the bitter end, and […]

From Vengeance to Vision

We’re not saying there’s a god But if there were, do you think He might fell a tree on the lawn of a flawed figurehead? Perhaps flood a few of the iconic institutions run by that person’s cabal? You know … if there were. Heads up It’s almost time for the Running of the Nudes! […]

Green Building 101

Yesterday, Inhabitat started a weekly series for the summer called Green Building 101. The series is focused mainly on LEED-H, the (developing) green standards for homes. It also mentions LEED-ND, the (developing) green standards for neighborhoods, which I'm super jazzed about. The series will walk through the basics of building or renovating a home for maximum eco-friendliness. Should be cool.

Check out the first installment, about choosing an eco-friendly site.