Climate Culture

All Stories

  • Umbra on co-housing

    Dear Umbra, How does one begin to gather a group of people to live in a modern city commune? My dream is to own in common an energy-efficient and sustainable house or apartment building inhabited by 10 or so people who are neighbors but also share the duties of the house (cooking, laundry, gardening), much […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Gaghan’s Syriana not at all the feel-good film of the year

    Syriana, written and directed by Traffic screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, is a brave and daunting piece of filmmaking. It plunges without apology into hot-button territory few U.S. news outlets, much less Hollywood productions, have dared explore, and does very little to smooth the rough edges for a moviegoing audience accustomed to frictionless entertainment. In a pop-culture […]

    David Roberts Culture

  • From Mascara to Montreal

    Beyond eye shadow of a doubt Courtney Corvan may be the only Makeup Artist to the Stars who makes a point of using vegan, cruelty-free products. Funny, we thought being cruelty-free just meant not telling Rachel Hunter her pores are the size of planets. (Oh, Rachel, we kid.) Well, that’s ironicalicious Mazda recently announced that […]

    Katharine Wroth & Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • TIME’s vengeful mother of the year

    Seems "Mother Nature" is likely to be TIME Magazine's Person of the Year for 2005.

    David Roberts Culture

  • Umbra on LED holiday lights

    Dear Umbra, Suppose I replace all my many old, tangled, not-so-efficient holiday lights with the newer LED lights. These are supposed to be better for the environment. What is the best way to dispose of my old lights? R-MOttawa, Canada Dearest R-M, The LED lights are indeed better for the environment, and, since I’m frankly […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Catch Him if You Can

    Leonardo DiCaprio to produce documentary about global warming Eco-minded actor Leonardo DiCaprio — who tools around L.A. in a Prius and has been outspoken about issues like worldwide access to potable water — is now bringing a tree-hugging message to film. According to spokesdude Ken “Walkin’ on” Sunshine (we made that middle part up), DiCaprio […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Ever thought about the toxins in your sex toys?

    So you’re an Enlightened Green Consumer. You buy organic food and carry it home from the local market in string bags. Your coffee is shade-grown and fair-trade, your water’s solar-heated, and your car is a hybrid. But what about the playthings you’re using for grown-up fun between those organic cotton sheets — how healthy and […]

    Emily Gertz Culture

  • Umbra on green roofs

    Dear Umbra, Our garage is in need of a new roof. We would like to build a “living roof” and are wondering where to start. Our long-term plan is to convert the space into an art studio, complete with insulation, electricity, and finished walls and floor. Do you have any pithy suggestions for us to […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • From Yeehaw to Yoots

    Heart your engines Tired of pretty-boy actors flashing their newfangled wheels? Here’s something grittier: hybrids may be coming to a Formula One track near you. It makes sense, says one rep, since “Formula One is all about efficiency.” Well, that and the fiery crashes. Photo: iStockphoto. All the smews that’s fit to print Some words […]

    Katharine Wroth & Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • Photographer Laurie Tümer shows the hidden paths of pesticides

    Click here to see Tümer’s photos. Photo: Laurie Tümer. In a segment this fall, Good Morning America simulated pesticide exposure in a New York City classroom. Using a powder visible only under black light, the program showed how far chemicals could spread through an activity as simple as child’s play. The eye-opening exercise wasn’t news […]

    Karin Kloosterman Culture