Climate Culture

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  • From Bras to Breaks

    Our cup punneth over Hot on the heels of Japan’s “Cool Biz” program — which let businessmen shed jackets and ties to save on AC — comes “Warm Biz,” which will let businesswomen … wear furry, microwaveable bras with matching hot pants. Hello, Kitty. What’s up Down Under? Our ‘stralian mates are touting cool fuels […]

    Katharine Wroth & Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • A Green Room of Her Own

    Eco-friendly dorm room is part of a greening trend at Berkeley Eco-conscious college living: not just for off-campus hippies living 12 to a house anymore! At the University of California-Berkeley, sophomore Rachael Robertson lives in what’s being billed as America’s first green dorm room, replete with energy-saving devices and a free supply of natural toiletries. […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Comedian Larry David chats about making global warming funny

    This Sunday night, you may find yourself crying over global warming. Crying because you’re laughing so hard, that is, thanks to Larry David — co-creator of Seinfeld and creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm — and his eco-activist wife, Laurie David. Larry David. Photo: HBO. At 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central) on Nov. 20, […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Umbra on heating with bathwater

    Dear Umbra, After a hot bath, I leave the water in the tub so the heat will go into the room. My husband says the heat saved is inconsequential. How would one calculate the BTUs saved this way? J. ReimanHelena, Mont. Dearest J., I do that too. I’m trying to heat the entire office building […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • The Turin of the Screw

    Italy Winter Olympics to be carbon-neutral, but enviros aren’t mollified All right, who’s ready for a “winning the green medal” joke? Us too! Organizers say the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, will have no net impact on global climate disruption, thanks to energy efficiency, clean-energy tech, and tree planting to offset carbon dioxide […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • From Cosmo to Cornhose

    Hand’s across America Vermonter Thomas Hand — of Project BioBus and the Road to Detroit campaign, recently featured in our illustrious pages — now has a spot of honor in Cosmo‘s 2005 Bachelor Blowout. He describes his love of the outdoors and why a single flower bests a dozen roses. Two words: drea-my. Renew it […]

    Katharine Wroth & Sarah van Schagen Culture

  • Umbra on coffee

    Dear Umbra, I am a seriously indulgent coffee drinker. Lately, there have been a ton of “green” coffee shops popping up. I like to support local coffee shops, and I want to believe that they are “shade-grown, fair-trade, organic,” but I’ve wondered if they are being honest. How do I know if they are legit? […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Deforestation

    Take a few easy steps to stem the flood of holiday catalogs Judging by the fake-snow-and-forced-cheer displays popping up in stores, it’s almost that time of year again: Time for overcrowded travel, bad TV specials, a deluge of dead trees, and heaps of precious gift catalogs through your mail slot. Greenies hope you’ll celebrate the […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Umbra on waiting for warm water

    Dear Umbra, You know how, when you turn on the hot water in an old building, it usually takes a while for it to kick in? Well, my question is, if I turn on the tap full blast, will the hot water come sooner? Is it the amount of water you let run, or the […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • How enviros can tap the video game market

    I'll echo Dave's sentiment that he expressed in his post "Reaching the hipsters":

    What about the hipsters? What about the semi-affluent, college-educated, tech-savvy, media-saturated twenty-somethings with artfully disheveled hair? They are, like it or not, apt to be central players in our culture in coming years ("the next generation," blah blah).

    They have no tolerance whatsoever for the kind of earnest, soft-focus appeals most enviro-groups pitch. They are, let's face it, a tad self-absorbed, but they are attracted to all that is innovative, cool, and cutting-edge. Cool hunting is practically a genre unto itself on the net these days. And lots of stuff that's going on in the green world these days fits the bill.

    As I've written before, enviro groups might want to consider how they can introduce green themes into television shows and film, as well as develop campaigns to cultivate the emerging phenomenon of participatory journalism. One other unlikely medium that has significant potential is the world of video games.

    Chris Schults Culture