Climate Culture
All Stories
-
This Is Why We Don’t Clean
Bacteria-killing goods may threaten human health and environment Antimicrobial products — towels, sponges, cutting boards, and other household goods that promise to kill bacterial beasties and fungi — are now a $1 billion-a-year industry, but they may be harming human health and the environment. Triclosan, a popular microbe-icide, can combine with chlorine in tap water […]
-
Umbra on baking soda
Dear Umbra, I liked your column about homemade cleaning products. I have a question, though: What’s up with baking soda? It’s frequently bandied about as an eco-friendly cleaner, but I have no idea what it is, where it comes from, or how it’s made. AmandaCharlottesville, Va. Dearest Amanda, Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a naturally […]
-
From Panties to Pledges
Eco-panties The world’s fascination with panties dates back to, oh, probably whenever panties were invented. At U.K.-based GreenKnickers.org, they make them from organic materials or oddball secondhand dresses. You got your eco, you got your panties — what’s not to like? Like Grizzly Adams, but crazy Photo: Timothy Treadwell. Self-proclaimed “kind warrior” Timothy Treadwell lived […]
-
![]()
![]()
Brits consider radical plan to measure personal emissions
Credit or debit … or planet? What would you be willing to do to slow climate change? Oh sure, you might drive and fly less. You might already have, like me, signed up for a green-energy plan. But would you hand over an ID card every time you filled up your gas tank? Would you […]
-
Umbra on computer recycling
Dear Umbra, Do you have any suggestions for locating a computer-recycling service in the Piedmont area of North Carolina? Janet Fortune Dearest Janet, Frankly, I couldn’t even have located the Piedmont area of North Carolina before you wrote. With today’s technology, however, such ignorance is no barrier to giving advice. The rest of you, listen […]
-
Eco-designer Clare Cunningham answers questions
Clare Cunningham. What work do you do? I am an eco-designer. My specialty is in designs that are socially and environmentally responsible. How does it relate to the environment? “Products are the source of all environmental problems,” says Edwin Datschefski. Eco-design tries specifically to lead products and services away from overconsumption and environmental degradation, and […]
-
From Ritalin to Ridicule
Nature as Ritalin A small-but-growing body of research shows that exposure to nature can reduce the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For calming your crazed kids, “outside” is the new TV. The Twike Photo: FINE Mobile GmbH. Is it a small car? A motorcycle? A bike? We don’t care, we just heart this little […]
-
Umbra on utility carts
Dear Umbra, I live less than a half-mile from a supermarket, and prefer to do my errands by foot. Any thoughts on where I could buy a top-of-the-line utility cart? I’m willing to pay a premium for something lightweight, smooth-rolling, stable, foldable, and durable (or if not durable, then easy to recycle when it breaks!). […]
-
Black and White and Studio Head All Over
Hollywood studios see greenbacks in them thar flightless waterfowl The summer’s big hit documentary isn’t about the antics of political weasels, or children at spelling bees; it’s a nature film about flightless Antarctic waterfowl. French-made March of the Penguins, a heartstring-yanking saga about emperor penguins, cost $7 million to make. It’s already earned over $10 […]
-
![]()
![]()
In Garbage Land, Elizabeth Royte talks dirty
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte, Little Brown and Co., 320 pgs., 2005. Our soda man delivers. He comes bounding up the steps, easily cradling an ancient-looking wooden crate under one arm. The contents are 24 seven-ounce bottles of cola and birch beer, for which we hand him $7, and […]
