Climate Culture

Umbra on finding the right green job

Dear Umbra, I am in the midst of getting my master’s in environmental science and policy. I am so sick of reading and researching — I just want to get out and do something. My thesis is on composting (of industrial and municipal wastes), but my true love is water. While I have a pretty […]

Matt Petersen, CEO of Global Green USA, answers questions

Matt Petersen. What’s your job title? President and CEO of Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International. What does your organization do? What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? When founding Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev presented a challenge: We must foster a value shift that reconnects humankind to the […]

Umbra on clotheslines

Dear Umbra, We would like to install a clothesline this summer to take advantage of the few months of sun that we get here in Oregon. Any advice on the best kind, and how to keep air-dried clothes from feeling like cardboard? German WhitleyPhilomath, Ore. Dearest German, Excellent. If your power supplier is, as I […]

Soda Jerks

American activist leads international anti-Coke movement via internet The next time you feel ground under the heel of global capitalism, take inspiration from Amit Srivastava. The “one-man NGO armed with just a laptop computer, a website, and a telephone calling card,” as The Wall Street Journal describes him, has become the lynchpin of an international […]

Umbra on shaving

Dear Umbra, Every morning when I shave, I stare in the mirror and wonder if my razor is the best choice for the environment. I realize the easy answer is to let the beard grow. Except the problem is, lots of today’s environmentalists are quietly waging their struggles in modern offices, where beards do not […]

There’s No Place Like Foam

“Coffee-cup home” showcases wood-free construction Nancy Hall was looking for a forest-neutral way to construct a house on her 20 already-logged-over acres in Quilcene, Wash. She considered other darlings of the alternative-materials scene, but in the end chose Rastra — blocks of insulated concrete foam. And how do you Rastra, mon? Take recycled polystyrene coffee […]

Ferry Godfather

Architect shows that reusing discarded materials can be chic Greens have been going on for years about the need to reuse society’s refuse. Now, a high-end modernist San Francisco architect named Olle Lundberg is showing that scavenging is not just for the poor and idealistic. The rich can play too! For instance, Lundberg lives on […]

Are there problems with the Prius?

Tucked into the business sections of newspapers today is this story: The feds are investigating claims that Toyoto Prius engines may unexpectedly stall out at highway speeds.

The development may be but a hiccup interruption for Toyota, as the automaker continues to press its green advantage on American consumers while American automakers stand pat (or worse) on fuel efficiency. After all, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received only 33 complaints about stalled engines -- a small number given the something like 75,000 Priuses on the road for the model years 2004 and 2005.

On the other hand, if there is any credence to the claims, one can envision the concerns spiralling into a whirl of negative publicity for Toyota -- something that opponents of California's clean-car standards (e.g., GM) would certainly take quick advantage of. Here's hoping that there's no opening for a "Hybrid Veterans for Truth" campaign to get off the ground.

Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Labeling

USDA won’t certify personal-care products as organic Makers of “natural” cosmetics, lotions, and potions, and the consumers who love them, are vexed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent decision not to certify personal-care products as organic. The little green USDA organic seal, which now adorns many food products in the U.S., will not be […]

Umbra on reducing emissions, one person at a time

Dear Umbra, I want to adopt the Kyoto treaty myself and adjust my lifestyle accordingly. No waiting, and to hell with George Bush! If my nation had adopted it, I’d have to be doing it anyway. So what is my per-capita fossil-fuel ration for the next 10 years, how do I measure it, how do […]