Climate Culture

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 […]

Umbra on car disposal

Dear Umbra, My wife and I are making plans to purchase our first hybrid vehicle and need to properly dispose of our current car — a 1989 Buick LeSabre. My question is, what is the best way to get rid of it? It is old and has a lot of miles on it. I suppose […]

Their dependence on gaz guzzlers makes them highly vulnerable, says a new study

Ah, now we're talking. Earlier this week I was a bit snarky about this article, which flung broad statements about with very little empirical support (understandable, I guess, for a breezy op-ed).

But a new study that just came across my desk puts some teeth in the argument that going green is smart business strategy for automakers.

Jointly published by the U. of Michigan and NRDC, the study analyzes what would happen to the Big Three U.S. automakers in the event of an oil-price spike.

As I've mentioned before, the possibility of such a spike is not remote. With supply and demand in such tight and tenuous balance, anything -- domestic politics, terrorist attacks, accidents, you name it -- could cause major disruptions in the oil market. How would American companies weather such a storm? From the NRDC press release: