Climate Culture

Green Living and Paper or Plastic give shoppers cause — and pause

Food for thought. I found out not too long ago that I am a LOHAS. Or, I should say, I found out that a gaggle of people I’ve never met think I am a LOHAS. These initials, as you may well know, stand for “lifestyles of health and sustainability.” We LOHAS shoppers are, according to […]

Umbra on eco-conscious fashion

Dear Umbra, I need some new clothes! But besides shopping consignment and used clothing shops and hunting through labels looking for “Made in USA” tags, are there online sources of organic- or sustainable-fabric clothes that are guaranteed sweatshop-free? I would not mind investing in some decent duds that look nice and last. Lorna VogtSalt Lake […]

Make That “Vast, Energy-Sucking Wasteland”

Electricity-hungry widescreen TVs spike home energy use Jonesing for one of those technolicious, 61-inch, flat-screen, hi-def, make-your-morning-coffee televisions? It’s gonna cost you — right in the utility bill. The Natural Resources Defense Council predicts that if current design standards hold, TVs and related accoutrements (DVD players, etc.) will account for about 10 percent of home […]

Heck, I’d cycle nude even if it wasn’t for a good cause

Speaking of naked protests: This weekend, hundreds of cyclists across the world rode in what is by far my favorite protest -- the World Naked Bike Ride. Riding against oil dependence, for cyclists' rights, or just to feel the breeze on all their parts while surrounded by a bunch of naked friends and/or strangers, protestors bared all in some 50 cities in 17 countries, including London, Chicago, Seattle, and Madrid. And what could be better? Naked cycling protests combine the energy and exhilaration of three already pretty exhilarating activities: public nudity, protesting in the streets, and cycling.

Seriously, if you've never ridden in one, pencil it in on your calendar for the same time next year -- they're a blast! Not surprisingly, I guess, shedding your clothes -- or at least, most of them -- really does seem to make a difference; people in cars are almost never as nice to cyclists as they are when they're in the middle of a rolling naked party. (There's a lesson in there somewhere.) The WNBR is like a titillating, slightly more focused Critical Mass, with once-a-year energy. So go on, cycle naked for a good cause when you have the chance.

And in case you're wondering, it looks much more painful than it is.

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 […]