Climate Culture

Cap’n Crunchy

Earthships offer a model for green housing of the future Looking to build an eco-friendly dwelling? An “earthship” could be just the ticket, says Mike Reynolds. Inexpensive to construct and even less expensive to run, these houses are built into hillsides, utilizing passive solar design and the thermal properties of the earth to provide natural […]

Umbra on doggie-doo bags

Dear Umbra, For years, I faithfully brought my canvas bags to the grocery store, leaving plastic bags for the environmentally uninformed. A few months ago, though, I adopted a dog, and I now find myself with a dilemma. I need to pick up all of his solid excrement, and having no compost or any other […]

Much Ado About Nothing

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day by sitting on your derriere Traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, the Friday after Thanksgiving sends millions of Americans, drone-like, to the malls to kick-start the holiday consumption orgy. But before you foil-wrap the roast beast and stash the organic cranberry dressing in the fridge, consider celebrating another holiday: […]

Pan of Green Gobbles

Sales of organic turkeys and Tofurky on the rise The organic turkey is the new Prius. If you’re planning to carve one up for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal, you’re riding the latest wave of eco-chic. Organic turkey sales at Whole Foods Market have doubled this year, the upscale natural-foods chain reports. And that’s building on impressive […]

Sundae Drive

New hybrids are more powerful and sexy, if less efficient The next crop of hybrid vehicles is eagerly anticipated not only by energy-conscious geeks and early-adopter hipsters, but by regular ol’ Americans who like to have their apple pie and eat it too. Auto-industry flacks are predicting buyer excitement over soon-to-debut vehicles like the hybrid […]

Umbra on the health/environment dividing line

Yowza. A few weeks back, in response to a question from a reader named Cassandra about the relative merits of soy milk, I asked your opinion on the dividing line between health and environmental concerns. Cassandra wanted to know if she could continue eating soy, which she considered an environmentally sound choice, without increasing her […]

Advantages of Bike Commuting

Postmodern Deconstructionism

Building recycling on the rise The demolition of buildings in the U.S. produces about 124 million tons of debris a year, most of which is carted off to landfills. But that is starting to change: Instead of indiscriminately bashing buildings with wrecking balls, companies are taking a more deliberate approach, dismantling structures and recycling the […]

I’d Like to Buy the Crops a Coke

Indian farmers use Coca-Cola as a pesticide Urban legend has it that Coca-Cola works well to remove rust spots, clean corroded batteries, polish toilets, and — we can confirm this one — dissolve baby teeth that have fallen out of an innocent 5-year-old’s mouth, thus yielding a lifelong terror of soft drinks. But Indian farmers […]

Home Is Where the Bloat Is

American homes are growing and consuming more electricity American homes are sucking more and more energy, contributing to a cycle of rising prices that is putting a financial crunch on poor and fixed-income families. In 1970, the average new home was 1,500 square feet; in 2003, it was 2,230 square feet. Even that startling statistic […]