Climate Culture
All Stories
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A Towering Achievement
An Australian power company is planning to build the world’s tallest structure, in the name of a global campaign to encourage renewable energy use. Energy company Environmission plans to construct a solar tower in the middle of the Australian outback that would soar 3,300 feet into the air, or more than twice as high as […]
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Turning Japanese
An Eco-Products exhibition held recently in Tokyo, Japan, attracted more than 100,000 visitors and no shortage of unusual inventions. The big-ticket item was, of course, Toyota’s fuel-cell car, which has just been leased to the Japanese government, but there were plenty of other forms of green ingenuity on display as well. These ranged from the […]
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On staying sane in a mad world
A Czech friend of mine sent me an email during the recent NATO summit in Prague as American fighter jets stood by and riot police filled the streets. “Sometimes,” she wrote, “I feel as though the world has gone mad.” Her words spoke my own thoughts so clearly it was as though I were reading […]
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Water We Thinking?
The U.S. has earned the dubious distinction of being the most wasteful user of water in the world, according to the first-ever Water Poverty Index. Developed by a team of British researchers, the index ranked 147 countries according to water resources, access, capacity, use, and environmental impact. The U.S., which has the highest per capita […]
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Wild Horses Couldn’t Prius Away
Toyota Prius owners — celebs and regular folks alike — are doing more than saving money at the gas pump and curbing greenhouse-gas emissions: They’re also making a political statement, thumbing their noses at Saddam Hussein, oil barons, and SUV owners everywhere. Wyatt Earp, a descendant of the legendary gunslinger, has purchased four hybrid-electric Prius […]
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Umbra on snowy sidewalks
Dear Umbra, Being a new homeowner, I’ve realized the responsibility of keeping the sidewalk slip-proof during the winter months. Of course, shoveling will be the first line of defense, but that never seems to do the trick, often leaving that thin layer of slippery snow. And then there is the ice. I know that salt […]
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Umbra on wrapping paper
Dear Umbra, Any suggestions on where to find recycled wrapping paper? I know the real environmental choice is to reuse stuff I have around the house, but sometimes newspaper, etc., just doesn’t have the right look. Any ideas where I can find recycled/tree-free wrapping paper for the holiday season? I’ve been looking around (both online […]
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Lifestyles of the Rich, Famous, and Recycled
Having dispensed with the good news, we can now move on to the goofy news: Danny Seo, the young fashion guru who has been featured in Grist’s pages before as the Martha Stewart of the environmental movement, is packing up his New York life and moving to Los Angeles to position himself as an “environmental […]
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Washed Up
400 — loads of laundry washed by a typical U.S. household in one year1 35 billion — loads of laundry washed every year in the U.S.2 74 — percentage of U.S. households with washers and dryers3 7 — percentage of washing machines replaced by U.S. consumers each year3 81,000 — annual electricity consumption, in gigawatt […]
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Drag Your Computer to the Recycle Bin
In an abrupt departure from past policy, high-tech giant Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will support California legislation requiring computer manufacturers to pay for safe disposal of electronic waste. In October, HP used its considerable clout as the world’s largest maker of personal computers to persuade Gov. Gray Davis (D) to veto an e-waste measure. […]
