Climate Culture
All Stories
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Umbra on environmentally friendly communities, again
Dearest Readers, In my last column, I received a plea from James “Captain Planet” Fitzpatrick of Florida, a firefighter looking to relocate to a small, friendly, environmentally conscious mountain community with good schools, reasonably clean air and water, and no polluting companies or toxic waste sites. As this was obviously a job for discerning Grist […]
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Locke and Key
Meanwhile, in the other Washington, Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed an executive order yesterday calling for sustainable environmental practices in all state agencies. The order includes a directive that the state’s $1.1 billion annual purchasing power be spent on environmentally friendly products and conservation. Washington already has some exemplary sustainability policies in place, including programs […]
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Clothes Call
In yet another trend-setting environmental move by California, Gov. Gray Davis (D) signed into law this week a bill requiring old, inefficient washing machines to be replaced with water-efficient ones by 2007. New washers must now meet a standard of using 9.5 gallons of water to wash one cubic foot of laundry — well below […]
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Umbra on environmentally friendly communities
Hello, Umbra, I have been a firefighter for 23 years in Florida and have been reading Grist for the last couple of years. I am very environmentally conscious (probably why my nickname at the fire station is Captain Planet) and am starting to look for a place to move with mountains, small and friendly (preferably […]
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Umbra on wooden pallets
Dear Umbra, I’ve scrounged some old wooden shipping pallets for garden projects — compost piles and raised planting boxes. They appear to be untreated wood, but I’m feeling paranoid. Is there any way to know? Do companies that make pallets routinely spray them with any preservatives? Thanks,Jim Dearest Jim, Great nations consider your humble garden […]
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Advice on eco-friendly grilling
Dear Umbra, What sort of grill (charcoal or gas) is the fairest of them all — speaking from an environmentalist’s viewpoint, of course! R. Widiss Dearest R., Gas. I gather that lively debate exists in the barbecue set over which yields better flavor: the briquettes, with their flavorful smoke and irregular heat, or boring old […]
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A back-to-school lesson in consumption
Kindergarten is starting next week, and the worn-out old sneakers from last spring are pinching my daughter’s toes. No shoes fit at our favorite used-clothing store, and no neighbors have the right pair of outgrown sneakers to offer this season. There is no avoiding it. One morning, as early as I can manage, I load […]
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Target Practice
After endless days of discussions, noisy protests, and a near-walkout by delegates from the European Union, negotiators at the World Summit on Sustainable Development reached agreement yesterday on a plan to address poverty and environmental degradation. The plan is expected to be ratified by the more than 100 world leaders assembled for the summit in […]
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News Fit to Print
And speaking of the World Summit on Sustainable Development — in preparation for the commencement of the event, the New York Times devoted today’s Science section to coverage of international environmental issues. From the impact of human behavior on the global ecosystem to the economics of renewable energy; from reassessing international population growth to our […]
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Umbra on diesel engines
Dear Umbra, Longtime reader; first-time writer. Love the column. My partner and I recently bought a small station wagon to replace our 4WD pick-up and ’83 sedan. After some debate, we chose a turbo-diesel engine that boasts about 45 miles per gallon instead of a gas engine, which gets about 30 MPG. Our thinking led […]
