innovation

Obama calls for cooperation on clean energy and green jobs in Mideast

Photo: White House No one expected President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo today to focus on climate change, and it didn’t. Obama didn’t use the words “climate” or “environment,” but rather talked about the usual Middle East challenges — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the distrust of American […]

Jonathan Hiskes Politics

Yeah, that’s right, I’ve been to boot camp

A couple of months ago, I promised (threatened?) that I’d be starting a new column called Sexy Retrofits. Now I’m making good on that notion — but so much news has been swirling around on the topic lately that I’m forced to start with a round-up. Now with more bullet points! Yesterday I had the […]

Katharine Wroth Cities

An interview with the innovators behind ioby.org

We’ve all heard that eating locally is one way to reduce your environmental impact. But what about donating locally? In the urban wilds of New York City, a new non-profit is betting that locally based, small-scale giving can have a big eco-impact. Ioby, whose name stands for “in our back yards,” connects people working on […]

Stephanie Ogburn Cities

The folks behind the Nano take their vision to suburbia

On paper, the biggest U.S. export is capital goods–aircrafts, semiconductors, medical equipment, and such. But we’ve been exporting something else in force to developing countries: the suburban lifestyle. From American Village in the Kurdish area of Iraq to “Napa Valley,” a development outside Beijing, the McMansion and its watered lawns are making their way around […]

Lisa Selin Davis Cities

Ask Umbra on mowing with goats

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Google is replacing lawn mowers with goats. I’ve seen commenters make some interesting points (What is the impact of raising the goats? Transporting the goats? Watching goat poo run off into the Bay?). So what gives: is this a good idea? Is there a better one, like […]

Ask Umbra® Culture

Ask Umbra on urban foraging

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, In honor of spring finally coming to my frigid corner of the Midwest, I was thinking about trying my hand at making some dandelion wine. But I live in a major metropolitan area and the only dandelions available are in parks. There are hundreds of parks in […]

Ask Umbra® Culture

Two homeowners, one monster, and a cutting-edge power source

There’s a monster in our basement. It eats fistfuls of dollar bills, guzzles No. 2 heating oil, and belches filthy clouds of soot and CO2. We have to kill it before it kills us. Only problem is, we and our tenants are dependent on it — this being New England, we need something down there […]

Peter Thomson Cities

Iowa City needs bike sharing

CPSC.govKnow what’s awesome? Bike sharing. Know what’s not awesome? Bike sharing programs that get wrecked by theft and general disregard. As many of them seem to do. But let’s hear it for optimism: Check out this editorial in the daily paper of the University of Iowa. It lays out plans for a bike-sharing program based […]