magazines

Cameron Diaz films eco-documentary, takes on role as planet’s publicist

“How do we make this little planet of ours a big star?” asks actress Cameron Diaz in the cover story of Marie Claire‘s July issue. “The planet needs a publicist.” And this bubbly blonde is just the gal for the job. She’s long been an environmental activist — running around with an MTV video crew […]

Oprah gained weight and confused the public about renewable energy

If I weren’t on vacation, I wouldn’t have read Oprah magazine. No really. But then I would have missed a piece of misinformation gratuitously foisted on her readers. For her legion upon legion upon legion of fans, the big news is the O has recently been losing her battle with weight (one legion does not […]

Mainstream mags are getting over green

Pop quiz: Mainstream magazines are ditching the whole “green issue” thing in 2009 because: green is soooo 2006, 2007, and 2008 eh, those issues never sold that well they’re incorporating green into stories on a regular basis, so who needs a special issue in these tough economic times, the sweater-belt budget has shriveled up all […]

Running mags go green!

Running has not escaped the ever-more-embracing tentacles of our friend Going Green. The past weekend’s New York City Marathon made efforts to improve eco-friendliness, and magazines Runner’s World and Running Times both highlighted greenness in recent editions. For its article, Running Times elicited advice from one Sarah K. Burkhalter. Oh hey, that’s me! Money quote: […]

Al Gore to buy Plenty magazine?

Jeff Bercovici reports.

NewScientist cover story looks at link between tornadoes and global warming

With a cover that makes Twister look like a heartwarming inspirational flick, the August 2 issue of NewScientist asks if global warming is to blame for the flurry of tornadoes earlier this year. Chris Mooney, author of Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming, reports that 148 tornadoes hit the U.S. in […]

MP3 players and digital Science

I'm climbing up the audiobook learning curve and would like to share what I've learned. My first post on this topic can be found here. I was experimenting with the cheapest MP3 player I could find that would play free audiobooks from a library.

Apple's iPods will not allow you to listen to free audiobooks. First lesson learned: Do not use the cheap players. I have purchased four of the low end products made by Coby, starting with the cheapest and moving up the line. They all failed within days to weeks. Luckily I received a full refund for each, which is why I bought locally instead of off the internet.

The mag exalts Canada’s potential to become the Saudi Arabia of the north

This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project.

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I consider Time to be one of the more forward-looking periodicals when it comes to the environment. But the editors messed up in this week's edition. The June 2 Time carries a breathless feature about the potential petroleum bonanza in Canada's tar sands.

The article's authors are so giddy with the testosterone rush of big-ass earth-moving machines that they forgot what a multifaceted disaster this "bonanza" would be. The magazine quotes tar men in Alberta as they marvel at their own ability to move mountains ... literally.

At one open-pit mine, a manager brags that his operation moves enough dirt every 48 hours to fill Toronto's 60,000-seat SkyDome. "A year from now, that mountain won't be there," he says, referring to a wall of black soil. Some of the biggest trucks on earth, 20 feet tall, carrying 320 tons of dirt in each load, crawl through the "stark landscape of jack pine, spruce and poplar forests" like Tonka toys built for Paul Bunyan.

How intense is the mining?

Wired magazine bursts a blood vessel doing its contrarian thing

To your right, you’ll see the cover of this month’s Wired magazine. The premise of the issue is that climate change is now the only eco-problem that matters, but to solve it, we’ll have to slaughter the sacred cows of environmentalism. (2001 called. It wants its framing device back.) So what are these heresies that […]