Eco-Wrapping
Although the Holiday season hasn’t officially hit (I know its not even Thanksgiving), its never too early too start thinking about environmental ways to approach the season. It is estimated that almost 25 million tons more waste is created during the holidays than over a typical ten-week period. The extra…
The Avoided Topic
Original illustration for Eco Chick by Gregory Grigoriou of I See Dots The Problem This month, one of E/ The Environmental Magazine’s feature stories is about the the myth of the population dearth, the idea that we’re not replacing ourselves at quite the rate we have during the heights of human population growth, which occurred…
Go Nancy, Go Nancy! Go Ms. Speaker of the House!
In my former life as a political blogger on Jakeneck, which alas, no longer exists, I would rant and rave about politicians’ dirty little anti-environmental votes. I got a little burnt out (and despondent) after the 2004 election and withdrew from the political discussion arena, but plenty of other hardier…
Beyond Milk Crates: Q&A with Deana Bracken
Not too long ago, Starre asked me if I would do a Q&A with Los Angeles-based green interior designer Deana Bracken. Honestly, I felt a little skeptical at first—if only because I consider milk crates furniture. (As long as I can set my book or my beer on it, what…
Snowboarders Do It Greenly
My favorite snowboard-culture magazine, Snowboarder, is now even better; they are proudly (they tout it on the November, 2006 cover) printing on recycled paper! Not only that, but there is a decidedly environmentally-minded slant to quite a bit of their coverage in various departments; in the photo section they encourage…
Dumping once again
This morning I read this article about toxic sludge being dumped by a tanker in the ocean and washing up on the shores of the Ivory Coast. The kid in the picture above has sores on his body from exposure to this stuff. People have gotten ill from…
Fishtale
This week in DC, concern over a scientific study that found “intersex fish” in the Potomac resonated only briefly around my office and circle of friends. I have tried impress my concern upon them that we are, in fact, drinking Potomac River water here in DC (and in some of…
Arcosanti
For some reason, in my life, Arcosanti keeps appearing whenever I’m doing research on something else. I’m drawn to this experiment in human living and I think that means that someday I will end up there. Paolo Soleri, and architect who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright, is the father of Arcosanti,…
Junk Mail— So Much Waste
Although I live in a community whose recycling program accepts 99% of the junk mail I receive, it still amazes me just how much waste I get in the mail each day. Recently, many companies have given consumers the option to receive “paperless” bills via email or web, which is…
Flushables
Among the women I know there are three types when it comes to dealing with good ole ‘Aunt Flo’: there’s the pads only crowd, the tampon champions and the diva cup/sponge menstruation alterna-nation. I count myself among the first group, which is also the most wasteful of the bunch. My…
