E Magazine Issue Feed

App Happy

Sun, 01 May 2011 17:32 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg What we buy has an impact. Whether we’re shopping for food, clothes or a cup of coffee, every time we choose a less-polluting option, the environment (and our health) reaps the benefits. But reading labels isn’t enough when so many products from cosmetics to cleaners mask their toxic…

From Key West, With Care

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:15 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg The Banyan Resort in Key West, Florida, is the first lodging establishment in the Keys to earn Green Lodging certification. In other words, the resort has been recognized by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection for working to protect Florida’s natural resources, via communication,…

Swap ‘Til You Drop

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:04 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg Thanks to the ease of exchanging treasures, clothing, books, games and other items online, swapping is back in fashion. And the environmental benefits of keeping still-usable goods out of the trash and preventing the purchase of new items couldn’t be more timely. According to the U.S.…

Where the Green Jobs Are

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:57 GMT

by Christopher Weber Newsflash: The job market stinks. Even people with two or three advanced degrees are having trouble finding work in their chosen fields. So if you’re a young person with the goal of moving out of mom and dad’s house, maybe even finding a career improving the environment—is there any reason…

Adventures in Healing

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:33 GMT

by Patti Sherlock The roiling river flows over my head flooding my nose and mouth. My life jacket holds me up, but I can’t take a breath. Above me, the flipped paddle raft makes a gray roof blocking the brilliant Idaho sky. I remember lead guide Amy’s safety talk. If you come up under the boat, don’t panic.…

By the Numbers: Pipe Dreams

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:25 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg 119,000. That’s the number of jobs in person-years—one person working full time for one year—that will be created by TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline according to a study prepared by The Perryman Group. Job creation has been a key argument for the approval of the pipeline, which…

Disappearing Coastlines

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:11 GMT

by Lynn Morris Sea-level rise may be the most tangible aspect of climate change, something we can immediately see and document. Water expands as it warms, contributing to rising seas, and melting glaciers lead to higher sea levels, too. Research suggests that by 2100, sea levels will rise between 2 and 5.2 feet.…

Finding Water

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:41 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg “What the hell is a guy like me doing in the Sudanese desert, getting shot at in the middle of the largest humanitarian crisis of our lifetime?” asks Doc Hendley in Wine to Water: A Bartender’s Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World (Avery). Before founding the nonprofit Wine to Water,…

Global Warming, Digested

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:29 GMT

by Brita Belli Whether you’re a teacher, parent, writer, or curious individual, an easy-to-digest guide to global warming can be handy to have around. Generation Us: The Challenge of Global Warming (Raven Books) by climate scientist Andrew Weaver, Ph.D., a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, is a…

The Inventive Vegan

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:23 GMT

by Brita Belli The New York restaurant Candle 79 takes vegan food to the arena of high cuisine, celebrating seasonal foods, healthy eating and, most of all, good taste. The Candle 79 Cookbook: Modern Vegan Classics from New York’s Premier Sustainable Restaurant (Ten Speed Press) invites home cooks into their…

Electric Revolution

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:15 GMT

by Brita Belli Jim Motavalli (the former editor of E), gets inside the green car revolution in his latest book High Voltage: The Fast Track to Plug In the Auto Industry (Rodale). Even if you aren’t a car enthusiast, his enthusiasm for the recent surge in electric and plug-in hybrid options on showroom floors,…

What’s In Season?

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:06 GMT

by Yvona Fast Once upon a time the seasons formed a natural setting for what was eaten. Spring welcomed fresh, green growth. Birds laid eggs. Tender stalks of asparagus burst from the ground. It was a time for salads and egg dishes that incorporated fresh leaves and stalks. Summer brought bounty and a variety of…

Whale Connections

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:00 GMT

by Brita Belli In 1988, three gray whales were found trapped in ice in Barrow, Alaska, and became a worldwide media sensation. Hundreds of rescuers flocked to the scene, a Soviet icebreaker was sent to provide access, U.S. helicopters assisted and a crush of media stood watch. The U.S. would eventually spend $5…

Leather You Can Live With

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:50 GMT

by Kara Scheerhorn There are lots of environmental reasons to avoid buying leather, in particular the chemical-laden production processes and the polluting consequences of livestock. Leather production involves a large amount of resources to raise livestock, slaughter animals and tan the hide. The U.S. Environmental…

E ’s Green Home Picks: Setting the Mood

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:42 GMT

by Brita Belli Mood Lighting There is indeed something delightful about the Yup DeLight Pebble ($69.99), an egg-shaped LED light that’s weather resistant for outdoor use, offers eight primary colors and can be put on candle mode for creating special ambiance. The pebble is 100% recyclable, rechargeable and…

Defender of the Seas

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:05 GMT

by Brita Belli A few years ago, National Geographic Traveler ranked Denmark’s Faroe Islands first among unspoiled island destinations. The landscape there is breathtakingly dramatic—impossibly sheer green cliffs dropping into blue harbors, cascading waterfalls, white shaggy sheep, coastal towns with buildings…

Radiant Heating Comes of Age

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:03 GMT

by Maggie Wolf Peterson Dig three or four feet into the ground and the earth is a constantly temperate place. Beneath that upper layer, it’s a dependable 54 degrees, give or take, making geothermal systems for radiant home heating a reliable source of heat exchange. In a closed-loop system, a liquid (usually water or a…

The Great Jellyfish Invasion

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:00 GMT

by Lindsey Blomberg Jellyfish, a prominent feature of ancient oceans, have weathered multiple mass extinctions and date back at least 500 million years. Their populations were kept in check by fish, which eat small jellyfish and compete for jellyfish food such as zooplankton. But in recent years, jellyfish have made a…

Black Carbon’s Big Impacts

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:33 GMT

by Jennifer Santisi For years, efforts to study and reduce the impacts of climate change have focused on one very specific gas—carbon dioxide (CO2). But when it comes to global warming, other gases and atmospheric particles may play more than just a supporting role. Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution…

Urban Homesteading’s Dark Side

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:20 GMT

by Jodi Helmer Wayne Geiger fields up to 10 calls per week about hens and roosters in need of new homes. When Geiger founded Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in 2002, most of the calls he received involved horses, sheep and cattle that were victims of neglect or cruelty. There were almost no requests to help chickens.…