I have no right to be holier than thou and have never claimed to be a perfect when it comes to household matters, but I was a bit shocked by this story comparing Al Gore’s home to George W. Bush’s house in Texas. The excellent Urban Legends site, Scopes.com, says it’s true: http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp.

I’m blogging in haste from Narita Airport in Tokyo, en route to China, and here’s a link I’ve been meaning to pass along: SustainableWebsites, Green Web Hosting. We’re planning to look into this at the office, and I’ve heard good reports. More from China, as I meet with environmentalists there.

In some cases, a new household appliance can save a good deal of energy. This is true for refrigerators and freezers, and for washing machines (especially if you choose front-loading). But it’s not true of televisions, as this article, Science & Technology” href=”http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article1218933.ece”>”Plasma screen TVs sap energy supplies,” explains:
“Britain’s seemingly insatiable appetite for [...]

Food has always been a central environmental concern, but there are some new issues arising. One is the growing conflict between fuel and food–or, one might say, between SUV drivers and the world’s poor–and another is the mass marketing–or, perhaps, the industrialization, of organic food.
It’s a little hard to tell whether Michael Pollan thinks [...]

I’ve noticed a trend here that strikes me as a good sign. I’ve seen two or three people drinking water out of glass bottles they’ve obviously refilled. This solves the perennial water bottle challenge of taste (how many discussions have you heard about the latest, greatest new sports bottle?), and is so much better for [...]

I was in Washington DC recently and will be there again soon. It’s a wonderful city. There’s much talk about the subjects I care about, excellent ethnic food, and people are remarkably friendly: everywhere I went I got into conversation with someone, even in the reception area at the Brookings Institute. But it is a [...]

The energy crisis has become such a prominent subject in our house that I’ve had to ask that it not be brought up at meals–though this evening Tom did start talking about it over dessert (a cream cheese tart, by the way, topped with white currants from our garden and black raspberries from Taft Farms). [...]

Two important things accomplished today:
Two garden beds prepped and planted–thanks to Tom and Rachel, who have taken to lecturing me on global warming and the wastefulness of grainfed meat–with Asian salad and stir-fry greensand a mix of early radishes,* arugula, and some chicory seed we brought from Italy two years ago. I highly recommend [...]

I’ve neglected this site–though I’m blogging away at Berkshire Publishing–but that’s going to change soon. We’re in the process of setting up a larger, interactive site related to my next environmental book, which is going to focus on cooling the planet. I’ll be looking for contributing writers and regional experts in different parts of the [...]

While I’m feeling guilty about air travel, I guess the oil companies are feeling twinges of guilt, too. At least that’s what you would think, at the airport or reading the major financial papers. Chevron, Shell, and BP (British Petroleum) are all engaged in ‘peak oil’ PR, and it’s simply amazing to see. Greenwashing, according [...]