Shopping for clothes at the Goodwill is a quadruple win-win. You save money, get new clothing for yourself, conserve and recycle existing clothing, and provide employment opportunities for many. Hint… brand names can be found at a FRACTION of the price (an investment of time probably necessary)
Columbia Sportswear’s Omni-Heat thermal reflectve technology lets you stay warmer with a clothing fabric that reflects back the heat your own body generates. Read a review
Consider current breakthroughs and future potential for the harnessing of good old “human power” to produce cheap, alternative energy. We’ve been using human-powered energy-producing methods since long before the invention of the bicycle, after all. Check out a quick overview in this Wikipedia “Human Power” article
Instead of using old propane or traditional battery-powered camp lanterns, consider the L.L. Bean Solar Wind ‘N Go™ Mini Lantern. You can charge the unit’s rechargeable lithium battery with the solar panel, or with your own kinetic energy using the crank
Use your own kinetic energy to create electricity and then power a flashlight and cell phone charger. There are hundreds of similar devices out there… the Eton American Red Cross crank flashlight gets high ratings and seems to be a good value for a low price
The “informal” economies of the urban twenty-first century developing world are the subject of Robert Neuwirth’s 2011 book Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy. Read more in this January 2012 WIRED magazine article and interview
From his New York Times blog Dot Earth in Sept 2013, science writer Andrew Revkin lets ecologist Erle C. Ellis defend his position within the ongoing world population debate. Ellis optimism vs ultimate doom? Link here for some insight
Recorded at his Nashville studio, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced the 2013 album Nomad , the latest from Tuareg singer-guitarist Bombino
Bill McKibben has been trying to warn us for a long, long time. Read his Rolling Stone article from 2012 Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math
Anthony Bourdain’s CNN food and travel show Parts Unknown, like its Travel Channel predecessor No Reservations, is consistently as good as anything in an hour slot now on TV. Check out the recent episodes
In his 2013 book The Last Train to Zona Verde Paul Theroux, once more back in Africa, gives us this third and final leg of his epic trilogy of travels in the post 9/11 world
Back in 2008 Thomas Friedman released his most important work Hot, Flat, and Crowded… and implored us to consider the realities and consequences of exponential population growth and unrestrained resource use. The book is a warning and somewhat of a primer of possible solutions. But are we heeding the warning?
on crowded earth 