ExclusiveAn interview with Bill McKibben on the eve of an environmental protest.

Led by venerated climate change activist, author and founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben, citizens from all over the country will converge on the White House on Saturday, August 20th, 2011 at 11 o’clock Eastern Standard Time to protest a proposed tar sand oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas. Their goal? Pressure President Barack Obama to stop a project called Keystone XL, a pipeline running through America’s heartland. Indications are that Obama is likely …

Bamboo and you: is this supposedly sustainable material all it’s claimed to be?

You care. You really care. That doesn’t mean you have the time to be an investigative carer. Green this, green that, and pretty soon, caring becomes a full time profession. Because green is also the color of money, and plenty of people are trying to cash in on your consciousness.

Take bamboo. Bamboo pajamas, bamboo underwear, bamboo towels, bamboo sheets, bamboo floors – we’re bamboozled. But ask any carer why it’s truly sustainable, and suddenly it’s hem and haw …

SeriesEnvironmental cleanup in the wake of Japan’s twin disasters. Part 4 in a special series.

A surreal and compelling mix of headlines (read: Royal weddings, Osama bin Laden) may be dominating this week’s news, but the unfolding events in Japan after the March earthquake and tsunami – compounded further by nuclear plant instability – continue. Among the many significant issues: all that garbage.

seriesPart 3 in a special series on the presence of plastic in our lives.

We all try to do our part. We try to make conscious, low environmental impact choices when we can, but technology has outpaced awareness. Plastic hides everywhere: under our noses, in place sight, in the places we’d least expect. Case in point: a committed java junkie, I try to carry a reusable cup at all times. When I don’t, I order a medium in a large cup, so I can avoid the plastic lid. And then

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ExclusiveThe clash over plastic, and a surprising industry admission.

The Fifth International Marine held a week ago on Oahu was like the prom for plastic garbage nerds. All sides of the issue converged on Oahu. There were the cool kids (Jack Johnson strumming some tunes), the industry guys sporting pleated pants held up by braided belts (evaporating bad cologne), science dorks walking quickly from point A to point B without so much as noticing the sun, and vociferous activists pumped up on coffee. It was many fish in a …

seriesThe first in a special series on plastic.

It’s a plastic world and it’s here to stay – the plastic, that is. It clogs our sewers, it litters our beaches, it kills our turtles, it leaches chemicals into our baby bottles (and we’ve recently learned that it’s not just BPA that causes estrogenic activity). But the people who produce and sell this non-biodegradable omnisubstance of our lives sure don’t want you to stop buying, buying, buying. And they’re spending a lot of money to protect their market interest.

In …

Why recycling plastic bags only worsens our plastic plight.

All around the country, states and municipalities are considering legislation to either impose a fee on or outright ban single use plastic shopping bags. The arguments for eliminating plastic bags are sundry – the effects on the environment, the cost to taxpayers for clogged sewer systems and landfilling, and the havoc plastic wreaks on the animal kingdom from ingestion and entanglement.

We just need more recycling! So goes the cry of industry attempting a bait and switch.

According to the EPA, 100 billion …

ExclusiveThe final chapter in a voyage through the Atlantic gyre.

It’s not what you think, but it is true that I go both ways.

I’ve just finished an epic three-point, five-month voyage that had me sailing from Brazil to South Africa to Namibia to Uruguay. We crossed the Atlantic twice, traveling some 9,000 nautical miles by sea in a rugged sailboat. Along the way, I’ve recorded the adventure – and trials – here at EcoSalon, sending my dispatches to our editor at all hours via satellite. For those of …