In OtherWords: August 9, 2017

In OtherWords: August 9, 2017

This week, in the sweltering month of August, Sarah Anderson explores the surprisingly short history of a treasured luxury: air conditioning. Most Americans now have it at home. But at work, it’s another story. Moreover, as the technology spreads to developing...
Talking About a Revolution

Talking About a Revolution

It’s long been clear that if we want to avoid catastrophic climate disruption on a scale that threatens human civilization, we need to leave vast amounts of fossil fuels in the ground. Environmental writer Bill McKibben pointed out the math in a crucial 2012...
How Air Conditioning Unites — And Divides

How Air Conditioning Unites — And Divides

Before air conditioning, even presidents had to suffer. In the summer months, Abraham Lincoln used to ride a horse every evening from the White House to a cottage at a higher elevation four miles away. There he’d join his family in an attempt to escape the...
Soda Doesn’t ‘Feed the World’

Soda Doesn’t ‘Feed the World’

Coca-Cola has a new ad in which a young girl wishes to grow a garden for the whole world. Then, as a grown woman who works for Coca-Cola, she says that she’s fulfilling that dream. The phrase “feed the world” is one that should always be questioned,...