July / August 2011

Slowing Down the Consumer Treadmill

If solving the climate change problem were as simple as handing out light bulbs, we’d be all set. This April, three dozen humanists paired up like Mormon missionaries and rang doorbells in Cambridge, Massachusetts—but not to spread a message of faith. Instead, they gave away free energy-saving compact fluorescent light...

Read More

Features

Up Front

Erasing Women

By now you’ve probably seen both versions of the picture. The original photo from the White House Situation Room, taken May 1, 2011, shows President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and...

Read More

Columns

Reviews

Elsewhere in the Humanist:

What’s Really behind Evangelicals’ Climate Denial?

  BY ALL ESTIMATES, the earth has gone through five mass extinctions, all of which were the direct result of some form of cataclysmic climate change. These cataclysmic changes were mostly caused by large amounts of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere; the...

Read All

Elsewhere in the Humanist:

What a Secular Monument Looks Like

What do war memorials look like and what do they symbolize? What shapes do they take, and whom do they represent? AS PHYSICAL STRUCTURES erected to celebrate armed conflicts, war memorials in the modern era more often commemorate and honor the individuals...

Read All

Elsewhere in the Humanist:

If Social Media Is Making Us Worse, Can We Make It Better?

SOCIAL MEDIA IS BAD. It takes your worst parts—your vanity, your ignorance, your credulity—and makes them even worse. It weakens your ability to focus. It distracts you while you drive. It makes you hate people you should feel unity with and envy...

Read All

Elsewhere in the Humanist:

The Ending Needs Work: Humanists Can Lead on End-of-Life Decisions

Jennifer Ouellette describes herself as a “recovering” English major who stumbled into science writing by accident and has been “exploring her inner geek ever since.” Ouellette often uses pop culture, fantasy, and science fiction as tools to communicate scientific ideas to mainstream...

Read All