reviews

What's in your recycling bin? Author:  Adam Minter In the past decade or two, as humanity’s impact on the environment has become increasingly worrisome, Americans’ enthusiasm for recycling has blossomed, taking on an almost moral flavor.  While we all know that it’s important to recycle our old People magazines and empty SPAM tins, does anybody really know what happens to all that stuff?  When I throw an empty cardboard Franzia box or a drained Dos Equis bottle in my recycling bin, where does it go?  What about my defunct iPod or my old lawn mower for the best garden strimmers?  [...]

Words and Wrangling... Author:  Christopher Hitchens Political essay writing has become a bit of a lost art.  As discourse has become more divisive over the past decade, writers tend to smugly wear their political party affiliation on their sleeve, choosing the requisite side of an issue despite the actual facts of the matter.  Hypocrisy reigns.  But then there’s Christopher Hitchens, who – until his passing in 2011 – always seemed to revel in provoking those on any side of an issue, consistently standing alone, loaded with facts, wit, passion and a computer keyboard set on stun.  He devoted much of [...]