Kiera Butler

Senior Editor

Kiera answers your green questions every week in her Econundrums column. She was a hypochondriac even before she started researching germ warfare.

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Kiera has written about the environment, arts and culture, and more for Columbia Journalism Review, Orion, Audubon, OnEarth, Plenty, and the Utne Reader. She lives in Berkeley and recently planted 30 onions in her backyard.

Warm, Fuzzy Satanists

—By Kiera Butler

| Wed Jul. 9, 2008 2:30 PM PDT

Some divorced couples argue over whether their kids should have dessert. Some over homework.

And some argue over whether their kids should be brought up Satanist.

From the Chicago Tribune comes the story of an Indiana mom who wants a court to make her Devil-worshiping ex-husband take her kids to Christian church. Long story short, Satanists are not exactly the role models she had in mind for her offspring. But the Beelzebub fans themselves say she's got them all wrong. From a related Trib blog post:

"Some of your readers might wonder what exposure to Satanism might do to a developing child," Gilmore said. "I recognized myself as a Satanist at age 13 and was subsequently the valedictorian of my high school class in 1976, being quite open about my religion."

Uh, yeah, Gilmore? Chris Kattan wants his material back.

[Read more in the Riff blog]

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Making Fake Stuff Look More Real

—By Kiera Butler

| Thu Jul. 3, 2008 4:00 PM PDT

pleather%20couch%20150.jpg Bad news for snobs and aesthetes the world over: Scientists are working hard to make synthetic material look "more natural."

Researchers at the National Physical Laboratory in England have set up an experiment to determine what tips our brains off that a substance is the real deal, and not an impostor:

The physical characteristics of a surface, such as its colour, texture and surface roughness, are being linked to what is happening in a person's brain when they see or touch the surface. Once this is understood it should be possible to accurately predict what we will perceive as natural, and manufacturers will be able to design synthetic products to meet this expectation. The results could have a great impact on materials such as wood, animal skin and furs, marble and stone, plants and even prosthetics.

Offended though your rarefied tastes may be, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Ostensibly, these fakester materials of the future will be a far cry from Naugahyde. Ultimately, if we get to the point where we can (sustainably and non-toxically) make faux ivory so convincing it's indistinguishable from the actual elephant product, well, I know a few elephants who probably wouldn't have too many aesthetic complaints. I've never known an old-growth forest to call fake mahogany tacky, either.

Photo by Flickr user Somaamos

Yearning for Polygamist Fashion

—By Kiera Butler

| Thu Jul. 3, 2008 11:56 AM PDT

Rejoice, ye Laura Ingalls Wilder wannabes.

People have called the Yearning for Zion ranch members a lot of names since their compound was raided in April, but "fashionable" has never been one of them. Until now.

The New York Times reports that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) have begun peddling their prairie-chic children's couture online.

Modesty, it turns out, is totally affordable. The Jr. Teens girls' underwear, which, with long sleeves and pants, is the ultimate anti-thong, costs between $25 and $32, depending on size. The Teen Princess Dress will set you and your flesh-concealing daughter back $60 to $73.

The bummer is that so far, the FLDSdress.com only sells clothes in kids' sizes. Which leads us to the real question: Where does Chloe Sevigny's character on Big Love get her weird duds?

Photo courtesy of fldsdress.com.

Extreme Summer Camps

Goodbye, crafts and color wars. Hello, explosives and Dianetics. Some summer camps for kids with very specialized interests.

—By Kiera Butler

| July/August 2008 Issue

Lil' Angels Kids Spa Camp
(Newark, Delaware)
Activities: Etiquette, modeling, mani/pedi, and facial skills in a "magical milieu." Plus: "Limousine field trips every week—because only the best will do!"
What to Pack: Mommy's platinum American Express card

American Idol Camp
(Lake Arrowhead, California)
Activities: Singing, dancing, developing "personal style." Includes "master classes" by past Idol finalists such as Vonzell "Baby V" Solomon, but no guarantee that you'll end up on the show.
What to Pack: A thick skin

[Read the full article]

This Is Your Brain on Cell Phones

Is it just the crazies who think cell phone radiation causes cancer?

—By Kiera Butler

| July/August 2008 Issue

twenty-eight years ago, Arthur Firstenberg had a dental X-ray. He's been on the run ever since.

That X-ray, he says, made him excruciatingly sensitive to electromagnetic fields—the low-level radiation that emanates from power lines, microwaves, and, most vexingly, cell phones. Now 58, Firstenberg has spent more than a decade crisscrossing the country, trying to find the last unwireless spot in America. When cell phone towers came to New York City, he moved upstate. Then he headed to Mendocino, California. These days, he lives out of his '87 Nissan station wagon in Santa Fe; a house is too risky. "Your neighbor could get wifi, and then you have to leave and hunt for a new home."

[Read the full article]