Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Dear Umbra,
I have a large collection of CDs from the ’90s and early ’00s. The CDs are stored in a wallet, but I’m not sure what to do with all my CD cases. I guess recycle the plastic and paper separately?
Justin J.
Elmhurst, Ill.
Photo by Vanessa Lynn.
A. Dearest Justin,
Your conundrum is as vexing and pervasive as a Third Eye Blind hit. I’ve given some suggestions for recycling CD cases before, but this time around I have some new material.
Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Hi Umbra,
Can you recommend any books full of eco-friendly tips? I have Adria Vasil’s book, but I’m looking for something that might consolidate all of the information in your column.
Ashley
Calgary, Canada
Photo by Florin Gorgan.
A. Dearest Ashley,
Before I answer your question, a wee prologue. Dearest readers, please consider allocating a bit of your budget to Grist -- tomorrow is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and we need 3,000 gifts of any size to earn a bonus $25,000. We could sure use your help.
Now back to our regularly scheduled advice column. You people still read books? This is very heartening. I do have recommendations for you, and I hope your fellow dearest readers will also weigh in with comments below.
Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Dear Umbra,
I am sure I am singlehandedly filling up a landfill with all the plastic spray bottles I have purchased in the last 25 years. I make many of my own cleaners, some I have even read about in Ask Umbra. I make my own bug spray, weed killer, linen spray, etc. But I seem to buy at least three plastic bottles for each job, which break and are often not recyclable. I am on a quest to find a spray bottle that would last a long time. Please help me.
Penelope J.
Mariposa, Calif.
Photo by El Finco.
A. Dearest Penelope,
I wish my name were Penelope. I also wish you were not singlehandedly destroying the planet with your penchant for flimsy plastic spray bottles.
I kid, of course. While your bottle habit is not ideal, your DIY habits are admirable. I bet we can find a way to make your vessels match your values.
Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Dear Umbra,
If you assume the Greenland ice shelf falls in the ocean, and ditto in Antarctica, and that the Southwest United States runs out of water, where would be the place to move before doomsday? I am thinking Maine or Vermont, along the coast, but more than 20 feet above sea level. I am looking for a sort of “best places” to retire for survivalists. Your thoughts?
Amy L.
Wichita, Kan.
Photo by Colin Grey
A. Dearest Amy,
Believe it or not, I answered a question similar to yours a few years ago, from a fellow in Belgium. After careful consideration, I advised him that Europe was the place to be. As it happened, I was feeling down on the U.S. after the botched response to Hurricane Katrina. I’m also something of a Europhile. I can’t help it -- the countries are so tiny and proximate! The pastries are so good!
Dearest readers,
Here’s a sampling of the love and good wishes that have poured in from all corners as the 10th anniversary of my column drew nigh. You all are sweet! But I must say I am still waiting for the chocolate.
Photo by marimoon.
Editor's note: This week Grist celebrates the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column. Today, we look at the topics that have gotten the most traffic over time, to find out what really gets our readers hot and bothered. Are you a fellow fretter? Seek relief: Ask Umbra.
10. Diapers. Cloth or disposable? Almost as hot a topic as its life-choice opposite, overpopulation, this dilemma causes major angst. Turns out both options kind of … stink. So pick one and go with it, or give diaper-free parenting a shot. (Let us know how that goes.)
9. Power strips. We felt as proud as a parent watching a school play when we saw that home energy use was a consistent area of concern. The moral is: Use a power strip and unplug chargers and other vampire appliances. You’ll save energy, save money, and save us from gently reminding you for the zillionth time.
8. Recycling. Readers regularly wonder if X item is recyclable (condoms! coffee cups! car seats!). Umbra is only too happy to rummage for an answer, before dropping her inevitablest piece of advice: Check with your local authorities to be sure.
7. Personal hygiene. Can I make my own shampoo? Should I use a straight razor? Is my shower curtain killing me? Do these questions make me look fat?
6. Cars. From converting to biodiesel to retrofitting an old muscle car, you frequently put the pedal to the metal, and Umbra has a gas.
5. Toilets. As demonstrated earlier this week, bodily functions are a never-ending source of fascination. In fact, while no such queries made the Top 10, we were pees’d to see that toilet seat covers and pee rags cracked the Top 20, with peeing in the shower not far behind.
4. Cooking. We were chewing over the idea of making a meal based on the most popular food questions you had asked. But then we realized: Green organic bananas plus pink slime plus BPA in canning lids = a recipe for distress.
3. Liquor. OK, we admit it, questions about adult beverages don’t figure anywhere near the Top 10. But in a sense they’ve been the life of the party: Plastic or paper for Jell-O shots? Does it hurt waterways to pour beer down the drain? Is it better to buy beer in cans or bottles? Are there organic liquors? What can I do with my vast collection of wine corks (and what kind of plastic is used for those newfangled bottle-stoppers)? You might be a bunch of lushes, but such a conscientious bunch of lushes there never was.
2. Light bulbs. How many Grist readers does it take to change a light bulb? Come up with the best punchline, and we’ll send you the efficient bulb of your choice. Limited time offer.
1. Plastic. A highly scientific review of the Top 40 Umbra Columns of All Time reveals that a full 20 percent have to do with plastic, mostly plastic bottles. The thousands of words spilled on that topic boil down to this: Don’t buy ’em! We’ll drink to that.
Editor's note: This week Grist is celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column. Today, we look at a few of the perplexingest questions our readers have ever sent. Losing sleep over a green conundrum? Ask Umbra.
10. How can I recycle my pencil stubs? In which Umbra suggests erase to the finish.
9. Does licking my dinner plate keep waste out of the landfill? If the stew fits.
8. Are condoms recyclable? At last, a tip we can get behind.
7. Can I recycle a beer bottle with a lime wedge in it? Your glass is totally smashed.
6. What’s the greenest method of disposing of a corpse? We’d reference Weekend at Bernie’s, but we don’t want to date ourselves.
5. Do hot air balloons hurt the environment? This one’s a real basket case.
4. Is chewing gum biodegradable? Ease your bubble troubles.
3. What is the half-life of glitter? For all you shiny, happy people.
2. Can a bird really burst into flames? Does a kangaroo have three vaginas? (Hint: You betcha.)
1. What are the average emissions from flatulence? Depends how many plates you lick.
Editor's note: Grist is celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Ask Umbra advice column. Today, we look behind at some of our favorite potty-related reader queries. Got an urgent question of your own? Go ahead, Ask Umbra.
10. Is it OK to pee in the shower? Sure, let it all hang out.
9. Should I pee in the ocean or behind the dunes? The answer just might sea-prise you.
8. Should I pee in my yard or next to the road? Advice for those wishing to go al fresco.
7. Is it OK to “let it mellow” in a public restroom? Um, gross.
6. Why is recycled toilet paper so scratchy? One word: fibers.
5. What uses more water, washing “pee rags” or making toilet paper? What is this “pee rag” you speak of?
4. Are feminine products compostable? Bloody well right -- with a few caveats.
3. Should I throw my toilet paper away, or flush it? Find out where it all ends up.
2. How can I reduce the water used for flushing my toilet? Dip into this bowlful of tips.
1. Do composting toilets smell bad? No -- give it a go.
Dearest readers,
We have here a momentous occasion: The 10th anniversary of Ask Umbra! Instead of making myself useful by answering a question from one of you today I've compiled the 10 most notable moments in Ask Umbra history as I’ve feasted on organic carrot cake. Walk with me for a while -- and keep an eye out for further celebrations this week. (We’ll also be dusting off some of our favorite columns from the archives in the coming months -- if you have a classic you’d like to see get another moment in the sun, let us know.)
Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Hi Umbra,
I just read an article about the quantity of lead in lipsticks. The obvious question is: Why? We took the lead out of gas and paint, and put it in lipstick. I love my lipstick, but I’m starting to wonder if I should.
Maura D.
Turin, Italy
Photo by PoMo MaMa.
A. Dearest Maura,
Getting all gussied up for the Ask Umbra 10th Anniversary Fiesta next week? You are too sweet, and I can’t wait to exchange virtual air kisses with you. (A special note to my dearest readers in the San Francisco area: Grist is throwing a for-real celebration in your fair city on April 26 -- hope you’ll meet me there!)
Bellissima, your question is fair. Why, indeed, is a pollutant that can cause damage to our brains, nerves, and reproductive systems lurking in a product that is supposed to make people feel pretty? The bare-bones answer is this: Lead is everywhere. It’s in our air, our soil, our water. And as it happens, it’s in the mineral colorants often used in lipstick. Lead is a naturally occurring metal, but much of this ubiquity has to do with, as you note, our earlier predilection for adding it to things like gas, paint, pipes, food cans, and so forth. As a society, we leaded ourselves. Now we can’t get rid of the stuff.
Maura, this lipstick issue is just the tip of a bigger truth: The cosmetics industry is full of ugly secrets. Having said that, however, I don't think evil cosmetics executives are gleefully rubbing their hands together as they pour molten lead into tiny tubes.
