Dearest Umbra, Goddess of Green Knowledge, A few years ago, a farmer friend of mine argued that more pesticides and chemical fertilizers are applied to suburban lawns and gardens than are used in commercial agriculture. I can see how this might be the case, given the massive size of the lawn and garden chemical industry, but I haven't been able to verify this information. Can you help? Ed Hunt Dearest Ed, Supplicant, The lawn and garden industry is massive, indeed. In 1997, U.S. households used 76 million pounds of pesticides. Of course, some of these toxic chemicals may have been …

Dear Umbra, My nephew says that new clothes and other apparel that come from foreign countries are treated with toxic chemicals to avoid various types of fungal or insect contamination, and upon arriving at the loading dock of your favorite wanker-mart, they are ripe to toxify the air, your skin, your eyes. He worked on such a dock and had to wear a respirator and other protective devices to avoid dangerous levels of exposure to the stuff. So I am wondering how toxic the average clothing/apparel store is with all those new clothes drenched in toxic chemicals, synthetic fibers blowing …

Dear Umbra, I work with a number of older women who try to be environmentally conscientious. When it comes to discarding outdated medications though, there seems to be conflicting advice. Medical doctors tell me that all such medicines should be flushed down the toilet. Water resource people say, don't flush, because all those discarded medicines are seeping into groundwater. Sigh. What are we to do? Jonell Cadman Dearest Jonell, The good news is that you can probably pawn this problem off on someone else: your friendly neighborhood pharmacist. It's likely one in your area will accept the drugs, and in …

Umbra, I recently managed to mangle my knee and am going through all the 4,673 steps necessary to unmangle it and make it happy and functional again. One of the things my doctor advised me to do was swim. Well, swimming pools are of course full of chlorine! Hey, I just bought an expensive filter for my shower to keep the chlorine off the largest organ of my body, my skin. So what are the risks of contact with chlorinated water such as in a shower or a swimming pool? Vincident Dearest Vincident, Your question made quite a splash here …

Most Honorable Umbra, Knower of All Green Things: Am I unwittingly hampering the recycling process by twisting that lime wedge into my bottle of beer? The dang things are tough to get back out! Humbly yours,Jill Brooks Dearest Jill, Please be assured that I thoroughly investigated your problem. I started with Personal Solutions. I have a pile of limes I keep down here to fend off scurvy, and I spent some time sticking them in beer bottles to determine the best removal option. Trying to create sufficient vacuum suction with my mouth did not work. Two other methods, however, met …

Umbra, hi, With Honda having just released its gas-electric hybrid Civic in the U.S., many enviros are scrambling to buy one. But one question that hasn't been answered to my knowledge is whether the total amount of energy, pollution, mining, etc. involved in making a new car -- even a hybrid -- constitutes a greater overall environmental impact than the added emissions and fossil-fuel consumption of a huge old second-hand clunker that would cost less and, with one of those hoods that extends for approximately 1/4 mile, probably be just as safe. Thompson Smith Dearest Thompson, Hi. No. The manufacture …

Dear Umbra, At the grocery store, when they ask "Paper or plastic?" (and you have left your eco-friendly organic cotton tote bag at home), which is the lesser of two evils as far as total pounds of pollutants per bag (including solid waste, hazardous waste, and air and water pollution), and as far as ecological damage from raw material extraction and processing? Anna Dearest Anna, I am beginning to believe that true national environmental consciousness will be heralded by the cessation of this constant concern over tiny little bags. Stop your worrying. Take the energy you spent writing to me …

Dear Umbra, I normally turn my computer off when I leave the office. However, I was recently told that the act of turning on a computer requires more energy than is saved by keeping it off from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. The person said that it is better to let your computer go into "sleep" mode and just wake it up when you get in. Is this true? Thanks,Bryna Dearest Bryna, Simply putting the computer in "sleep" mode will not permit it to get enough deep, R.E.M. sleep, making it distracted and jittery the next day. Har! Har! No, …

I work for a large corporation that is very wasteful with paper. I am looking for information on whom I can complain to about this so that something will happen. They do not use recycled paper or require any recycling of paper. Beth Dearest Beth, Prepare yourself: The fate of reams of office paper is in your hands. You must be the defender of the discarded draft, the champion of the crumpled wad, the protector of the printer jam victim. Happily, the path you are about to travel is well-trodden; most large municipalities have programs to promote business recycling. You …

I have a friend who is a homeopathic. She told me that I should stop eating pen-raised salmon because they are fed a lot of antibiotics. I was very disappointed because I thought I was eating a safe product. I don't know how to get more info about this, but if you guys know anything about it, I'm sure a lot of us would appreciate it. Claudia Dearest Claudia, I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that your question is quite au courant -- the talk of the seafood counter -- so there's no …