Climate Culture

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  • How green are the ‘childless by choice’?

    Laura S. Scott has surveyed and interviewed more than 170 people for her Childless by Choice Project.  “I’m keenly interested in the process of decision-making,” she says. “How do we get from assuming parenthood for ourselves to the point where we’re saying, ‘No kids, thank you!’?”  She shares what she’s learned in a new book, […]

    Lisa Hymas Culture

  • Ask Umbra on pasta, Clorox wipes, and a satisfied customer

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I am a fairly active, athletic person; that being said, I love my pasta. When I boil the water for my pasta, I run the tap water for about 5–10 seconds until the water becomes very hot, then fill up my pot, and set it on my […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Wasteful bandit gets wiped out by police

    One area is proving to be fairly immune to the green wave: convenience store robberies. (The Mob, on the other hand, finds green to be a breeze.) Flush with excrement excitement at the prospect of loads o’ moolah, 29 year-old Josh Nelson of Lincoln, Neb., left his reusable ski mask at home and improvised with […]

    Ashley Braun Culture

  • 10 reasons not to own a car in the city [PHOTOS]

    The woes of owning a car run the gamut from pricey maintenance to sitting in traffic, parking tickets to CO2 emissions. And even if you’re not an auto owner, you’ve probably dealt with the hassle of an errant car alarm going off at 2 a.m. or some putz taking up three spaces in your lot […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Whether bikers should wait at red lights and more on transportation ethics

    Biking around a fascinating city, pondering urban landscapes and human welfare, shaking fists at cabs in a goofy sort of way — what’s not to like? Streetsfilms talks transportation ethics with New York Times Magazine “The Ethicist” writer Randy Cohen while riding around NYC. He unpacks the ethics of riding through red lights and “salmoning” […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Culture

  • Ask Umbra’s Book Club: Time to take action

    Dearest readers, Photo: GreenpeaceThanks so much for all your foodie insights this week related to Anna Lappé’s Diet for a Hot Planet (if you missed the live chat with her, catch the replay). One more big question to tackle today. Let’s brainstorm some ideas about how to put the pressure on agribusiness offenders. In the […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • The kind of traffic we wouldn’t mind more of

    Rush hour in Utrecht, Holland, is enviable. But do their racks offer this kind of support? Via Buzzfeed. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– Like what you see? Sign up to receive The Grist List, our email roundup of pun-usual green news just like this, sent out every Friday.

    Ashley Braun Culture

  • Recycling exhibit helps New Yorkers let go, get smashed

    The concept of getting smashed to blow off some steam is nothing new. But New Yorkers will be doing it in a whole new way at the (invite-only) Glassphemy! exhibit coming to Brooklyn. Part art, part recycling, part anger management, this installation is all about letting go (in more ways than one)—and feeling good.Because breaking […]

    Ashley Braun Culture

  • Library offers plug-in home energy monitors

    Courtesy p3international.comSeattle Public Library now lets patrons check out Kill a Watt home energy monitors (retail $31 or so). Check it out, plug it into an outlet, and start learning about your home’s energy use: Library patrons can borrow a device with their library card, just as they would with books, DVD’s, etc. Plug it […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Culture

  • Grass That’s Truly Greener

    One good thing about snow is that it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor’s. But with most of the snow across the nation now melted away and lawn mowers emerging from their annual hibernation beneath rusting lawn furniture and pieces of an above ground pool in the garage, there’s one sure-fire way […]

    Terry Tamminen Culture