Climate Culture
All Stories
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Ask Umbra’s pearls of wisdom on apartment dwelling
Dearest readers, Sometimes when I’m down in the stacks researching answers to your latest dilemmas, I enjoy taking a stroll down Ask Umbra archives lane. Here are some shiny tidbits I culled from my past advice on making the most of renting a small urban abode. Have any of your own sustainable apartment living tips […]
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Would you trade a bigger house for more happiness?
In New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s column on Sunday, he recounts the story of then-14-year-old Hannah Salwen and her dad Kevin, and how a chance encounter with a homeless man catapulted their family into swapping their high-end home for a more modest abode and donating half of the proceeds to charity. Just reading that […]
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Ask Umbra on toilet paper, dryer balls, and Twitter
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Is it more environmentally sound to throw tissue paper in the toilet or in the trash? I’m disturbed by how much toilet paper is used by one family alone and wonder just what it takes to remove all that paper from the sewage system and from the […]
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Why you should go see ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’
“I’ve got an idea”: Mr. Fox and friends fight the power. I’m writing a post that I shouldn’t have to write: a plea to get you, political-minded foodie that you are, to go to whatever lengths necessary to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. How do I know you haven’t? Because the box-office numbers stink: the film […]
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Ask Umbra on perfume bottles, wax paper, and alternative beverage bottles
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I am a child of the consumer age, but I try to live by “reuse, recycle.” I have a lot of fancy perfume bottles that are now empty. They are very heavy glass, and it seems I read that the return on the energy spent to melt […]
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Continuing the Movement
America is struggling. Families strive to make ends meet while facing an uncertain economic future. The deterioration of our environment – rather than slowing – continues to gain speed. At a moment when we need every opportunity possible, climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people at home and around the world. We […]
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Happier living that happens to be more sustainable
U.K. Independent columnist Johann Hari has a post worth reading over the long weekend. If you’re too busy working to read it, well, that’s the point. Hari laments the American-style culture of overwork that he sees creeping into Britain, comparing it to an arms race. Everyone works harder and longer, or makes sure to look […]
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Mom-powered politics
Editor’s note: Anna wrote this post (and a few more) before she left on maternity leave. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl — Audrey — in December. All moms have a stake in public policies that affect the health and safety of their families. But as I’ve found throughout this series, pop-culture resources […]
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Win a signed copy of ‘Antarctica 2041’! [updated]
Update: The contest is over–congrats to our five winners! Look for more literary competitions and lots of great reading tips at our new books page. Welcome, dear readers, to Grist’s first book review contest. There are prizes to be won, so listen up. We’re giving away five autographed copies of explorer Robert Swan’s arresting new […]
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Taking distributed energy seriously
This week, in The New York Times’ Room for Debate, I was involved in a discussion on the brewing war among environmentalists over building large power plants on sensitive land — specifically, in this case, a solar thermal power plant in the Mojave desert. “Green Civil War: Projects vs. Preservation” saw contributions from: Randy Udall, […]
