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  • The non-survivalist’s guide to stocking up for hard times

    Dear Lou,As a resident of South Mississippi, I think it is officially time to stock my swine flu/tornado/hurricane/foreign invasion pantry. How do I do this without filling it with a bunch of processed crap, but still manage to stock away flavorful and nutritious staples? Kelly S. Dear Kelly,This particular swine flu pandemic–which may or may […]

  • I sold my car, and I couldn’t be happier … I think

    It’s all yours.iStockI recently committed a subversive act: I sold my car, and I’m not buying a new one. I’d thought that I’d feel virtuous and free — and I do — but it’s turned out to be a bit more complicated than that. Never too attached to my particular car, I considered it transportation, […]

  • Plastic bags get a new life in Jerusalem

    Read more about Eric Pallant’s West Bank wanderings in his story about keynoting a green-building conference there. There is a hamsin today, so the wind is whipping hot Saharan air and dust across the landscape. Despite the limited visibility, I can see that the cities that string south back from Ramallah, where I lectured at […]

  • Gobs of green ideas for Mother’s Day

    Look, Ma, no pesticides!iStock OK, it’s one thing to say Screw Earth Day, but there are some holidays you just don’t toy with. We know enough to leave Mother’s Day alone. You don’t have to pull this car over. In honor of the day, we hereby present great green gift ideas for ma. Not that […]

  • From Uranus to You’re Welcome

    Fancy pants These little eco-friendly “soy shorts” are made from tofu by-products, allowing you to help save planet earth starting with Uranus. [vodpod id=Video.16091717&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] (Click below to see the next item in this week’s Grist List—or view them all on a single page.)

  • For some eco-pioneers, solving the sludge problem means getting their hands dirty

    Part 3 of Grist’s special series on poop. Laura Allen, a 33-year-old teacher from Oakland, California, has a famous toilet. To be honest, it’s actually a box, covered in decorative ceramic tiles, sitting on the cement floor of her bathroom like a throne. No pipes lead to or from it; instead, a bucket full of […]

  • Catching up with eco-model Summer Rayne Oakes

    We first profiled Summer Rayne Oakes in 2006, introducing readers to a belly-baring, sludge-loving 22-year-old with “superhuman ambition” and a moniker that was just too fitting to be made up. Since then, Oakes has been a loyal friend to Grist; she’s done occasional fashion blogging for us, and she participated in one of our fundraising […]

  • Ask Umbra on hydro power at home

    Q. Dear Umbra, Please tell me you didn’t just imply that hydroelectric is a clean energy source. You didn’t just say that, did you? Brian K.Eugene, Ore. You’ve got the power in your hands.iStockA. Dearest Brian, In my recent column on living off the grid, I pledged to discuss micro-hydro as a power source for […]

  • Is ‘lifestyle change’ to be feared?

    Brad Plumer has a nice little video over at TNR today, playing off Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski’s comment that meeting our climate goals will mean cutting back on consumption and consumerism — that is, it will require the dread “lifestyle changes.” Brad notes that efficiency and renewable power don’t necessarily force any lifestyle changes. (A […]

  • A sudsy study of eco-label shampoos

    What is it about the women in shampoo commercials who gasp and sigh in orgasmic ecstasy as they lather their locks with glorified soap? If they only knew exactly what was in those suds, their exclamations might be less “oooh” and more “ew.” Thanks to gravity, whatever you rub into your scalp during your shower […]