Climate Culture

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  • Umbra advises on gardens and kids

    Q. Dear Umbra, I am constructing a garden bed for a local preschool and am considering the various materials I could use. The beds need to be raised and protected by a rigid border. This has aroused two main concerns: the safety of the children and the durability of the materials. I feel the best […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Treehugger lacks sense of humor?

    When you “crap all over Earth Day,” you can expect some angry barbs in return. Case in point is Lloyd Alter’s post over at TreeHugger.com about Grist’s “Screw Earth Day” campaign, which we found to be a fair and thoughtful rejoinder. But we think Alter missed the point. Yeah, Grist is cynical about Earth Day […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • We need Earth Day more than ever

    Rick BassHaving elected Team Obama, and seen a few months of promising leadership, have we achieved Mission Accomplished with regard to righting the environmental wrongs of the Bush administration? You don’t hear the question being voiced so much as instead sense it infiltrating, with an air of unearned relief. Everywhere, after the majestic battle of […]

    Rick Bass Culture

  • Brief hybrid electric bike update

    That’s a picture of my Hybrid Electric parked next to an especially stupid looking Hummer. Dark tinted windows make it impossible for cyclists to make eye contact with drivers. You’re playing Russian roulette when you cross in front of a car that has them. I noticed that this particular Hummer would not move for days […]

    Biodiversivist Culture

  • Bag the paper or plastic debate

    Tip #3: Bag the “paper or plastic” debate at the checkout line by toting a reusable bag (or seven) of your own. We Are What We Do.Grist advice guru Umbra Fisk is lucky to go a week without being asked about the “paper or plastic” conundrum faced by anyone who has strolled a grocery-store aisle. […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Say “I do” to a green wedding on a budget

    Photo: SimonShaw via Flickr. In two months, I will walk across a lawn in taffeta and heels to stand beside my baby sister as she says “I do.” Which means I have spent the last several months planning parties, calming crises, and trying not to gawk at the huge price tag looming over this blessed […]

    Sarah van Schagen Culture
  • faucet and glass
    faucet and glass

    Avoid the bottle blues

    Tip #2: Save money (and the planet) by avoiding bottled water. Already heard it? Then get busy converting your friends and family to the anti-bottled-water campaign. Grist has been beating the drum on this one FOREVER… Ashley Braun preached the good word in January 2008, noting: “Production of plastic water bottles requires three times the […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Competition for greenest car heats up

    The competition for greenest car is really heating up. My favorite is the Bolloré Bluecar, which will be available as a lease option in several European countries next year. That’s OK with me because I am not an early adapter. People who willingly act as guinea pigs by paying exorbitant prices to be the first […]

    Biodiversivist Culture

  • Umbra advises on population

    Q. Dear Umbra, You once replied to a request for some simple things all environmentally concerned individuals should do by pointing them toward some “Top Ten lists” for eco-minded people. Without a doubt, hands down, the number 1 action that should be followed for anyone concerned with the environment is to limit your procreation to […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • What’s the matter with Earth Day?

    Tip #1: Make every day Earth Day by killing the vampires. Our advice queen Umbra Fisk tells you how to cut your spending on electricity in this recent video. Less energy use = less coal and natural gas burned to produce electricity. … Why does Grist hate Earth Day, you may be wondering? Are you […]

    Grist staff Culture