Climate Culture

Fat-fueled speedboat will undertake second circumnavigation attempt

One of our favorite heroes is back in action. Pete Bethune, who attempted to set a global circumnavigation record in a biodiesel-powered speedboat in early 2007 — and donated his own ass fat to the fuel mix to garner publicity — has announced a second attempt, kicking off in March 2008. Baby got back onboard.

Umbra on organic mattresses

Dear Umbra, I need a new mattress and really want to buy one that is not doused in chemicals — in other words, an organic mattress. I’ve searched a number of sites online and have been horrified by the prices. They are really, really expensive! How bad is it if I buy a regular old […]

Shop till you drop? There’s a better way

It's that time of year again. The bells are jingling and the registers are ring-ting-tingling, too. Black Friday has come and gone, and Cyber Monday orders are in the mail. Now we're wasting time in parking-lot traffic jams and long checkout lines, all the while trying to maintain our holiday cheer.

The National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend $474.5 billion this holiday season. That's up 4 percent from last year's whopping $456.2 billion spent on clothes, video games, and hot tech toys.

Do we really need to repeat history? Recent tradition, supported by plenty of well-crafted holiday advertisements, says "Yes."

Our current state of consumer mania -- our manufactured wants, must-haves and can't-live-withouts -- was born during the post-World War II era, when our country was trying to rebuild its economy. The best strategy, according to retail analyst Victor Lebow, was to make consumption a way of life. And boy, have we ever!

Umbra on paint disposal

Dear Umbra, A friend of mine is a painter. He is concerned about the environment and has been trying to find out how to dispose of his paint buckets, extra paint, and other supplies in a way that is eco-friendly, but he’s come up with nothing. We live in Chicago, and you would think that […]

Retailers beef up the packaging

For Christmas last year, I received an iPod Nano (through which I now get my weekly fix of podcasts from NPR Environment, PRI Living on Earth, and of course, Grist). That the Nano weighs a mere 1.74 oz. and is so slim it easily gets lost in an overstuffed pocket is pretty impressive. Nearly as impressive, however, is that I walked out of the store toting this pygmie player inside an slick, white, matte, double-ply plastic behemoth of a bag, with sturdy woven cords that cinched the neck; it could have easily fit 100 Nanos with room several real apples to spare. I've been using it as a gym bag ever since.

Apparently, that's exactly what Apple had in mind:

From Desire to Doherty

Pimp my ride Before Seattle hustled to rename its brand-new streetcar, the city was all set with acronyms: the Experience Music Project (EMP), the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), and the South Lake Union Trolley. Ahem. Photo courtesy Kapow Coffee Rhino, no, no We appreciate the sentiment, Santa — really, we do — but if this […]

Minnesota will ban mercury in cosmetics

On Jan. 1, Minnesota will become the first state to ban mercury from mascara and other cosmetics. Which begs the question: Why the hell is there mercury in mascara in the first place?

A review of compact fluorescent bulbs

Worth the switch — but which to pick? Photo: iStockphoto Part of our work here at Grist is to give advice to curious readers, and one thing we find ourselves saying a lot is, “Change those bulbs to CFLs!” But you can only socket to ’em so many times before such broad advice starts to […]

How I shucked my oyster ambivalence and learned to love the noble bivalve

I’ve lived in Boston for years, but for some reason, I had never visited nearby Portland, Maine — until last week, that is. I chose a dramatic occasion for my Portland debut: an Oyster Tasting Night put on by Slow Food Portland. Aw, shucks. Photo: pingpongdeath My previous opinion about the celebrated bivalve was decidedly […]

California yanks kids’ jewelry from stores

Bangles and baubles may make fun stocking stuffers, but beware: the California Department of Toxic Substances Control has yanked a dozen types of kids’ jewelry from 11 retailers — including Macy’s, Marshalls, and the Gap — after finding lead levels measuring approximately in the skazillions. “The problem is much more pervasive than we would like […]