Climate Culture

All Stories

  • Umbra on environmental stress

    Dear Umbra, I’m the poster child for a late-twentysomething environmentally responsible adult. I use less than 100 gallons of gas a year, less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, less than 20 gallons of water per day, less than 100 therms of natural gas during the winter in Minnesota. I take my garbage out […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Umbra on environmentally oblivious family

    Dear Umbra, I am totally frustrated with my in-laws. They know how important it is for us to raise our infant in the least toxic environment we can manage. However, when we go to their house, I have no control over the situation. We arrived there for Easter vacation only to find out that three […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Earth Day? Bah Humbug!

    Suzy Becker Culture

  • Announcing Umbra’s latest contest

    Dearest Beloved Readers, Another turn of the seasons (still four, at last count) has brought us together again on the eve of Earth Day, the moment in the sun for the environmental movement, the fifth anniversary of Grist, and the second anniversary of my ability to freely pontificate into your inbox. It’s been a nice, […]

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  • Tips on greener computing

    OK computer. U.S. consumers are being cheated out of the chance to buy the greenest possible computers, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and other environmental groups that have joined forces on the Computer TakeBack Campaign. The campaign’s latest report card examined 28 computer manufacturers’ practices regarding hazardous materials, worker health and safety, and […]

    P.W. McRandle, for the Green Guide & Pam Lundquist Culture

  • The U.S. has outsourced environmental leadership

    On the money. California unveiled the design on its state quarter last week: a picture of John Muir, an image of Half Dome. It’s an apt representation of American environmentalism at the moment — rich in history, but not worth much at present. Modern environmentalism can fairly be described as an American invention. It got […]

    Bill McKibben Culture

  • Umbra on recycling CD jewel cases

    Dear Umbra, I’ve been Googling all over to find a place where I can recycle old CD cases, to no avail. I’m moving soon and would really like to find an environmentally safe way to dispose of these things. Do you know of any place they can be dropped off, or any other alternatives? MelissaEdgewater, […]

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  • Umbra on post-consumer content

    Dear Umbra, So I was sitting there at lunch, eating my crackers, when I spied a recycling symbol and was confused. What is “pre-consumer” content? I mean, if the label is true (“carton made from 100 percent recycled paperboard — minimum 35 percent post-consumer content”), what is the other 65 percent? And what is paperboard? […]

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  • Umbra on the market for recycled material

    Dear Umbra, In reference to your polystyrene response: The polystyrene I have seen recently appears with a No. 6 recycling triangle on the bottom. But I’ve heard there is no market for this stuff, even though our local recycling company claims to want us to collect all Nos. 1 through 7. How can this be? […]

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  • Not all “eco-labels” are created equal

    “What’s in a name?” asks Shakespeare. Conscientious food consumers are beginning to realize that the answer too often is, “Not much.” Eggsellent. Shoppers increasingly are willing to pay more for food produced in a way that protects human health, water, wildlife, rural communities, and farm workers. And this is not lost on marketers. Many grocery […]

    Matthew Miller Culture