Climate Culture

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  • The Bottle Let Me Down

    Michigan Looks to Improve Its Recycling Record When it comes to recycling, Michigan lags behind much of the nation, and state lawmakers say it’s time to change that. Yesterday, a state Senate task force proposed spending $50 million to establish a recycling program and ban beverage containers from landfills. Funding for the project would come […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Pesticide use on airplanes could harm your health

    Vacations are supposed to leave you feeling relaxed, happy, and healthy — but if you travel by air, you might feel worse by the time you get home than you did when you left. Fear of flying? For good reason. Flying should not generally be the transportation option of choice for the environmentally minded, given […]

    Ellen Rosenbush, Naomi Kirsten, & Green Guide Culture

  • Ever Wonder About Earth-Friendly Coffins

    Suzy Becker Culture

  • The scoop on Bush’s Texas getaway

    Dear Umbra, I heard a rumor that President Bush’s Texas ranch is off the grid. I find it very hard to believe (unless “off the grid” means he has his own oil well and refinery set up) and I can’t find any documentation about it. Ever heard this? Know if it’s true or false? Skeptical,JulieChicago, […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Working to develop the Volkswagen of solar homes

    Just off I-75 in Tennessee, halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, past a Home Depot, a Ford dealership, a Krispy Kreme, and a Piggly Wiggly supermarket, there is a newly developed tract of low-income homes built by volunteers of Habitat for Humanity. A bright idea: the Indrajaya-Kinandjar solar house. At first glance, nothing about the development […]

    Amanda Little Culture

  • Pack Your Trunks

    California’s Timber Appetite Spells Trouble for World’s Forests As California strives to protect its own forests, rising demand for wood in the state is fueling logging far afield, in Oregon, the southeastern U.S., Canada, and even Europe. According to a new report by the state Department of Forestry, California imports about 75 percent of its […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Oil Be Seeing You

    Oil and Gas Supplies Will Peak in a Decade, Swedish Scientists Assert World oil and gas supplies will peak soon after 2010 and be in short supply thereafter, causing worldwide economic havoc unless societies have adopted alternatives to fossil fuels, Swedish scientists predict in a controversial article published today in New Scientist magazine. Other scientists […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Nettling Question

    Nettle Fabric Could Be Eco-Friendly Replacement for Cotton Fabric made from stinging nettles could be the next big thing in eco-friendly fashion. The process of growing nettles is much gentler on the Earth than growing cotton, which generally entails high use of water and pesticides. (Almost a quarter of the world’s pesticides are sprayed on […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Watching Their Waste

    California Passes Cutting-Edge E-Waste Law Consistent with its habit of pushing the environmental envelope, California has adopted the nation’s most comprehensive law governing the manufacture and disposal of electronics. The law has three main purposes: to speed the recycling of discarded computers and televisions (some 6 million of which await disposal across the state); to […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • Umbra on dishwashers

    Dear Umbra, I’m in the market for a new dishwasher, one that uses as little water and energy as possible and still gets that flatware sparklin’ clean. But I don’t have a lot of dough to blow on appliances. Any thoughts? DeanOrem, Utah Dearest Dean, I really can’t say enough about Consumer Reports and its […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture