Skip to content
Grist home
Support nonprofit news

Articles by Ask Umbra®

The New York Times calls Umbra Fisk "a trailblazer in the field of eco-advice columnists" and "the arch online sage of the new green age." Her latest passion: kale smoothies ... no, sorry, civic engagement, because getting political is the only way we'll get a planet that doesn't burn and a future that doesn't suck. Ask Umbra a question here.

All Articles

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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, […]