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 the Bush administration’s environmental record

    Dear Umbra, I hope you can answer this or direct me to someone who can. I am a member of the local Williamson County Democratic Party. I would like to print up a leaflet to distribute to the public at our next gathering on April 26 and 27 that shows just what the present Republican […]

  • Umbra on peeing al fresco

    Dear Umbra, If I am going to pee outside, is it more environmentally sound to squat in the back yard where the pee salinates the soil, or next to the road where the liquid runoff can enter sewers, or in the woods where there are no ornamental plantings to disturb, but there might be snakes? […]

  • Umbra on keeping compost rat-free

    Hi Umbra, I live in Providence, R.I., and I have a basic composting bin; it’s about three feet tall, made of black plastic with ventilation shafts on all four sides and on top, but it has no bottom. I want to set this up in my tiny side yard for my neighbors and me to […]

  • Umbra on composting toilets

    I would think that outhouses would be a lot better for the environment than a toilet. You don't have to use water in them and when one fills up (like the ones made now do after 15 or so years, depending on how deep your original hole is), you just fill it